''Trolley Troubles'' is a 1927

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

short subject film, produced by Charles Mintz and

George Winkler George Winkler (1869 – 1962) was an American architect who practiced in Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma from 1903 to 1953. Background and career Winkler was born in Donegal, Pennsylvania, in 1869 and was educated at Curry College in Pittsb ...

and directed by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. The cartoon is the first appearance of

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is a cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1 ...

, a character that Disney and

Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentiou ...

created for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

and Charles B. Mintz.

History

In the early summer of 1927, Walt Disney finished the first Oswald cartoon, entitled '' Poor Papa''. However, Universal was not very satisfied. They had expected a more Charlie Chaplin-like character and thought Oswald was too elderly and too fat. Disney agreed to make some changes and the cartoon was not released in theatres at the time. Instead, Oswald's second-produced cartoon was submitted for release: ''Trolley Troubles''. Universal was pleased and the short was released by Universal on September 5, 1927. The press loved the new cartoon series Walt made and Oswald became a true hero. From that moment on, a new cartoon was released every two weeks. As for ''Poor Papa'', it was released eventually in theatres, although Universal held it back until 1928. In total, nine Oswald cartoons were released in 1927. The cartoon was reissued on November 23, 1931 after Walter Lantz Productions took over the Oswald series. This re-release was completed with music and sound effects. The copyright for ''Trolley Troubles'' expired in 1955.

Plot

Oswald is preparing a trolley (tram) to transport his bunny kids and other animal characters, but there are some obstacles. The first is Clarabelle Cow who walks onto the tracks and refuses to move until Oswald drives the trolley underneath her. Oswald thinks that all is well until the hill gets steep. Oswald uses a goat to get the trolley up the hill, then down the hill. The trolley unexpectedly goes onto a bumpy road, tossing the kids out of the trolley. Oswald prays that he will live, takes off his foot, and rubs it on his head (as per the saying that a

rabbit's foot In some cultures, the foot of a rabbit is carried as an amulet believed to bring good luck. This belief is held by individuals in a great number of places around the world, including Europe, China, Africa, and North and South America. In variatio ...

gives you good luck). Eventually, the trolley crashes into a river and becomes a raft. Oswald uses a big stick to row it downstream.

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit''.

References

External links

* {{Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons 1920s Disney animated short films 1927 films American black-and-white films Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons 1927 animated films 1927 short films Films directed by Walt Disney American silent short films Universal Pictures short films Universal Pictures animated short films Animated films about animals Animated films without speech Rail transport films 1920s American films Silent American comedy films