Character from Alice Comedies And Laugh-O-Gram Shorts
Fictional character
Julius
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Julius as he appears in the 1925 film
Alice Gets Stung
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First appearance
| Little Red Riding Hood
(
July 29, 1922
)
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Last appearance
| Alice the Beach Nut
(
August 8, 1927
)
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Created by
| Walt Disney
Ub Iwerks
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|
Alias
| Mike, Peter the Puss
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Species
| Cat
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Gender
| Male
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Children
| Oscar the Cat (adopted)
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Julius the Cat
is a
fictional
anthropomorphic
cat
created in 1922 by
Walt Disney
and
Ub Iwerks
. He first appeared in the very first animated series created by Disney, the
Alice Comedies
, making him the predecessor of
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
and
Mickey Mouse
. Julius is an
anthropomorphic
cat
, appearing intentionally similar to
Felix the Cat
. A bold and inventive hero, he gradually became the primary focus of the
Alice Comedies
, to the point Disney abandoned live action for pure animation on subsequent projects.
Julius was the first of Disney's animated protagonists to battle
Pete
, their oldest continuing character.
The two "Julius Katz" stores on
Buena Vista Street
in
Disney California Adventure
are named in his honor.
History
[
edit
]
The character first appeared (nameless) in eight of the ten animated shorts created by Disney's first studio effort,
Laugh-O-Gram Studio
, the last of these being the
pilot
of the
Alice Comedies
,
Alice's Wonderland
.
[1]
: 14
After a trial run as "Mike" (in
Alice the Peacemaker
), he would receive his permanent name of Julius in
Alice's Egg Plant
,
[2]
making him Walt Disney's first named animated character.
[3]
: 302
The primary motivation for the creation of the character was that
Charles Mintz
wanted to have the greatest possible visual gags in the series.
[1]
: 14
Since the young Alice, first played by
Virginia Davis
, then only seven years old, could not be relied on for the comic role, she needed a partner, and Julius the Cat filled that role.
[1]
: 14
Throughout the course of the Alice series, the animated Julius was increasingly made the central focus, over the live action Alice.
[4]
In one of his first appearances,
Alice's Fishy Story
, Julius' tail demonstrates its great
versatility
, a recurring characteristic in the series.
[1]
: 15
Walt repeatedly played on the
mythology of cats having nine lives
.
[5]
In the short film
Alice the Peacemaker
, he is partnered with a mouse named Ike (a forerunner to
Mickey Mouse
). This cat/mouse pairing was one of many famous animated duos from
Krazy Kat
(and Ignatz) through
Tom and Jerry
and
Itchy and Scratchy
. Julius was the first of Disney's animated characters to be antagonized by
Pete
, beginning in
Alice Solves the Puzzle
. He would later
box
him in
Alice Picks the Champ
.
[6]
Character
[
edit
]
Julius was bold, resourceful and ingenious, playing the role of the hero, frequently rescuing
damsel-in-distress
Alice. He often used his prehensile tail to his advantage, as a crane, unicycle, ladder, or other useful tool.
Ub Iwerks
' unique animation style resulted in smooth, fluid movement.
[7]
Similarity to Felix
[
edit
]
In the early days of animation,
Felix the Cat
, who was created on November 9, 1919, by
Otto Messmer
for
Pat Sullivan
's studio, was the template for a successful animated character.
[8]
[9]
Julius' similarity to Felix was not accidental, but due to
Margaret Winkler
urging the reluctant Disney to copy him. She had been the distributor for Felix the Cat, but was constantly fighting with Sullivan, eventually leading to a split, so she turned to Disney to fill the void. Like Felix, Julius would pace and detach his tail. When he was in a quandary, visible question marks would form over his head. The
New York Times
went so far as to call Julius a "blatant clone... from the rubber-hose-and-circle design to the detachable body parts."
[10]
[11]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Many of the individual
Alice Comedies
films have been
re-released
, in packages like
Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts: 1920s?1960s
and
Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
. The
Mickey Mouse
cartoon
Runaway Brain
also features a character who, though visually modeled after
Pete
, is named Julius.
Disney California Adventure
's Julius Katz Shoe & Watch Repair and Julius Katz & Sons Appliance Repair stores on
Buena Vista Street
are named after Julius.
[12]
Filmography
[
edit
]
The Julius character appeared in 49 of the 57 films of the
Alice Comedies
series.
1922
[
edit
]
- Little Red Riding Hood
(anonymous appearance)
- The Four Musicians of Bremen
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- Jack the Giant Killer
- Goldie Locks and the Three Bears
- Puss in Boots
- Cinderella
1923
[
edit
]
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- Alice's Wonderland
(anonymous appearance; work unfinished at studio bankruptcy)
1924
[
edit
]
1925
[
edit
]
1926
[
edit
]
1927
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
John Grant,
The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters
- ^
"Intanibase"
.
Archived
from the original on November 27, 2018
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
Dave Smith,
Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia
- ^
Gabler, Neal (2007).
Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination
. Vintage Books. p. 87.
ISBN
9780679757474
.
Archived
from the original on March 24, 2017
. Retrieved
August 11,
2015
.
- ^
Robb, Brian J (October 16, 2014).
A Brief History of Walt Disney
. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 22.
ISBN
9781472110725
.
Archived
from the original on September 24, 2015
. Retrieved
August 12,
2015
.
- ^
Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J. B. (2000).
Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney
. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 30.
ISBN
978-0-8018-6429-2
.
Archived
from the original on May 6, 2022
. Retrieved
December 22,
2021
.
- ^
Lee, Newton; Madej, Krystina (April 26, 2012).
Disney Stories: Getting to Digital
. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 29.
ISBN
9781461421016
.
Archived
from the original on September 11, 2015
. Retrieved
August 12,
2015
.
- ^
Cart, Michael (March 31, 1991).
"The Cat With the Killer Personality"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on April 11, 2014
. Retrieved
August 21,
2009
.
- ^
Mendoza, N.F. (August 27, 1995).
"For fall, a classically restyled puddy tat and Felix the Cat"
.
LA Times
.
Archived
from the original on October 26, 2012
. Retrieved
August 24,
2010
.
- ^
Canemaker, John (July 10, 1994).
"Life Before Mickey"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on May 26, 2015
. Retrieved
August 10,
2015
.
- ^
Fischer, Lucy (April 15, 2009).
American Cinema of the 1920s: Themes and Variations
. Rutgers University Press. p. 131.
ISBN
978-0-8135-4715-2
.
Archived
from the original on May 6, 2022
. Retrieved
April 18,
2022
.
- ^
Glass, John (February 20, 2014).
Things To Do At Disney California Adventure 2014: The Ultimate Unauthorized Adventure Guide
. Alternative Travel Press. pp. 175?6.
Archived
from the original on September 24, 2015
. Retrieved
August 12,
2015
.
Disney
core universe characters
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Sensational Six
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Secondary
animated debuts
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Secondary
printed debuts
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Lists
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Related
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