It too proved to be successful with audiences. It was a success, and the Sullivan studio quickly set to work on producing another film featuring Master Tom, in Musical Mews (released on 16 November 1919). Produced by the Manhattan-based animation studio owned by Pat Sullivan, the cartoon was directed by cartoonist and animator Otto Messmer.
On 9 November 1919, Master Tom, a prototype of Felix, debuted in a Paramount Pictures short titled Feline Follies. The "Felix pace" as seen in Oceantics (1930) Felix in the color cartoon Felix the Cat and the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg (1936) Children with Felix the Cat toy, Nielsen Park Beach, Sydney, NSW, 1926 History Creation Feline Follies by Pat Sullivan, silent, 1919 A scene of Felix laughing, from Felix in Hollywood (1923) Sullivan's work Felix and Charlie Chaplin share the screen in a moment from Felix in Hollywood (1923). In 2014, Don Oriolo sold the rights to the character to DreamWorks Animation via DreamWorks Classics, which is now part of Comcast's NBCUniversal division via Universal Pictures. In 2002, TV Guide ranked Felix the Cat number 28 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list. Joe's son Don Oriolo later assumed creative control of Felix. As of the 2010s, Felix is featured on a variety of merchandise from clothing to toys. The cat has since starred in other television programs and in two feature films. Oriolo also added new characters and gave Felix a "Magic Bag of Tricks" that could assume an infinite variety of shapes at Felix's behest. Joe Oriolo introduced a redesigned, "long-legged" Felix, with longer legs, a much smaller body, and a larger, rounder head with no whiskers and no teeth. Felix saw a brief three-cartoon resurrection in 1936 by the Van Beuren Studios.įelix cartoons began airing on American television in 1953. The sound Felix shorts proved to be a failure and the operation ended in 1932. In 1929, Sullivan decided to make the transition and began distributing Felix sound cartoons through Copley Pictures. The new Disney shorts of Mickey Mouse made the silent offerings of Sullivan and Messmer, who were then unwilling to move to sound production, seem outdated. In 1926, Felix became the first high school mascot for the Logansport, Indiana Berries.īy the late 1920s, with the arrival of sound cartoons, Felix's success was fading. Jazz bands such as Paul Whiteman's played songs about him (1923's "Felix Kept on Walking" and others). Several manufacturers made stuffed Felix toys. Aside from the animated shorts, Felix starred in a comic strip (drawn by Sullivan, Messmer and later Joe Oriolo) beginning in 1923, and his image soon adorned merchandise such as ceramics, toys, and postcards. What is certain is that Felix emerged from Sullivan's studio, and cartoons featuring the character became well known in popular culture.
Either Sullivan himself or his lead animator, American Otto Messmer, created the character. įelix originated from the studio of Australian cartoonist- film entrepreneur Pat Sullivan.
Felix was the first fully realized animal character in the history of American film animation. An anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he is often considered one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history. (named Kitty White or Marie in the first 3 years of the silent cartoons)įelix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer (1919–1924) The Adventures of Felix (1919) (as Felix)