Page "Felix the Cat" Paragraph 33

Unfortunately, Felix's transition to sound was not a smooth one.

Sullivan did not carefully prepare for Felix's transition to sound, and added sound effects into the sound cartoons as a post-animation process.

The results were disastrous.

More than ever, it seemed as though Disney's mouse was drawing audiences away from Sullivan's silent star.

Not even entries such as the off-beat " Felix Woos Whoopee " or the Silly Symphony-esque April Maze ( both 1930 ) could regain the franchise's audience.

Kopfstein finally canceled Sullivan's contract.

Subsequently, he announced plans to start a new studio in California, but such ideas never materialized.

Things went from bad to worse when Sullivan's wife, Marjorie, died in March 1932.

After this, Sullivan completely fell apart.

He slumped into an alcoholic depression, his health rapidly declined, and his memory began to fade.

He could not even cash checks to Messmer because his signature was reduced to a mere scribble.

He died in 1933.

Messmer recalled, " He left everything a mess, no books, no nothing.

So when he died the place had to close down, at the height of popularity, when everybody, RKO and all of them, for years they tried to get hold of Felix ...

I didn't have that permission continue the character ' cause I didn't have legal ownership of it.