The creation of Otto Messmer (1892-1983) and Pat Sullivan (1885-1933), Felix the Cat first appeared as an animated cartoon character (under another name) in 1919 in Feline Follies. Felix had a lively personality, an expressive manner, and solved problems in a creative fashion. For this later facet of Felix's personality his creators took full advantage of the animation medium and metamorphosed body parts into useful tools. The first major funny animal character to star in a series of animated cartoons, Felix appeared in some 150 shorts in the 1920s before the introduction of new sound technology saw his popularity wane. Meantime, however, King Features had commenced a Felix the Cat comic strip in 1923 and his trademark likeness had been licensed to many products.

Not only was Felix the first star of animation, he was also the product of a particular business arrangement that would become commonplace...