Members of the Australian Cartoonist Association have demonstrated that lettering used in " Feline Follies" matches Sullivan's handwriting. On a visit to Australia in 1925, Sullivan told the Australian The Argus newspaper that "The idea was given to me by the sight of a cat which my wife brought to the studio one day." On other occasions, he claimed that Felix had been inspired by Rudyard Kipling's "The Cat that Walked by Himself" or by his wife's love for strays. Sullivan stated in numerous newspaper interviews that he created Felix and did the key drawings for the character.
The question of who created Felix remains a matter of dispute. Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo, later assumed creative control of Felix. As of the 2010s, Felix is featured on a variety of merchandise from clothing to toys. The cat has since starred in other television programs and in two feature films. Joe Oriolo introduced a redesigned, "long-legged" Felix, added new characters, and gave Felix a "Magic Bag of Tricks" that could assume an infinite variety of shapes at Felix's behest.
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Felix saw a brief three cartoon resurrection in 1936 by the Van Beuren Studios.įelix cartoons began airing on American TV in 1953. The sound Felix shorts proved to be a failure and the operation ended in 1930. In 1929, Sullivan decided to make the transition and began distributing Felix sound cartoons through Copley Pictures. The new Disney shorts of Mickey Mouse made the silent offerings of Sullivan and Messmer, who were then unwilling to move to sound production, seem outdated.
Felix's new looks, coupled with Messmer's character animation, brought Felix to fame.īy the late 1920s with the arrival of sound cartoons Felix's success was fading. In 1924, animator Bill Nolan redesigned the fledgling feline, making him both rounder and cuter. Jazz bands such as Paul Whiteman's played songs about him (1923's " Felix Kept On Walking" and others). Several manufacturers made stuffed Felix toys. Aside from the animated shorts, Felix starred in a comic strip (drawn by Messmer) beginning in 1923, and his image soon adorned merchandise such as ceramics, toys and postcards. What is certain is that Felix emerged from Sullivan's studio, and cartoons featuring the character enjoyed success and popularity in 1920s popular culture. American animator Otto Messmer, Sullivan's lead animator, has been credited as such. Australian cartoonist/film entrepreneur Pat Sullivan, owner of the Felix character, claimed during his lifetime to be the cat's creator. He also is taller in many later incarnations, being close to the size of a child rather than a cat.įelix the Cat made his debut in the 1919 animated short " Feline Follies".įelix's origins remain disputed.
In the 20's he had visible whiskers and short legs, but in later adaptions, the whiskers were scrapped and he was given longer legs. Unlike many cartoon characters from the 1920s-40s, Felix's overall design has changed very little over the years.įelix is a black cat with a white snout and large eyes that take up most of his face, similar to Mickey Mouse's earliest designs for the shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho.
In the 1950s cartoon and later incarnations, he is shown to have a fondness for puns, making them every chance he gets.įelix compared to Princess Oriana a human adult. In the 1936 cartoons, he is portrayed as more innocent and child-like, and thus less mischievous. Notably, a lot of his 1920s shorts revolve around him trying to get food by any means necessary, even going as far as stealing from other people. While Felix's personality varies by adaption, he is generally always portrayed as mischievous, but good-hearted, and willing to help others in need.
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