Felix The Cat, arguably one of the most recognizable cartoon characters, was introduced to the animation world in November 1919's "Feline Follies." The short four-minute cartoon was so popular during its release that it spurred on a decades-long series of cartoons of Felix.
In first two cartoons, the cat was called Master Tom. It was in the third short, Dec. 1919's "The Adventures of Felix," the cat was given its lasting name. Debate rages on who the cat's creator was, studio owner Pat Sullivan or his lead animator Otto Messmer. Even open for discussion was who gave the cat its Felix name. Messmer claims a John King of Paramount Magazine labeled the cat while the third cartoon was being composed. But Sullivan, from Australia, said he did, using a Down Under term for a part of western Victoria. What is undebatable is Felix became the first popular character in cartoonland to draw in viewers into movie theaters.
The 1920's was the highpoint of Felix's unmitigated celebrity status. Animator Bill Nolan gave the cat the appearance today's public is familiar with. He rounded the edges of Felix in 1924 to give his face a cuter, more huggable features. The cartoon became a bimonthly anticipated cartoon, with critics loving its surrealism while others appreciated Felix's paralleling a child sense of wonder to the world's incongruities.
Aptly, in one of the first images ever broadcasted on its newly-invented television, RCA selected a Felix doll for the honor of its NBC debut experiment in 1928. Even today, Felix The Cat images can be found as school mascots, marching as a Macy Day Parade balloon and in comic strips.