Live-action animated film match with a live kitten. In a variation from this and inspired to do so Walt Disney's first directorial efforts, years before Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was born in 1927 and Mickey Mouse in 1928, were the live-action animated "Alice Comedies" cartoons, in which a young live-action girl named Alice interacted with animated cartoon characters. Many previous films combining live action with stop-motion animation using back projection, such as Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen films in the United States, and Aleksandr Ptushko, Karel Zeman and more recently Jan Švankmajer in Eastern Europe. The first feature film to do this was
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit the show, “Oh My, Ortensia”. During the 1920s, the Oswald shorts, as well as Oswald himself, proved extremely popular and had received substantial critical acclaim. The "Film Daily" noted that the series was "one of the best sellers of the 'U[niversal]' short subject program." According to "The Moving Picture World", Oswald had "accomplished the astounding feat of jumping into the first-run favor overnight". With the release of "Trolley Troubles", the "Film Daily" wrote, "As conductor on a 'Toonerville' trolley, Oswald is a riot. This ... you can book on pure faith, and our solem word that they have the goods."