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FIRST APPEARING IN 1919, Otto Mesmer's and Pat Sullivan's Felix the Cat was the world's first really big cartoon star - it has been estimated that 3/4 of the world's population had seen or could recognize Felix at the height of his fame. During recent years, his popularity has exploded with over 50 new licensing deals only since 2003, based on the character's retro value and cutting-edge graphic style.
The squat, black body and huge, wide eyes and grin of Felix are still recognizable worldwide. The character can be found on fashion runways and many famous actors are Felix fans. Felix fashions have been featured in Elle, Elle Junior, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, People and the New York Times. Licensees in Plus Licens territories include Balancia-Midania for personal care products in the Nordic countries and LNK TV for television in Lithuania. Art is available both in modern stylized graphic designs and in retro style based on the original cartoons and comics.
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TM & ©
Felix the Cat Productions, Inc.
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Felix' name combines feline and felicity, and a recurrent theme in the original Felix the Cat cartoons is the title character as a "good-luck cat", bringing good luck to people in trouble. The character's recognizable movements and facial expressions, based on careful study of Charlie Chaplin's silent shorts, were ground-breaking in the history of animation. The original cartoons are full of visual gags and puns and imaginative details - Felix' tail can, for instance, transform into almost anything from an ice-cream scoop into a question mark - while Felix himself was the first animated character to express personality and intelligence.
Felix the Cat well deserves his reputation as the world's first cartoon star. The character was created by Otto Messmer for the five-minute short Feline Follies, included as part of a Paramount Magazine serial release to Paramount-Publix Theatres in November of 1919. The name Felix appeared in the third cartoon, and the character soon grew to be immensely popular. In 1928, his was the first image ever broadcast across television airwaves, as NBC Studios used a Felix doll as a test model for the new RCA television camera. The previous year, Felix was the first balloon to appear in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the character was so popular that Charles Lindbergh carried a Felix doll with him on his historic transatlantic flight.
A Felix the Cat comic strip was drawn by Otto Messmer from 1923 until 1943 and the character is now published in various magazines and publications through Felix Comics, Inc.
264 animated five-minute Felix episodes were produced in the late fifties by Joe Oriolo, Messmer's co-drawer, and were immediately picked up for syndication. The episodes ran continuously for the next 20 years and are still being shown around the world. In the mid-eighties, Joe Oriolo's son Don Oriolo produced the feature film Felix the Cat the Movie that successfully entertained audiences throughout the world. 60 very successful "bumpers" or "pre-commercial announcements", created by Felix the Cat Creations, were followed by the television series The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, premiering in the US in 1996 and throughout the world with excellent ratings! They are now available on DVD worldwide. In Plus Licens territories, 21 half-hours of The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat have recently been sold to LNK TV in Lithuania.
The feature film Felix the Cat Saves Christmas, created and produced by Don Oriolo, was released on VHS/DVD in 2005. There are currently plans for additional feature films.
Also available are 26 half-hour episodes of the TV series Baby Felix and Friends, created and produced by Don Oriolo in co-operation with NHK and NEC Japan.
Plus Licens represents Felix the Cat Creations for merchandising, promotion, publishing and TV/video distribution rights to Felix the Cat in the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe.
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