Felix the Cat

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[[File:Felix_the_Cat.jpg|fram]

{{quote|Felix the Cat, The wonderful, wonderful cat. Whenever he gets in a fix, He reaches into his bag of tricks... Felix the Cat, The wonderful, wonderful cat. You'll laugh so much, your sides will ache, Your heart will go pitter pat, Watching Felix, the wonderful cat!|Felix the Cat [[Theme Son], 1950s}}

One of the oldest and [[Long Runner|longest lastin] animated cartoon characters, Felix the Cat, created by animator [[Otto Messme] made his 1919 theatrical debut as one of several cartoon components in Paramount Screen Magazine split-reels, then graduated to a standalone series in 1922. He was the star of an experimental TV broadcast in 1928 (leading [[The Other Wik] to call him the first television star), and the basis for a classic (but unauthorized!) wall-clock design. Felix's adorable appearance, witty personality, love of high living, and comically versatile tail helped him achieve a level of popularity that he maintained until 1929, when studio founder/CEO Pat Sullivan refused to produce sound films.

After a failed attempt at a Felix revival via sound and color during [[The Golden Age of Animatio] via [[Van Beuren Studio], the cat eventually migrated to a hit TV series in the very late 1950s. Despite having [[In Name Only|virtually nothing in common with the original cartoon], these TV shorts were a smash hit, and ultimately immortalized Felix as a pop-culture icon. Jack Mercer, better known as [[Popey], did all the character voices in the Trans-Lux Felix series.

Pat Sullivan claimed during his lifetime to have invented Felix himself. This conventional wisdom lasted until the 1960s, at which time the Sullivan estate's controlling interest in Felix was bought out. With no more need to placate Sullivan's heirs, surviving staffers named longtime lead animator Otto Messmer as Felix's actual creator.

Apart from Messmer, the best-known Felix developer was Joe Oriolo, Messmer's assistant from the 1940s onward. Oriolo took over production of Felix comics and managed the Trans-Lux TV series himself, creating Felix's Magic Bag of Tricks and beloved bad guys such as The Professor, Rock Bottom and Master Cylinder.

During the mid-1980s, Felix co-starred with fellow cartoon icon Betty Boop in a short-lived comic strip written and drawn by Mort Walker (better known as the creator of [[Beetle Baile]) and his sons. Felix also starred with his friends and foes in cartoon creation software shipped with Apple Macintosh Performa computers. In 1991, he got his big screen break in [[Felix the Cat: The Movi], and in 1995, the Film Roman series [[The Twisted Tales of Felix the Ca] was shown on CBS Saturday mornings after Felix appeared in commercial bumpers on that network.

Since then, Felix has had on-and-off revivals, from the Japan-only Baby Felix to the 2004 direct-to-video special Felix the Cat Saves Christmas. Don Oriolo, the current owner of the series, claims that another cartoon series is planned, being done entirely in CGI, due by 2013.

[[I Thought You Meant|Absolutely no relatio] to [[Fritz the Cat (comics)|Fritz the Ca], by the way.

Has a [[Felix the Cat/Characters|Character Shee].

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Available Filmography

• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbX-BeSY_18 Feline Follie: The debut of Felix.
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kce6ecPDtno Felix Saves The Da
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ahS75Xh_WA Felix Wins Ou
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI9OgmCxx38 Felix Does His Dut
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs-NmKPDit4 Felix Land of Fanc
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT7yhjjYfwM Felix Gym Gem
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj14VidkaAg Felix Daze and Knight
• Unknown Clip?
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liy3YAsJ_-o Felix In The Swi
• Felix Minds The Kid
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLkLdraqvA8 Felix And A Painte
• Felix In Mr. Do All: Recolored Print.
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTJkl7zLvQc Felix in Eskimotiv
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGuYBR0qNvk Felix Turns The Tid
• Felix Lends A Hand
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRx0oVJqTNE Felix In The Stone Ag
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNX4usqqqnQ Felix The Ghost Breake
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jErPv19Zu1M Felix Revolt
• Felix Gets Broadcasted
• Felix In Hollywood: One of [[The 50 Greatest Cartoon].
• Felix In Fairyland
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41LAW972NGE Felix Goes A-Huntin
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeShWqVD9Fk Felix Doubles For Darwi
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kWhrdA9FQA Felix Finds Ou
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQTdOxiCYj8 Felix Finds 'Em Fickl
• Felix All Balled Up
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipk0xx9BHf0 Felix Goes Wes
• Felix All Puzzled
• Felix Gets His Fill
• Felix Monkeys With Magic
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBacHvDcJjc Felix Gets The Ca
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-WXe_i14eY Felix Dopes It Ou
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdbgx9NsY20 Felix Two-Lip Tim
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sctKhpImQo0 Felix in The Non-Stop Frigh
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VjUehiO5eM Felix In Sure Locked Home
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3h72ibzyz8 Felix In April Maz
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxailD4Ofq4 Felix Woos Whoopi
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSl14gDbK7c Felix In Futuritz
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9whhNUK0Y Felix in Arabiantic
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idwj3V88cCo Felix Trifles With Tim
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVYsvYqiK-g Felix In False Vase
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYJwcOHUwIY Felix in Eats Are Wes
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTNYEqc6nuE Felix in One Good Tur
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJZHWozapM Felix in Skull And Scull
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J56bUb4m70Q Felix in Forty Wink
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0osP-KQDs Felix in Oceantic
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFlUMM-KQUY Felix Follows The Swallow
• Felix Hits The Deck
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho19cVC5nKI Felix Busts A Bubbl
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuY2a7VDViY Felix In Outdoor Indor
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVZEqSVONrQ Felix Dines And Pine
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XwMbEEKR44 Felix in Comicalamitie
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei-4mPTsQGA Felix In Astronomeou
• Felix In Romeeow
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzimEvzgkkk Felix Misses His Swis: Recolored Print.
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZqDvhgYzOk Felix in Sunken Treasur: Recolored Print.
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjjMuqvy7yw Felix in Pedigreed
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDinA0t8nHo&feature=relmfu Felix Switches Witche
• Felix Out of Luck
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG17qCNt58M April Maz
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k0Z0tRCmvA Felix In The Goose That Laid The Golden Eg: The first of the Van Beuren shorts.
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UWbFnxzty0&feature=related Felix In Neptune Nonsens: The second of the Van Beuren shorts.
• [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isbzfRh4za8&feature=related Felix In Bold King Col: The third of the Van Beuren Shorts.

