Jungle Jingles: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Winkler, 1929) – Silent

This rare black-and-white archival footage presents "Jungle Jingles," a classic silent Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon from July 22, 1929, produced by George Winkler’s Winkler Pictures for Universal Studios—nearly a century ago—offering a nostalgic thrill for early animation fans. The silent film follows Oswald, the mischievous black rabbit with expressive ears, as he explores the African jungle riding an ostrich, only to be thrown off when the bird stops to lay an egg, which hatches and wanders off. Nearby, an elephant plays golf with its trunk, using coconuts as balls, but its frustrated swings accidentally hit Oswald’s ostrich, prompting a frantic escape. Chasing a squirrel into a cave, Oswald is forced out by a lion, leading to a slapstick chase where he drops tacks to slow the lion, uses a shotgun inside a straw house, and hides in a hollow log, only for the lion’s scissor-jacked teeth to fail in pulling him out. Confronting the elephant, Oswald wrestles it down, but its massive father appears; Oswald releases a mouse from a cage, terrifying the elephant and causing it to flee, with Oswald laughing until a squirrel kicks him. A lively window into late 1920s animation’s golden age, this preserved gem—directed by Ben Clopton, intended for sound but released silently—grips cartoon enthusiasts, animation historians, and nostalgic viewers, offering a timeless peek at a jungle romp frozen in time.