Jon Favreau took the D23 stage Friday night to unveil the first look at Oswald, now confirmed as a three-part mini-series hitting Disney+ in February 2027.
Per Brandon Davis, the series is entirely hand-drawn 2D animation, with Disney bringing back a lot of animators to pull it off, and the footage shown came from a project still in production.
Davis adds it’s “set in many historic locations that Disney fans will realize,” including Walt Disney’s own office, with filming taking place at Disneyland about a year ago.
The first look shows Oswald standing on Walt’s desk, a hand-drawn character dropped into real spaces in the grand Who Framed Roger Rabbit tradition.
The Rabbit That Built The Mouse
Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927, a full year before Mickey. A 1928 rights dispute handed the character to Universal and cost Walt most of his animators, and Mickey Mouse was invented as the replacement.
Bob Iger famously brought Oswald home in 2006 by trading sportscaster Al Michaels to NBCUniversal, one of the strangest deals in Hollywood history.
Since then the character has popped up in the parks, the Epic Mickey games, and a 2022 short that marked his first hand-drawn appearance in 95 years. This series is easily the biggest Oswald project ever.
Favreau Goes Old School
Favreau writes, directs, and produces, with SPA Studios in Spain, the outfit behind Klaus, handling the hand-drawn animation, as Favreau himself confirmed earlier this year.
The live-action side centers on three middle schoolers played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Ryder Allen, with a cast that also includes Amy Sedaris and Kathryn Hahn, making it a two-project night for Hahn after her Tangled showcase moment.
Oswald streams on Disney+ in February 2027.
