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
The Clown (1931 film) The Clown (1931 film) The Clown is a 1931 short animated film by Universal Pictures, and one of many in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. Oswald, as the title implies, is a circus clown who performs acts in the big top along with his partner the live female stuffed doll, aka Kitty. After doing some acts involving horses, Kitty is being asked by the ringmaster to sign some kind of contract. Oswald is suspicious of the ringmaster's plans, and tries to intervene, only to be whipped away by the ringmaster. While Oswald is performing his next act involving a