Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - Africa Before Dark (1928)

After the Alice Comedies had run their course due to cost and technical restrictions, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was developed as the lead character in an new all animated series. Walt and Ub Iwerks began the series once they moved into the new Hyperion Studio building.

When the first short, Poor Papa, was rejected by Universal, Walt and Ub went back to the drawing board and redesigned the character to be more like Charlie Chaplin. After Oswald was accepted, the short Poor Papa was tweaked to fit the new character design and became the 21st short released while it was the first one made.

With income gained from the Oswald series, Walt and Roy purchased ten acres of land in the desert. They also invested in an oil-drilling venture. Iwerks also invested his income in several stone mills to crush paint pigment he used to make paint formulas that were utilized by animators for decades.

6 of the 27 Oswald shorts Walt Disney & Ub Iwerks made are believed to be lost.

This is the 13th Oswald cartoon in the series.

Release date February 20, 1928

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.