Celebrating Ub Iwerks

Flip the Frog was Ub Iwerks' first solo flagship character when he formed the Ub Iwerks Studios in 1930. It was believed that Ub was the secret behind Walt Disney's success. In truth, the two friends needed each other because they were always better together than they were alone. Although MGM distributed Ub's shorts, the studios never achieved the popularity of Walt Disney's Studios or the the Fleischer Studios and the Ub Iwerks Studios folded in 1936. Ub's shorts fell into the public domain and obscurity. As the Flip the Frog series progressed, Flip became more frog like and more of a Charlie Chaplin type character just as Mickey Mouse had been. There were high hopes of Flip achieving the popularity as Ub's previous creations with Walt, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse, but he never did and the character was retired in 1934. There are 38 Flip the Frog shorts. This is the first one. Release date August 16, 1930 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.