Ozzie of the Mounted

"Ozzie of the Mounted" is among the later Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons made under the direction of Walt Disney. And, because it's later, the quality of the artwork and gags are exceptional, as the character has become more defined and likable. What was Universal's reward to Disney for this? Well, they fired him and gave Oswald to others to animate!

In many ways, I think "Ozzie of the Mounted" is actually better than many of Disney's cartoons he and his staff would make following his leaving Universal and starting his own studio. The artwork is exceptional and clean and the gags first rate. I love how zany it is...with heads popping off and all sorts of other violent laughs

Overall, a wonderful silent cartoon...one of the better ones you can find. And, also worth seeing in order to see an early version of Peg Leg Pete....who was NOT created in "Steamboat Willie" but is the bad guy our Mountie friend, Oswald, is trying to bring to justice. And, incidentally, he looks quite a bit different....more wolf-like but still called Peg Leg Pete!

Here Oswald has the unlikely job of a Canadian Mountie. He is sent to bring in Pete, the object of many Disney films. This shows off a bit of animation, often repeating a successful visual. Still, it is chase footage with little variety. Oswald is very pliable, having his head removed and coming back again. It's a pretty typical offering of this series.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, goes in pursuit of Peg-Leg Pete.

Although still not a leading animation producer at this stage, Disney's technical form definitely showed improvements and by 1928, he was turning out some nice cartoons starring Oswald. Although the gags are fairly standard for animation in this period, Disney was careful in their layout and construction and there is a lovely bit of very full animation in the opening sequence.

Oswald is a key character in the history of animation because he was Disney's sole starring cartoon character at this point and, when he lost control of him and almost his entire staff to the rather underhanded dealings of Charles Mintz, would go on to basically revise him for Mickey Mouse -- take a look and you will see that Mickey, at the start was drawn almost identically with Oswald, except with 'globe' ears instead of long floppy rabbit ears like Oswald.

The copy shown in the Disney OSWALD DVD issued in 2007 is a fine print and further enhanced by a fine musical score provided by the wonderful Robert Israel and his orchestra. While not a great cartoon, it should not be missed by fans of animation.

Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding Disney characters (like Mickey, Donald and Goofy) and those from Looney Tunes. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like and what Disney animation was like before Mickey arrived on the scene.

'Ozzie of the Mounted' is not one of the best Oswald cartoons, 'Bright Lights' and 'Great Guns' being the best of the previous Oswald cartoons, while also not one of the weakest (the still decent enough 'All Wet'). Admittedly the story is slight and familiar and some of the pacing is a bit hectic.

The animation is very good on the other hand, it's crisp and fluid enough with some nice detail. The music is lush and energetic, adding a lot rather than distracting and enhances the cartoon's quality even.

While the gags are never hilarious or imaginative, they are still very amusing and well-timed and executed. Oswald is an endearing protagonist and Pete a lot of fun.

In summary, very nice cartoon. 7/10 Bethany Cox