Felix the Cat

Felix the Cat is one of the very first animated characters to achieve real stardom, dating back to the silent-film era around 1919. Produced by Pat Sullivan's studio and animated largely by Otto Messmer, the mischievous black cat with his wide eyes and endless bag of tricks became a global sensation in the 1920s, at a time when cinema animation was still in its infancy.

What set Felix apart was his surreal inventiveness: his tail could detach and become an exclamation mark, a question mark, or a tool, and his pacing walk with hands clasped behind his back while deep in thought became an iconic image. He was arguably the first cartoon character to be merchandised on a grand scale — appearing on toys, watches, and countless products — and his popularity helped prove that an animated personality could sell as powerfully as any live-action film star.

Felix's cultural footprint stretches surprisingly far. A Felix doll was famously used in early television broadcast tests in the late 1920s, spinning on a turntable for hours as engineers refined the technology. Though later eclipsed by the arrival of sound and by Disney's Mickey Mouse, Felix endured through comic strips and later television revivals, and his cheerful, trouble-making silhouette remains a beloved emblem of animation's earliest days.