Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Mouse cartoon to be filmed was "Plane Crazy" in the summer of 1928, but it was produced as a silent and held back from release. The first Mickey Mouse film with a synchronized soundtrack, "Steamboat Willie", reached the screen that fall and became a major hit, eclipsing Oswald. "Plane Crazy" was later given its own synchronized soundtrack and released on March 17, 1929. Mintz, meanwhile, opened his own studio consisting primarily of former Disney employees, where he continued to produce Oswald cartoons, among them the first Oswald with sound, "Hen Fruit" (1929). While things were going in Mintz's favor, animators
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit DVD of his original cartoons. In 2004 and 2005, shortly before the return of the character to Disney and still in Universal's hands, Oswald products became popular in Japan, and were primarily made available as prizes in UFO catchers and as official merchandise in Universal Studios Japan, where he was featured as part of the Woody Woodpecker cast of characters line-up. Typically manufactured by Taito and/or Medicom, these products included puppets, inflatable dolls, keyrings, and watches. They were generally based on a navy-blue version with yellow shorts of the original Disney/Iwerks character, and due to Disney's popularity in Japan, he