Charles Mintz

Before Mickey there was Oswald, the floppy-eared star of Walt Disney's first cartoon series, THE ADVENTURES OF OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT. Fun and mischievous, the cheerful rabbit's popularity quickly multiplied, and so did his shorts. Between 1927 and 1928, Disney created a bounty of legendary and rarely seen Oswald cartoons. Now for the first time ever on DVD, the premiere collection of Disney's Oswald shorts -- all featuring new scores composed by Robert Israel especially for this release. The long-lost rabbit's life story, from his birth to his long-awaited return to Disney, and a documentary on the legendary Ub Iwerks set the stage for the comeback of one of the most important stars in Disney's menagerie. Featuring exclusive introductions by film historian Leonard Maltin, this is a timeless collection from generations past for generations to come.

The King declares a Festive Day in Happy Tots Kingdom and all his subjects, the Happy Tots, are invited to the celebration. Once there, they all have a great time and there are no conflicts in sight in this entry in the Happy Tots cartoon series, which isn't part of the Scrappy series.

Goldilocks and the three bears refuse to cooperate with the narrator of their story.

A movie theater audience sees a trailer for Scrappy's newest movie.

Two rival families of hens (and roosters) are arming in preparation for a battle in a property-line dispute over the division line between their two barnyard coops. After much fighting, squabbling and squawking between the two factions, two peaceful doves bring about a settlement between the two groups.

Birds present their own radio broadcasting service, featuring feathered versions of such stars as Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Rudy Vallee, Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, and many others.

Professor Owl is lecturing to his class of bird and animal students, when they students interrupt him with weather questions regarding what makes the north wind blow and what makes snow. As the good professor starts to explain this phenomenon, the scene shifts to the North Pole where little dwarfs are shown in the process of making snow, thunder and wind.

Weary of his running-in-circles existence as a merry-go-round horse, the little hobby-horse gets a case of wanderlust. That night he gets out after the fair has closed and takes in the world of the Crazy House, the Wax Museum, the Ferris Wheel and a roller coaster. Battered and beaten from his adventures, he concludes he is better off on his stand at the merry-go-round.

An animated short produced by Charles Mintz.

A small girl makes her living selling matches on the streets of New York. It's winter, and the hustling crowds at best ignore her, and some are outright rude. She takes shelter and, to try to stave off the cold a bit, lights a match. It gets blown out; this happens again, then on the third try, she falls into a dream. In this dream, cherubs attend her, she gets a new doll, then a new dress. The cherubs put her on a throne. Then a storm comes, and she goes toward a candle. That candle goes out, and we see that back in the real world, so did her match and her life. An angel comes along and takes her soul.

A little boy (as pilot/crew/mechanic) and a little girl (the title air hostess) do their best to get a delapitated airplane airborne and take their full load of adult passengers to their destination. They fail spectacularly.

Mama Hen complains about all the work that she's gotta do. Her baby chicks run amok and drive her to collapse. The chicks have a change of heart because it's Mother's Day- and they begin to do all the work for her.

A toyless boy finds a broken soldier doll and gets a very special Christmas as a result.

A musical extravaganza centered around Depression-struck Krazy Kat trying to cadge a free meal in an automat (The Eato-Mat Restaurant)

Two little boys "battle" their toy pirate ships in a pool. The crews of both sea vessels are made of caricatures of such 30's era stars as Charles Laughton (as Captain Bligh), the Three Stooges, Wallace Beery, Jimmy Durante, Laurel & Hardy, and the Marx Brothers.

The novelty shop owner has gone home, and that means it's time for its items to animate and have fun.

A glow worm's girlfriend falls into a water pool during a severe storm, and he has to save her from drowning. A spider also wants to save her, but not for the same reason--he's hungry.

Scrappy hurt his leg and is sad because he can't go fishing. The bluebirds from Happyland realize this and put on a song and dance show, helping heal poor Scrappy's hurt leg and foot.

A boy, attracted by the same confectionery display that attracts a fly, goes inside and starts eating. A cherub, threatened by him, offers a wish, and the kid asks to live in candyland full time. A train takes him there, where a cupcake king greets him and we see a lavish parade of various goodies, including another group of three cherubs that parody the Three Stooges.

Flown away to the land of the story books, Jack and Jill, aided by Mother Goose, watch a fairland revue complete with chorus girls and marching soldiers.

A homeless waif, staggering through a roaring snow storm, wanders into a small town. and no one except a poor shoemaker will give the little boy shelter from the storm. That night, the elves come in with their equipment and material, and make a new supply of shoes for the old man. In the morning, see what has happened, the old man tells the boy he has brought him luck, and can stay with him as his adopted son.

Scrappy does not want to get up and go to school. As the days peel off his calendar, the dates representing holidays come to life. Father time, in particular, takes Scrappy on a holidays tour.

On a stormy, windy night, Krazy's car breaks down so he and Kitty must seek refuge in an eerie old house. Happy the pup finds a skeleton, but the really scary resident is a huge, violent gorilla that runs off with Kitty, and Krazy must rescue her.

Scrappy in Hollywood.

After a surgical operation on a radio that proves it's healthy again when an Arthur Tracy broadcast comes through, Krazy takes it on a flying carpet trip through the clouds where radio stars appear in caricature such as Kate Smith, Eddie Cantor, Bert Gordon,The Boswell Sisters, The Mills Brothers, Rudy Vallee,Ed Wynn, Morton Downey and Chandu the Magician.

Color clash in the barnyard.

Krazy Kat runs his own lighthouse and when rough seas take over, he has to save a damsel in distress.

A short animated film featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat, as well as some caricatures of well-known actors of the time

Movie star Krazy has his pick of beautiful girls, but one grotesque, huge snout faced gal must have him, so she goes through a grueling beautifying process that she hopes will make her look like Jean Harlow. When finished (better, but not Harlow!) she invites Krazy over to her house where she traps and chases him around.

Friz Freleng's second directorial effort -- under his legal name of 'Isadore' and credited as co-director with Rudolf Ising -- is a silent Oswald the Lucky Rabbit effort, made soon after Charles Mintz grabbed the rights to the character and almost all his crew from Walt Disney. Oswald takes in Homer, a small kitten, and attempts to teach him table manners and to give him a bath, but Homer retaliates using a clothesline and a player piano.

Oswald and his faithful horse rush to a blazing apartment area to rescue troubled residents.

'Sky Scrappers' finds three characters -- Oswald, a Big Pete-style bully and a Minnie-ish female character -- all engaged in knockabout humour on a building site.

Oswald and his friend and nemesis Peg-Leg Pete are hobos riding on a train and playing checkers when hilarity ensues

The Christmas celebration of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

A Krazy Kat Cartoon

Oswald takes a job as a lifeguard to keep an eye on Miss Rabbit, who in turn stages a boating accident hoping Oswald will come to save her.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit runs a trolley but finds the job is more trouble than its worth in his debut short.

A Krazy Kat Cartoon.