Late last night, as I was watching Cartoon Network, I saw an ancient WB cartoon (called Smile, Darn You Smile) starring a Fox that was 99% like Mickey Mouse. It was different only in that the ears had points added, and the tail was bushy instead of smooth. I have 2 questions-
1) What was the Foxes name?
2) Did Disney sue over this blatant
copy?
P.S. I couldn’t find this question anywhere on this site, but if it’s been asked, forgive me. I live in dread of you people’s righteous wrath.
I, too, saw this cartoon. At first glance I thought it was indeed Mickey, then I noticed the pointy ears and bushy tail, and thought perhaps it was just part of the storyline if it was a Mickey Mouse 'toon. You forgot to mention the girl looked almost just like classic Minnie Mouse as well. I deliberately paid close attention to the cartoon, and the Minnie Mouse “clone” addressed the phony Mickey as “Foxy”, so I am assuming his name was “Foxy Fox.”
As to whether Disney ever litigated, I certainly hope so. I have never been a Disney fan, but I do enjoy the old b&w “pie-eyed” Mickey Mouse cartoons. There’s something magical about those old cartoons. Max Fleischer did the best Popeye cartoons ever made, and Betty Boop is still cute and sassy as she was 70 years ago.
That was Foxy Fox, a creaton of Rudolf Ising. Not too surprising that it resembled the Mouse; Ising and his buddy Hugh Harman were once partner with Disney, before getting let go by Walt. They went on to WB and created a raft of forgettable characters, like Buddy, Bosko, and Foxy. Later they were lured over to MGM, where they made very lush, well drawn, and boring cartoons a la Disney. Their sole long lasting contribution was the accidental creation of Tom and Jerry.
Disney didn’t sue, because he was in the same boat. He had created a rabbit character that was very similar to Oswald Rabbit, a now forgotten B&W cartoon character. Besides, back in the 20s and 30s, Disney was not the multi-million dollar lawsuit machine we’ve all grown accustomed to. Had Foxy been a hit, maybe things would have been different. As it was, Foxy was gone after 3 cartoons (all in 1931).
Close but not quite. Disney (along with Ub Iwerks) created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It was later taken away from him (he thought it was his own property but was actually owned by Charles Mintz) and ended up in the hands of Walter Lantz. Disney went on to create Mickey Mouse. But where Oswald had a more “bugs bunny” type appearance under Disney’s hand, once the Mouse started becoming popular, his appearance became more boyish and almost a Mickey clone.
Saint Eutychus H.M.S.H.
" ‘He is a prince’ , the minstrels sing.
Among men, yes. Among fools he is a king."
Disney Shorts
The Eutychus Papers
Eutychus–thanks for straigtening out my distorted chronology. I was working from memory, the most unreliable of sources. I knew Disney had something to do with Oswald, but got it mixed up.
I think I’m still right about Foxy; he didn’t last long enough to warrant a lawsuit.