Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is still funnier than Mickey

So, Oh What a Knight is one of those early Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts that makes you realize why Walt Disney was so incredibly bitter when he lost the rights to the character. If you have got six minutes to spare today, yeah, it is absolutely worth your time.

It is for anyone who likes seeing how animation used to be basically a series of magic tricks performed on paper. If you can’t stand black and white or silent films with that flickering grain, you will probably find it annoying or just plain boring.

The plot is paper thin, which is fine. Oswald is a wandering minstrel—think a rabbit with a banjo—and he spots his lady love being kept prisoner in a very wobbly-looking castle.

What follows is basically one long, creative chase. It has that specific 1928 energy where physics do not really exist yet.

There is this great moment where Oswald duels the big villain (who is an early version of Pete) and it is honestly better than most modern CGI fights. They use shadows and silhouettes in a way that feels really clever for the time.

Oswald’s ears are the MVP of the whole movie. They become hands, they become a cape, they even become propellers at one point.

I love how the animation isn't trying to be realistic or "prestige." It is just trying to be funny and a little bit rude.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic weirdness you see in Felix Monkeys with Magic, though Oswald feels a bit more grounded in his weight. Not by much, though.

The castle itself looks like it was drawn by someone who was in a huge hurry. Sometimes the lines for the stones don't even meet at the corners.

But that is the charm, right? You can almost feel Ub Iwerks’ hand moving the pen across the cells.

There is a scene where they are sliding down a banister and it goes on just a little too long. It starts to feel awkward, but then they hit a bump and it becomes funny again.

The ending is very abrupt. It just... stops. Like they ran out of paper or the sun came up and the animators had to go to their day jobs.

It is way more interesting to watch than something like Susie Snowflake because it feels alive and dangerous. Oswald has this mischievous glint in his eye that Mickey lost once he became a mascot.

Oswald isn't a "good boy." He is a bit of a jerk, and he is definitely a cheater when it comes to sword fighting.

I think that is why the character still works. He is just a rabbit trying to get his girl and he will break the laws of reality to do it. 🏰

The way the characters squash and stretch is so fluid. It is actually better than some of the stuff from the late 30s that tried to be too perfect.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Oh What a Knight (1928) through its definitive frames.

If you have ever sat through All for a Husband, you know how those old silents can sometimes feel like they are dragging their feet through mud. This one moves at 100 miles an hour.

I will admit, the middle bit where they are just running through identical-looking hallways gets a bit repetitive. I think I counted the same background loop three times.

But then something weird happens, like Oswald turning into a literal ball to bounce away, and you are back in it. It is pure joy.

It is a bit like Kipps in how it handles a very simple, old-fashioned romance, just with way more rabbits and zero dialogue. Actually, comparing it to Kipps is probably a reach, I just like how both feel like relics of a different brain space.

The final escape on the horse is great. The horse looks like it hasn't slept in three weeks.

I noticed a tiny detail in the background—a window that isn't quite symmetrical. It kept drawing my eye and made the whole castle feel like a dream world.

You don't need a deep analysis or a degree in film history to enjoy this. It is just good, old-fashioned cartooning that doesn't care about your feelings.

If you like this, maybe check out The Winning Stroke for a different kind of vintage energy. That one is not a cartoon, but it has that same "we are just making this up as we go" vibe.

Anyway, watch Oh What a Knight for the ear-fencing alone. It is the best thing you will see today. ⚔️

Also, the lady rabbit/cat character looks exactly like Oswald but with a skirt. It is lazy, but it somehow makes sense in this universe.

I wonder if Walt knew this would still be watchable a hundred years later. Probably not. He was probably just worried about the ink drying too slow.

There is a sense of desperation in the gags. Like they had to pack every single idea they had into these few minutes.

It isn't "visually stunning" in the way people say about movies now. It is visually vibrant.

I’ll take a wobbly hand-drawn castle over a perfect CGI one any day of the week. It has more soul.

It makes me miss when movies could just be silly. No lore. No cinematic universe. Just a rabbit, a girl, and a very long sword fight.

If you watch it, pay attention to the way the villain's belly moves when he laughs. It is such a small, weird bit of animation that feels totally unnecessary but perfect.