When young Walt Disney met fellow teenager Ubbe Iwerks in Kansas City, Missouri in 1919, neither man likely knew how fruitful their eventual partnership would be. With Ub’s talent and Walt’s ambition, the two pioneered the art of animation, in the process creating the most iconic cartoon character in history. But their partnership eventually ended in acrimony, leading to Iwerks’ leaving the Disney company to form his own animated studio–at least for a while. After working together for several years on Disney’s “Alice Comedies”–a series of live-action/animated shorts featuring the characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland(which Disney would famously adapt in full animated feature form in 1951)–Disney and Iwerks collaborated on the creation of an original character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Oswald premiered in 1927, but his reign as Disney’s flagship character was brief. Walt lost control of his creation to his distributor, and embittered by the experience, he turned to Iwerks to create a new face for the Disney company. And soon enough, Mickey Mouse was born.
Click “Next” to read more.
Natural History Museum Changes Dinosaur Display After 10-Year-Old Points Out Mistake
9 Former Celebs Who Now Have Very Different Jobs