Felix the Cat

Basic Information on Felix the Cat and his creators
	Felix the Cat Felix the Cat first appeared on screen as "Master Tom" in FELINE FOLLIES released on September 1, 1919. Due to the enormous popularity of his first Felix film,Paramount Studios signed a two year deal with Pat Sullivan to create one Felix the Cat film per month.

Joe Oriol

When his screen career faded in popularity in the mid-1930s,Felix spent a several years in a memorable series of short comic films titled FELIX'S MAGIC BAG OF TRICKS. In this series, Felix's magic satchel was introduced and was featured in many of the films. It is still full of wonderful tricks and things!This limited-animation series was produced by Otto Messmer's former assistant, Joe Oriolo. It introduced Felix's Magic Bag of Tricks, as well as characters like The Professor, Vavoom, Master Cylinder and Poindexter

Pat Sullivan

Pat Sullivan credited himself with the creation and animation of Felix. In 1928 Felix's popularity was threatened by the release of the first Disney sound animation film STEAMBOAT WILLIE starring Mickey Mouse. Sullivan and Messmer tried to move Felix into sound pictures, but their attempts failed because their sound effects rarely matched the action on the screen.

Otto Messmer

According to the credits, Pat Sullivan, owner of the studio, was the guiding genius behind Felix � but in reality, the cartoons were the work of a young animator named Otto Messmer, who produced the entire four-minute debut all by himself, working at home on a freelance basis. Felix's success was a direct result of Messmer's great ability to create sight gags, and to express a character's personality through his own unique way of moving. Dozens of silent Felix cartoons were made, with increasing sophistication as the 1920s wore on.