Tropes used in Felix the Cat include:

• [[Animated Serie]: The Trans-Lux TV series and the Twisted Tales.
• Animation Bump: The three [[Van Beuren Studio] Felix shorts, in spite of their flaws, are fairly well animated and feature lavish color and backgrounds, and as such are a considerable animation upgrade from the original cartoons.
• [[Bag of Holdin]: The "bag of tricks", introduced in the 50's series and later incorporated into Twisted Tales.
• Bankruptcy Barrel: In "Felix in the Swim", after Felix and the kid's clothes get eaten by a goat, they go home in barrels. It's pretty odd, since they had both been in swim trunks when their clothes got eaten, and Felix hadn't been wearing clothing to begin with.
• Big Bad: The Professor and Master Cylinder
• Captain Ersatz: Felix probably has the [[Bosko the Talk Ink Kid|mos] [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit|ersatze] [[Lady, Play Your Mandolin|of an] fictional characte. Ironically, [[Mickey Mouse|one of the would totally dethrone Felix in popularity.
• [[Card-Carrying Villai]: The Professor and Rock Bottom in the Trans-Lux cartoons.
• [[Cash Cow Franchis]: One of the earliest examples of this trope-Felix was popular enough to spawn lots of this-until [[Mickey Mous] came around and unsurped the silent stars popularity. Nowadays he's more or less known only because of his merchandise, since he hasn't had a truly popular cartoon made since the 1950's.
• [[Cat Concert]: In "Forty Winks", Felix conducts his friends in a chorus outside a guy's house.
• [[Chaste Toon]: Perhaps the earliest example, as the kittens Inky, Dinky and Winky were introduced as Felix's sons in 1926, then suddenly retconned as nephews in 1930. A few pre-1930 comics were even reprinted with the familial relationship changed.
  • Later still (1950s) only two kittens were used at a time, with Inky and Winky appearing in cartoons while Inky and Dinky appeared in comics.
• Cute but Cacophonic: Vavoom the Eskimo, from the Trans-Lux TV series.
• [[Cute Little Fang]
• [[Deranged Animatio]: One of the oldest examples.
• [[Downer Endin]: Felix's first theatrical short ends with him sucking on a gas pipe(!?) after he gets kicked out of his home and finds out his girlfriend already has kittens.
• [[Efficient Displacemen]: In "Felix Goes West", this happens when Felix is thrown through a door by an angry house owner.
• [[Everything's Better with Monkey]: The ending of "Felix Doubles For Darwin".
• [[Expository Theme Tun]
• [[Fountain of Expie]: See "Captain Ersatz" above.
• [[Franchise Kille]: The failure of the Movie and Twisted Tales put an end to Felix's career outside of merchandising, save for the Japan-only "Baby Felix" and a low key direct-to-video film "Felix the Cat Saves Christmas" in 2004. It should also be noted that he his getting a upcoming CGI Revival.
• [[Furry Confusio]: From 1919 through the mid-1950s, stories alternated between showing Felix as either a Talking Animal pet in a human home or a Funny Animal master of his own house. Only with the Trans-Lux TV series was Felix established as a Funny Animal for good.
• [[The Gambling Addic]: Felix meets one named Billy in the Twisted Tales. Billy lost his luck because of this, since Felix is a black cat that crossed his path. Billy even begged Felix to "uncross" his path. Which Felix did. Felix, however, kept crossing Billy's path, eventually sending him to the poorhouse. Later on, Billy steals Felix's magic bag, hoping it'll restore his luck. Billy has been winning bets since then, which made him the (probably) only person who managed to steal the bag and use it. Felix eventually confronted Billy, who had a security guard throw Felix away. Felix then challenged Billy for a bet with the bag at stake. Felix then picked two dice and told Billy he could get any number he wants from them. Billy then called "13". Felix protested the biggest number he could get was "12" but Billy insisted with "13". Felix soon had an idea: he got the dot from the exclamation mark that came with the idea and added it to the six-dot face of one of the die, turning it into a seven-dot face and then threw the dice, obtaining "13". As soon as Billy lost the bag, he lost his new fortune.
• God Does Not Own This World: Otto Messmer never owned the rights to his own creation.
• [[Haunted Castl]: The castle in "Bold King Cole".
