Felix the Cat poster
Felix the Cat was a huge film star in the 1920s. He is widely considered the world’s first animated superstar and between the twenties and up to the fifties Felix was the most famous cat in the world. Felix started his career in 1919 in silent movies and became an overnight star, a hit with the public at large. The mischievous but loveable black and white cat is a cartoon character with human traits. He is still one of the most recognisable cartoon characters in film history. Felix became the first cartoon character to achieve enough popularity that people would go to the cinema because his films were on.
It’s not really a surprise he was such a big hit. One look at the mischievous cat chuckling to himself on this vintage style poster is enough to make anyone smile!
Which cartoon character was created in 1919?
Which cartoon character was created in 1919? and Who created Felix the Cat? are two subjects that still appear fairly regularly as pub quiz questions and in crossword puzzle clues.
The first question is easy to answer.
Felix got his big break on the silver screen in 1919, when he appeared as the star in a four and a bit minute animated short ‘Feline Follies.’ The cartoon predates Mickey Mouse’s first appearance as Steamboat Willie by some nine years!
The second question… not so easy!
Even today, after more than 100 years, Felix’s pedigree remains disputed. Pat Sullivan was an Australian cartoonist and film entrepreneur and owner of the Felix character. Otto Mesmer was the lead animator at Sullivan’s film studio. During their lifetimes both men claimed they were responsible for bringing the mischievous cat to life. Whichever of the two men did, it was the contributions from both men that turned Felix the Cat into a huge star.
In addition to Sullivan’s animated shorts, in 1923 Felix became a star in England through a comic strip that appeared in the Daily Sketch newspaper. The series ran weekly for twelve episodes, penciled and inked by Messmer.
By now Felix had become a star in America and his image was turned into toys, ceramics, clothing, posters and postcards.
By the late 1920s, with the arrival of sound cartoons, Felix’s fame was on the wane. For whatever reason Sullivan was unwilling to take Felix into the world of sound. It was a big mistake. The new sound cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse put out by Disney, made Felix the Cat seem old and outdated. It would be 1929 before Sullivan decided to make the transition to sound. It was too late! The sound Felix shorts proved to be a failure and the operation ended in 1932.
Even when Felix’s screen career faded in the 1930’s, the famous cat spent a couple of decades featuring in a series of comic books and comic strips. This was the era when Joe Oriolo, Messmer’s assistant took over. Oriola made small changes to Felix’s appearance. making him look friendlier and more appealing to children but he never reached the heights of Disney’s mouse.
Felix the Cat, in film and tv
In total Felix the Cat made 184 cartoons, 169 silent and 15 sound cartoons. He also featured in almost 250 episodes of Felix the Cat, The Twister Tales of Felix and Baby Felix on televison.
In the first two Felix cartoons was known as Master Tom. The first 25 Felix the Cat short cartoons were shown in theatres between 1919 and 1921 and are now available to view in the British Pathé collection.
A complete list of animated films starring Felix the Cat can be found here on Wikipedia.
Meet Felix, one of the most famous cats in the world. He wants to make you smile and brighten up your walls. If you love cats with attitude, charisma and style! This posters for you Felix has got it all!
