The DreamWorks Animation juggernaut has rolled over another classic property, with head honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg announcing at Licensing Expo that the company has acquired the rights to Felix the Cat.
“Felix really goes beyond evergreen status and rises to something even more uncommon, as he is a true icon,” Katzenberg told Variety. “We plan to make him one of the most desired fashion brands in the world.”
Felix the Cat first appeared on the screen almost 100 years ago, in Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer’s silent short Feline Follies (1919). The mischievous mammal went on to star in a slew of shorts and series and became a pop culture icon. Katzenberg did not reveal any plans for a DWA Felix film, although the idea is likely. The studio released a CG adaptation of Mr. Peabody & Sherman earlier this year and recently announced feature plans for the Harvey Comics character Hot Stuff.
Katzenberg also revealed more about the studio’s planned holiday season theme attraction DreamWorks’ DreamHouse, which will be a sort of Santa’s workshop populated with characters from DWA films and will pop up somewhere in the U.S. in time for Christmas 2014.
“We plan to make him one of the most desired fashion brands in the world.”
And, of course, that’s what animation is about – desirable fashion brands. Have a little respect for the old cat, this “icon” as Katzenberg rightly calls him.
Looks like more CG garbage on the way, I am quickly loosing more and more respect every time they remake an old classic cartoon with CG just to milk an old name.
Please be original, you have deep pockets DreamWorks, I am not impressed.
I just read a history of the Sullivan Studio describing the relationship between Pat Sullivan (creator and comic strip artist for the Felix character) and Otto Messmer who was instrumental in bringing Felix, via animation, to an international audience. According to this account, Mr. Messmer, who was the studio director for all the early Felix cartoons, lived his life in the dark shadow of his mentor, Pat Sullivan. It was Sullivan’s alcoholism and sexual addictions that ultimately led to the demise of the studio and ended the dream for both creators. Messmer, never really recovered from the premature death (due to alcohol-related consequences) of of his mentor, Pat Sullivan, nor did he receive any rights to the future use of his beloved character, Felix the Cat. For this reason, the ‘old cat’ and his creators deserve to receive some new recognition.