As my fellow author Jennifer Fickley-Baker recently shared, this week marks the debut of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. At Disney Theme Park Merchandise, we’ve introduced a variety of Oswald merchandise this past year in honor of his 85th anniversary. Being a fan of Walt Disney Company history, I find it wonderful to see so many new items featuring this classic character. Here is a quick look at some of the Oswald merchandise.
One of the more celebrated (and highly desired) items created this year was an Oswald hat. The hat was created for our partners with Disney Interactive Studios to celebrate the upcoming release of Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on November 18. The hats were distributed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo and at San Diego Comic Con this past summer. I’m happy to report a Disney Parks version will be released in late October/early November. The hat features a different Oswald logo than the previous hat but is still just as awesome (I intend to wear it while playing the game).
This past summer also saw the opening of Oswald’s on Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure park. This new location contains a variety of “road trip essentials” including autograph books, hats, bag and more. During a recent visit to the park, I spotted the amazing vintage-inspired knitted Oswald plush. Denise Edelmaier, product developer for plush, said that the knitted plush was in development for about three years as they finally found a way to make the plush extra soft (early versions were too coarse).
Oswald also found his way onto a popular men’s tee-shirt and a collectible big figurine (or “big fig” as we sometimes call it) designed by Disney Design Group artist Randy Noble.
Disney pins started celebrating Oswald in January by releasing an 85th anniversary pin. We also released an open-edition pin, a limited-edition pin and a Hidden Mickey pin for Disneyland Resort. Look for another open-edition pin next spring.
But one of my favorite items (besides the hat) will be a new 3-inch Vinylmation figure from the Classic Collection series designed by Disney artist Eric Caszatt. Planned for release in early November, Oswald will be the mystery chaser figure. I know, it’s a spoiler but I couldn’t resist – the figure looks great!
Comments
I LOVE Oswald and am so excited that Disney Parks will soon be selling Oswald ears. I only wish you had stayed with the blue logo to match Oswald’s pants and set them apart from the Mickey ears that utilize red. Thanks for bringing them to the parks though 🙂
FINALLY!!!! Love the new merchandise! My 13 year old son is a HUGE Oswald fan. I guess we’ll need to get out to DLR and pick some up!
I am very excited about the Oswald merchandise. On our recent trip to Disneyland in August we spent hours going to each of the hat shops looking for the Oswald Ears. (It’s funny that we went to Disneyland instead of Comic Con because we couldn’t get tickets after 6 years of going) We are planning on returning for Thanksgiving, and my daughter will be extremely excited.
Hello! Sorry if I missed this, but will this Oswald merchandise be anywhere in Walt Disney World, perhaps in Downtown Disney? My family is going for Halloween and my daughter loves her Oswald doll I found in the Disney Store. Would love to surprise her with the matching hat! thanks
OMG I soo excited. I’ve been saying they should sell the ears in the parks ever since I got mine at SDCC. I’m so glad it’s going to be a reality now!
My son is going to be thrilled. He LOVES Oswald.
I am so happy to see people as riled up as I am for this
Oh this is wonderful news. My 6 year-old son absolutely loves the old cartoons, with Oswald being his favorite.
Will this hat be available online? Also, any word of a miniature version like the character themed hats announced roughly a month ago on the blog? (I don’t have a link right now sorry)
@Kieran – At this point, there are no plans for the hat to be sold via the Disney Parks online store. I also don’t know of plans for a MousekeEar version of the hat. Here’s the link to the MousekeEar story I shared a few weeks ago: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/08/collect-wear-or-share-new-mini-mousekeears-at-disney-parks-this-fall/
I love Oswald, I bought a bag for my daughter when my family went to Disneyland Paris last July! It’s a very charming cartoon, it remembers to me those old comics by Walt Disney I looked for antiques sellers….
Two questions … 1 do you have any idea how much the ears will cost and 2. can they be embroidered since they’ll have been bought in the park?
@Rochelle – I spoke with the ear hat team who said the retail for the hats will be $16.95 each (please note that all retails are subject to change without notice). As for embroidery, I haven’t received confirmation yet. The hats are made of the same material as the Mickey Mouse ear hats, so I would logically assume that they can have embroidery added.
I’ve waited for this momenmt for a long time. Now for his first new cartoon and comic book which will be in the cards I hope.
I love the merch, only wish the logo on the Oswald ears was BLUE instead of red!
@Marlon – I spoke with Megan Kachur from the ear hat team about your question. The red logo was used for two reasons: 1) To make a point of difference from the promotional ear hat that was given away at E3 / Comic Con. 2) The classic Mouse ear hat has used the red logo for years. The design team wanted to keep with that tradition for this hat.
sooo…it was all started by a bunny?…..im confused.
