The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2019 | Page 84
Mickey Mouse and Merry Melodies: Ho
Entertained and Inspired Americ
stead, she said they seemed more interested
in the scary trees and violence. At
the Warner Brothers studio, co-founder
Jack Warner knew the live-action movie
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
would “make us some enemies” with
its plot: a decorated World War I veteran
ends up in a Southern chain gang
for a crime he didn’t commit during the
post-war economic slump. When he finally
escapes, he escapes right into the
Great Depression. 13
Still, hundreds of animated
shorts and films from Disney and Warner
Brothers were wildly popular during
the 1930s. Disney’s Silly Symphonies
and Mickey Mouse cartoons and Warner
Bros.’ Merrie Melodies and Looney
Tunes were fierce competitors, but they
all entertained, provided commentary
on current affairs and national emotions,
and shared messages with upper-,
middle-, and working-class audiences.
One of the most poignant shorts that
came out of the Depression featured a
Disney-created character that was distributed
by Universal Pictures, which
often co-produced films with Warner
Bros. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was the
star of the Confidence short released in
1933. Disney and legendary animator
Ub Iwerks created Oswald in early 1927
for Universal, but the duo lost the character
when they broke from the studios
about a year later. 14 Disney as a company
wouldn’t regain control of Oswald
and the character’s cartoons until 2006.
In Confidence, Oswald is a successful
and happy farmer until a toxic
dump down the road forms a black
cloud named Depression that wreaks
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