Why did so many Felix the Cat silents survive in 35mm?

[Darren Nemeth]

I have a fragment of a Felix cartoon on 35mm AGFA safety film. The box of other films it came with have 1924 - 25 Kodak edge codes.

Out of all silent animation this series seems to have a good survival rate.

Were a lot of the titles printed on safety?

[Chris Snowden]

I have a fragment of a Felix cartoon on 35mm AGFA safety film. The box of other films it came with have 1924 - 25 Kodak edge codes.

Out of all silent animation this series seems to have a good survival rate.

Were a lot of the titles printed on safety?

Yes, the Felixes were being chopped up and sold on 16mm for toy projectors from the 1920s onward. Many more were available for rental through Kodascope Libraries. A huge package of them were also distributed to TV stations in the 1950s, and these turn up on eBay all the time.

The producers of the original cartoons weren't real careful about getting all their prints back from the exchanges, and a great many of the copyrights were never renewed (I doubt that the original copyrights were ever defended anyway). Not only that, but since they're basically just animated line drawings, someone could dupe an original and have a print that would still look great, so prints of the Felixes have been all over the place for ages.

[Harold Aherne]

The producers of the original cartoons weren't real careful about getting all their prints back from the exchanges, and a great many of the copyrights were never renewed (I doubt that the original copyrights were ever defended anyway). Not only that, but since they're basically just animated line drawings, someone could dupe an original and have a print that would still look great, so prints of the Felixes have been all over the place for ages.

This is a good time to ask about something I've been wondering for a while--I presume (maybe wrongly) that Felix is still a trademarked character, so could the current owners of his image claim "underlying rights" for the Felix short subjects, even if the actual copyrights weren't renewed?

As an aside, I *love* Felix. I showed "Feline Follies" from 1919 to one of my classes at the end of a semester, and they really liked it, even though they had little familiarity with silents. I also think the charicatures in "Felix in Hollywood" are a riot, especially the one of Will Hays!

-Harold

[Chris Snowden]

This is a good time to ask about something I've been wondering for a while--I presume (maybe wrongly) that Felix is still a trademarked character, so could the current owners of his image claim "underlying rights" for the Felix short subjects, even if the actual copyrights weren't renewed?

I was hoping someone more knowledgeable would reply, but as far as I know, you can't restrict a public-domain film just because it includes a likeness that was later trademarked.

Chaplin's Keystone films are public domain, so you could put them on a DVD, but you could get in trouble with Association Chaplin if you put his image on the cover without their permission.

Somehow an early Disney talkie novelty called Minnie's Yoo-Hoo fell into public domain, and the cartoon characters are all trademarked, but I don't think Big Mouse ever went after anyone for putting it on those $1.99 VHS tapes you'd see at the drug store.

[SecondReel]

There is a Felix filmography (doc file) at the Golden Age of Cartoons that is broken down by archive and media type. They have most of the Paramount output as lost. They are also looking for info on some apparent 1928-29 First National (re?)releases.

[Jack Theakston]

In 2003, it was decided by the US Supreme Court in the Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. case that underlying trademarks cannot be used as a basis of a lawsuit if the material in question is in the public domain.

[MGH]

There will be a broadcast of FELIX SAVES THE DAY
on cable, Sunday night at 12. Check your local listings for time and channel in your area.

[moviefan]

now here is some really funny cartoons. i love the felix ones too.
Felix's origins remain disputed. Australian cartoonist/film entrepreneur Pat Sullivan, owner of the Felix character, claimed during his lifetime to be its creator as well. American animator Otto Messmer, Sullivan's lead animator, has more commonly been assigned credit in recent decades. Some historians argue that Messmer ghosted for Sullivan. What is certain is that Felix emerged from Sullivan's studio, and cartoons featuring the character enjoyed success and popularity in the 1920s.

In the early 1920s Felix enjoyed enormous popularity in popular culture. He got his own comic strip (drawn by Messmer) beginng in 1923[1], and his image soon adorned all sorts of merchandise from ceramics to toys to postcards. There were several manufacturers who made stuffed Felix toys. Jazz bands such as Paul Whiteman's played songs about him (1923's "Felix Kept On Walking" and others).

By the late 1920s with the arrival of sound cartoons Felix's success was fading. 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. In 1929, Sullivan decided to make the transition and began distributing Felix sound cartoons through Copley Pictures. The sound Felix shorts proved to be a failure and the operation ended in 1930 with Sullivan himself passing away in 1933. Felix saw a brief three cartoon resurrection in 1936 by the Van Beuren Studios.

Felix cartoons began airing on American TV in 1953. Meanwhile, Joe Oriolo, who was now directing the Felix comic strips, introduced a redesigned, "long-legged" Felix in a new animated series for TV. Oriolo also added new characters, and gave Felix a "Magic Bag of Tricks", which could assume an infinite variety of shapes at Felix's behest. The cat has since starred in other television programs and in two feature films. Felix is still featured on a wide variety of merchandise from clothing to toys. Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo, now controls creative work on Felix movies
i have one of the felix toys from 1920s or early 30s.its a pencil case.