• Idea Bulb: Quite often seen.
• [[In Name Onl]: The Trans-Lux TV series has literally nothing in common with the original Felix shorts aside from the character. And this also applies to the three Van-Beuren Felix shorts from the mid-30's, which were equally as unrelated to the source material.
• [[Lightning Can Do Anythin]: Among these things, it can slice through a cloud like a knife, turn Felix's head into a lightbulb, and even destroy ghosts!
• [[Long Runne]: Felix has been around since 1919, making him the oldest surviving cartoon star, and he's done a lot to earn that rep. We are talking about a character who has starred in over 200 theatrical cartoons (most of which have not survived), well over 200 episodes during the Trans Lux era, two modern TV revivals (with a third one on the way), a feature length movie and a direct-to-video film (with more on the way), decades worth of newspaper and magazine comics, and an absolutely monsterous amount of merchandise.
• [[Magic Ha]: Felix's iconic Magic Bag of Tricks, which is an actual bag.
  • In the 1995 series, some episodes didn't feature the Bag of Tricks at all, presumably so more challenging plots could be used. Lampshaded in one episode.
    • The Magic Bag wasn't in all the 1950s episodes either; it featured in about thirty percent of the episodes. Oriolo was wise not to overuse it; it made for some funny situations, but it also made Felix borderline infallible.
• [[Missing Episod]: A huge chunk of Felix cartoons from the silent era are currently missing.
• Mood Whiplash: The opening of "Bold King Cole", where after the first few seconds of Felix singing a very upbeat song, backed up by some very colorful scenery, suddenly cuts straight into a nasty storm scene.
• [[The Movi]: [[Felix the Cat: The Movi]
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Felix is heavily based off of [[Charlie Chapli], and The Tramp himself appears in Felix in Hollywood.
• [[No Indoor Voic]: Vavoom in the Trans-Lux cartoons. He was a pint-sized eskimo who's shout of "VAVOOM!!!!" could cause an avalanche.
• [[Overly Prepared Ga]: Punch line from Felix The Cat- Felix Doubles For Darwin takes several minutes to set up.
• Painting the Fourth Wall: A few of the old strips had gags involving Felix's speech balloon, be it him literally eating his own words or using his speech balloon for a...well, literal balloon.
• [[Pragmatic Adaptatio]: Contrary to popular belief, the Bag of Tricks wasn't with the character from the start.
• [[Ridiculously Cute Critte]: Felix's simple, round design set the standard for cute cartoon animals ever since.
• [[Spinoff Babie]: "Baby Felix", only released in Japan.
• [[Strapped to An Operating Tabl]: Happens to King Cole in Bold King Cole
• [[Super Not-Drowning Skill]: Felix is apparently able to breathe underwater in "Neptune Nonsense".
• Talking Animal
• Talking to Himself: All of the voices in the Trans-Lux cartoon were done by Jack Mercer.
• [[Tank Goodnes]: In the NES game, one of Felix's power-ups is being able to ride a tank!
• [[Tin Can Robo]: The Master Cylinder, a recurring villain in the Trans-Lux shorts who is the self-proclaimed "King of the Moon" and the Professor's former pupil before an accident destroyed his original body.
• [[Traveling Pipe Bulg]: The "Felix Doubles for Darwin" short has a whole scene of Felix traveling through the entire transatlantic cable and then back again, pursued by apes.
• [[Villain Son]: "You Talk Too Much, You Never Shut Up" from "Bold King Cole".
  • Captain Kidd and the rest of the pirates in "The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs" get a particularly good one:

Oh, we take what we want and we want what we take For we’re pirates out hunting for treasure! If we need any gold, we steal it away, Robbing widows and orphans of pleasure! We fight with our hands, we cuss and shoot, We’re mean and we’re bad from our hats to our boots. We take what we want and we want what we take For we’re pirates out hunting for treasure!

• What Happened to the Mouse?: In "Bold King Cole", whatever happened to those guests that the King was boasting to?
• Write What You Know: Otto Messmer based the events of "Felix Turns the Tide" off of his own memories of friends and allies getting gunned down around him when he served in World War I.

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