WesternAnimation Disney's Oswald-Awesome Without Epic Mickey
With the release of Epic Mickey many people have claimed Oswald The Lucky Rabbit the best disney character without actually watching the shorts. I thought this unfair to the others as the disney shorts are supposed to be comical. To see how good Oswald on his own was, I check out the majority of the shorts on You Tube. I founded that they were wonderful and just as good, or even better than the other Disney shorts.
The First thing is that, as that they told coherent stories instead of a series of gags like the other silent-age cartoons. The stories are simple but interesting, from going to war to fighting a guard to rescue Ortensia, they still fun and enjoyable to this day.
Second, the Jokes are still funny and probably invented cartoon logic.
Finally, the reason they might be better is because he was able to do what the others were to do with limitations. there is no sound or dialogue, but still they can tell a joke and a story without them and still be enjoyable.
My conclusion is that Oswald is not only a good tragic character, but also a great cartoon character. Check them out on You Tube and see Oswald on his own you may or may not like him but you should still see them before saying he's your favorite.
I did, and now he is truly my favorite.
Overall Rating 10/10
WesternAnimation Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit DVD Review
After years of being stuck in cartoon limbo, time has smiled upon Disney's original cartoon star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, not only giving him a home in the House of Mouse, but also blessing him with an official DVD collection of his earliest landmark adventures in silent cartoons.
The first disc covers the 13 existing Disney made Oswald cartoons, reconstructed and restored from the best existing sources. While I at first expected to write off these cartoons as outdated and only interesting for historical purposes, my initial viewings of them proved me wrong-for cartoons that are well over 80 years old and going, they have aged surprisingly well. The well executed personality driven gags keep the shorts afloat, along with the crisp pacing and some lovely animation and art, courtesy of Ub Iwerks. It's really easy to see where and how Disney draws its roots from these cartoons, and it's such a pleasure to see the roots in question-and what sweet roots they are! And while these are technically silent cartoons, newly composed musical scores have been created for these cartoons (courtesy of silent film composer Robert Israel) and their addition is welcomed-they're very well done and add a whole new layer of life to these short subjects. Extras in disc 1 include a brief featurette on Oswald's comeback to Disney in 2006, a Gallery of cool images from Oswald's heydey, some nice audio commentaries from guys like Mark Kausler, Jerry Beck and Leonard Maltin, and a pencil test of one of the lost Oswald cartoons "Sagebrush Sadie".
Disc 2 is easily the highlight of the collection however, serving as a tribute to legendary animator Ub Iwerks. The best part of the disc is the Leslie Iwerks documentary on her grandfather called ''The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story". It's a truly wonderful one which goes into the life and career of Ub, from his roots, his own works, and his later work, and other interesting trvia. Also included are the Mickey Mouse shorts "Plane Crazy" and "Steamboat Willie", "The Skeleton Dance", and three of the early Alice Comedies shorts.
So if you want to see where Disney draws its roots from, watch a fun history lesson, or get some good cartoons for a reasonable price, this is the best place to start. Its a truly classic set that belongs in any animation buffs library.
Rating: 8/10
WesternAnimation Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
After years of being stuck in cartoon limbo, time has smiled upon Disney's original cartoon star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, not only giving him a home in the House of Mouse, but also blessing him with an official DVD collection of his earliest landmark adventures in silent cartoons.
The first disc covers 13 of the existing Disney made Oswald cartoons, reconstructed and restored from the best existing sources. While I at first expected to write off these cartoons as outdated and only interesting for historical purposes, my initial viewings of them proved me wrong-for cartoons that are well over 80 years old and going, they have aged surprisingly well. The well executed personality driven gags keep the shorts afloat, along with the crisp pacing and some lovely animation and art, courtesy of Ub Iwerks. It's really easy to see where and how Disney draws its roots from these cartoons, and it's such a pleasure to see the roots in question-and what sweet roots they are! And while these are technically silent cartoons, newly composed musical scores have been created for these cartoons (courtesy of silent film composer Robert Israel) and their addition is welcomed-they're very well done and add a whole new layer of life to these short subjects. Extras in disc 1 include a brief featurette on Oswald's comeback to Disney in 2006, a Gallery of cool images from Oswald's heydey, some nice audio commentaries from guys like Mark Kausler, Jerry Beck and Leonard Maltin, and a pencil test of one of the lost Oswald cartoons "Sagebrush Sadie".
Disc 2 is easily the highlight of the collection however, serving as a tribute to legendary animator Ub Iwerks. The best part of the disc is the Leslie Iwerks documentary on her grandfather called ''The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story". It's a truly wonderful one which goes into the life and career of Ub, from his roots, his own works, and his later work, and other interesting trvia. Also included are the Mickey Mouse shorts "Plane Crazy" and "Steamboat Willie", "The Skeleton Dance", and three of the early Alice Comedies shorts.
So if you want to see where Disney draws its roots from, watch a fun history lesson, or get some good cartoons for a reasonable price, this is the best place to start. Its a truly classic set that belongs in any animation buffs library.
Rating: 9/10