Almost Worth Knowing: Felix

Felix is the Latin word for "happy" or "lucky" (I was running a google search today to see if that were the case and it is). In any case, this also reminded me of an old cartoon character: Felix the Cat.

Felix and his bag of tricks

I'm almost certainly sure that most kids these days have no idea who Felix the Cat is, but for a time, he was the most recognizable cartoon star to be animated. According to Wikipedia: "Felix was the first character from animation to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences based solely on his star power."

Felix's success predates Mickey Mouse, but with the advent of sound cartoons, Felix's popularity dwindled greatly. He was later reinvented with a new magical bag of tricks, new friends, and a slightly refined look. In 1988, Felix the Cat also received his own feature film. Check out the trailer below:

For what it's worth, this is probably the worst trailer ever. In fact, if you want to learn how to make a trailer that doesn't get the audience excited, study this. For a better movie, do watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in which Felix has a cameo.