Yesterday, it was revealed that Disney would be resurrecting one of the studio's founding figures with a series starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with Jon Favreau at the helm. Although we're thrilled to see Oswald bound his way back into action, all magic still comes at a price.
The project has been described as a live-action/animation hybrid with Favreau writing and producing, but there's something very familiar about this update, only the cast has changed.
Oswald rips off Roger
Disney has tried to keep Oswald relevant since before Epic Mickey, but getting him on modern screens has been easier said than done. From cameos in other films to one cancelled project, it feels like the rabbit has been out of luck for some time.
Now that Favreau's involvement has been made public, the question on our minds has been "what are they going to do with Oswald now?" A natural response, but if you're anything like this writer, something feels a bit too familiar about this scenario.
An animation/live-action hybrid with an animated rabbit made Disney a lot of money in the past, but we're not talking about any black-and-white bunny here. In the late '80s/early '90s, Roger Rabbit was the luckiest lapine in the world, and he made Disney bookus box office bucks.
There was a time when Roger and his toon crew were everywhere from Disney TV specials to Disney Parks attractions. However, like so many animated icons, Disney has been using him less and less as the years go by. If it wasn't for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin at Disneyland, he would be just another piece of Disney's past.
Although little is known about the project's plot, there's no denying that the premise alone feels a bit too familiar. After banishing the planned sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit to development hell, it feels like Disney might be erasing a nostalgic figure with another.
This feels counterintuitive to Disney's latest wave of nostalgia bait seen at the parks (as seen with '90s Nite), but it might still be nostalgia for another era. That said, Oswald is still a favorite for a very niche audience.
While this writer applauds Disney for finally giving life back to one of the building blocks of the brand, let's hope it doesn't take too much from another famous rabbit in the process.
The new Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series is set to have its debut on Disney+.