Barb Netteler FLST 2070.01 Felix the Cat In the early 1920s, Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer are credited with creating one of the first animated characters to achieve worldwide fame. In 1919, Messmer was instructed by Sullivan’s studio to create a short that would be shown before a feature film. The end result was Feline Follies, which was the first appearance of Felix the Cat. However, for a time it was not entirely clear who created Felix-- Sullivan or Messmer. Even though Sullivan’s name was the only one to appear on the credits for many of the Felix cartoons, with the help of Joe Oriolo, Messmer was given the credit he deserved as Felix‘s creator in the 1960‘s. Otto Messmer was born in Union City, New Jersey on August 16, 1892. In 1911 to 1913, he attended the Thomas School of Art in New York City. He was greatly inspired by Winsor McCay’s and had his first publication in newspapers and magazines in 1912. One of his comics even appeared in the New York World. In 1917, Messmer drew the attention of Pat Sullivan and the two worked together on the series The Travels of Teddy, which dramatized the adventures of United State‘s President Theodore Roosevelt. The two continued to work together until Messmer was drafted for World War I in 1917. When he returned to the United States two years later, Messmer was put in charge of a project for Paramount Screen Magazine and Felix was born. Messmer stayed active and continued to work with Felix for over fifty years before finally retiring in 1973. Messmer died on October 28, 1983. Pat Sullivan, born Patrick O’Sullivan, was born in Sydney, New South Wales on February 2, 1887. Sullivan became interested in animation after moving to New York. He produced a number of advertising films and a series based off of the comedy of Charlie Chaplin. His real success, though, came with the Felix the Cat cartoons and the subsequent marketing of them. However, during the rise of sound film in the 1930’s, Sullivan was unable to make the change from silent films to sound. After struggling with his business and the death of his wife in 1932, Sullivan finally died on February 15, 1933. Messmer’s assistant and protégé, Joseph Oriolo was born on February 21, 1913, in Union City, New Jersey. Joe was given permission by Messmer to remake Felix, giving the cartoons a new look and feel. Joe introduced Felix’s bag of magic tricks and various new characters to the Felix universe. In the 1950’s, Joe produced over 250 episodes featuring the remade Felix for Trans-Lux TV. By this point, Joe’s son Don Oriolo had shown a talent with creating and managing Felix. With his father’s death on December 25, 1985, Don was left to carry on the Felix legacy. Since then, Don has taken charge of Felix and friends and continues to produce new material to this day. Felix the Cat was a hugely popular character. He was also the first star of television. In 1928, the very first RCA television broadcasts featured a 13” paper mache Felix. They choose Felix because of his black and white coloring and the fact that he could sit under the hot stage lights for hours at a time. The broadcast, while only transmitted in 60 lines and was received at about two inches tall, lasted for two hours each day. Even though by 1931 the line-up had increased to include photographs and other dolls, Felix held his place on the stage for over a decade. Felix’s real call to fame, however, was on the big screen. During the 1920’s, Felix was a huge success. His antics and the surreal situations of the cartoons were what the people wanted to see. The comedic sense of timing was a throw back to Sullivan’s studio’s work with Charlie Chaplin. Felix also had a sense of “child-like wonder” with the world around him, helping and bringing luck to those he would meet. Plus, his typical “thinking” pose-- pacing with his head down and arms behind his back-- became iconic of someone in trouble or deep thought. His popularity was given another boost in 1922 when Felix was given his own comic strip, which was drawn by Messmer. Felix cartoons and comics were distributed through out the United States and Europe. His merchandise included things like toys, figurines, post cards, and plushies. There were even songs made about Felix, the most popular of which was the 1923 single “Felix Kept on Walking.” Signs of Felix’s popularity could be seen in places outside of the cinema and merchandise stores. In 1921-22, Felix became the mascot for the 1922 New York Yankees and Winslow B. Felix, a Los Angeles Chevrolet dealer. A Felix doll was carried onboard with Charles Lindbergh during his flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Felix also became the unit insignia for the US Navy’s Bombing Squadron Two (VB-2B). When the squadron was designated as the VF-6B and then the VF-3 in the 1930’s, the Felix insignia was carried on. After World War II, the original Felix squadron was disbanded and the insignia was picked up by the fighter squadron VF-31. The squadron has been nicknamed the “Tomcatters” and still bares the Felix insignia to this day. However, by the late 1920’s Felix’s popularity had begun the wane. The rise of sound films and characters like Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse were more of a draw to audiences than the still silent Felix. Even when Sullivan finally decided to release the cartoons in sound in 1929, it proved to be too late to save Felix and production was stopped in 1930. A sound and color Felix was attempted in 1936 by Van Beuren Studios and three cartoons were made, but the attempt was met with little to no success. Messmer, who had long since devoted himself to the Felix comics strips that appeared in Sunday papers, had to give it up in 1943 when the strip was discontinued. In 1954, Messmer retired completely from the Felix newspaper strips. Instead he focused on the creation of monthly comic books featuring Felix for Dell Comics. Under the direction of Joe Oriolo, Felix found a new home in 1953: television. Equipped with longer legs and a bag of magic tricks, Felix became a television smash with episodes running for the next twenty years. However, this new Felix lacked the punch and wonder of Messmer’s Felix. Designed for children, the new television cartoons centered around a plot were various “bad guys” would attempt to steal Felix’s magic bag. Even though the plot lines were very simple and animation was limited by a small budget, the cartoons brought Felix back into the spotlight. Bibliography Felix the Cat. Mohawk Media. 29 September 2007. Bendazzi, Giannalberto. Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation. Trans. Anna Taraboletti-Segre. London: John Libbey & Company Ltd., 1994. Otto Messmer. Toon Pro Studios. 27 September 2007. “Pat Sullivan.” Lambiek.net 13 July 2006. 27 September 2007. Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Canemaker, John. Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World’s Most Famous Cat. New York: Pantheon, 1991.