@Diana – Before the introduction of Mickey Mouse on November 18, 1928, there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He starred in a series of 26 silent cartoons made by Walt Disney between 1927 and 1928. I recommend this DVD set from DisneyStore.com if you want to see them – http://www.disneystore.com/disney-store-official-site-for-disney-merchandise-walt-disney-treasures-the-adventures-of-oswald-the-lucky-rabbit-dvd/mp/1312953/1000319/
!!!!!
the first thing I thought to my self as I clicked on the title, was “man, I hope they’ll have a Oswald Mickey Ear Hat” and the first thing I see is… THE HAT!!! I MUST GET ONE!!!
I really wish the old 18″ plush Oswald would come back. 🙁 He matches the other, normal plushes so well and my Mickey plush needs his brother! I don’t think the knitted Oswald is nearly as cute. :C
@Jennifer…I also got a pair at Comic-Con this year. I took my ears to Disneyland but they wouldn’t embroider them because I did not have a receipt. I was told that they could not embroider outside items because, if ruined, there would be no way for them to replace the item.
I love Oswald and waited forever for merchandise about him. 🙂
Hubby has the shirt, the plush, the med fig and all of the pins. We have the ears from E3 (the blue ones).
I’m so happy about this…it’s like, “shut up and take my money!” (but nicer)
@Michael – Thank you for the comment and for reading the articles. 🙂
@Travis – I am not aware of anything planned like that. Sorry.
@Michelle – That’s funny! And I’m happy to hear you are looking forward to the new Oswald things.
Do you have any plans to add a walk-around Oswald character to California Adventure? It would great to get pictures and autographs with him at Oswald’s Garage. Thematically it would represent Walt’s arrival to 1920’s Los Angeles to find him in that area of Buena Vista Street while having Mickey located farther down the street at Carthay Circle.
This is really cute stuff. I love this blog page lol.
I know one little guy in PA that’s gonna be very happy to hear this…
I love Epic Mickey, and I’m so glad that Oswald is getting more and more attention.
Its awesome that there is so much Oswald merchandise now! He deserves the attention.
YESSSSSS!!! I’m a big collector of Oswald, this makes me soooo happy!!! I somehow missed the 85th anniversary pin. Is it still for sale??
@Alison – The pin was released on January 12, 2012 at Disneyland and Walt Disney World (http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/pin?id=60643). It had an edition size of 2,000 and is unfortunately no longer available. Sorry.
I’ve got to get myself a pair of Oswald ears. Hopefully they will be in the park next time I visit.
I’ll be in DL the first week of October. Based on this post, it sounds like the ears hat won’t be available while I’m there. I’m stoked to pick up some of the other stuff if it’s available.
Will we be able to order any of these items online?
@Chris – I don’t believe so. We have an in-warehouse date of mid-October. Things have been known to arrive a little early but I can’t make any promises. At this point, there aren’t any plans to carry these items via the Disney Parks online store. I did see some other Oswald items (including a mini-plush) on DisneyStore.com
I love Oswald! My daughters would love an Oswald keychain size plush (and the ears, of course)!
Are the ears bendable?
@JC – Agreed! I love the material of that tee-shirt. I asked Robb LaFlamme from the softlines team about it. He said it’s called “slub jersey” which gives it a soft, vintage unfinished look.
@Andy – So I guess you are happy? LOL! I think you win the “most enthusiastic comment” award this time. 🙂
@Andy – The ears are not bendable.
WAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! OSWALD EARS! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Text doesn’t adequately convey how excited I am!
As an Epic Mickey fan, I’m so thrilled to see Oswald merch! I picked up the tee (which is TERRIFIC quality and material, by the way) at Disneyland while we were there for the half-marathon weekend, and I really love it! The Oswald ears are so cute!
I love the ears! I was lucky enough to get a pair at comic con. Sometimes I wear it at home just because; my mom just rolls her eyes at me when I do. I keep forgetting to bring them with me to Disneyland to get them embroidered. It’s fun to see people wear them as they’re hard to miss!
I also LOVE the vinylmation! Why did he have to be the chaser, it’ll be even tougher to get him 🙁
@Bobby – I’m so happy to hear that you like the items. As mentioned, I too am a long time fan Disney heritage and it’s exciting to see such a classic character. Thanks for sharing your comments.
@Jennifer – Lucky! I didn’t get to go to Comic Con this year (went in 2010 and LOVED the TRON: Legacy experience). I saw many of the E3 / Comic Con ears during a recent visit to Disneyland, and I hope to see many more next time. 🙂
Being a die-hard Disney fan, I got to say, I’m really loving how Disney is reintroducing Oswald to it’s fanbase. When Walt lost the rights to Oswald back in 1928, Oswald became a thing of the past for Disney, like a forgotten character (like it’s mentioned in Epic Mickey). But with the reintroduction of Oswald starting with the video games to now the merchandising, I can easily see Oswald regaining his Disney fame. The merchandise shown are a most have for Disney fans alike…and I gotta say, I need to get me a set of those Oswald ears. I’ve wanted a pair ever since I first saw them online during E3. Well done Disney on reintroducing an amazing piece of Disney history. (I already have the Oswald plush and open edition pin. )
I LOVE this merchandise, especially the ear hat! Walt would be so proud to see Oswald featured so prominently. 🙂
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