Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (or simply Oswald) is an animated character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. First appearing in the short film Trolley Troubles on September 5, 1927, Oswald is notable for his ability to disassemble and reshape his body parts at will. He is credited for pioneering "personality animation", which refers to cartoon characters displaying identifiable emotion. In Oswald's case, he was often depicted as haughty, feisty, and overzealous, which typically led to comical misadventures that put the rabbit's trademark luck to the test.

Due to a financial falling out with producer Charles Mintz, Disney abandoned the Oswald series alongside Iwerks and a few other loyalists. Together, the remaining team would independently create Mickey Mouse, Oswald's successor. Oswald would remain with Universal, and continued to appear in short films through 1938 before fading into obscurity. In 2006, The Walt Disney Company would acquire ownership of the Disney-made Oswald cartoons. The character would see a resurgence thereafter, beginning with the 2010 video game Epic Mickey, which depicts Oswald as a long-forgotten actor with a vendetta against Mickey. Since then, Oswald has appeared in merchandise, theme parks, and various animated projects.

Oswald was very similar to the early incarnations of Mickey Mouse, that being the mischievous but well-meaning character made popular among cartoons in the 1920s. He was energetic, inventive, adventurous and almost always caused trouble, but found his way out through cunning and wit. Oswald loved to play and make others laugh, but despite his flaws, he has morals and always tries to do the right thing. His personality traits were something never seen at the time, as most cartoon stars had no personality, and he favored the new "emotion" gag over slapstick.

Oswald can also be more aggressive, serious, and short-tempered than Mickey, though he does have a sense of fun and humor. Oswald is not welcoming towards strangers and even comes across as spiteful towards people he doesn't trust. He is very brave, but overconfident, which makes Oswald impulsive and bordering to the point that Oswald can be ignorant and ultimately fumble. Ironically, despite having the moniker of "lucky", Oswald is prone to bad luck as much as good luck, which has led him into many unfortunate situations often caused by his own overconfidence - he can only escape from these by his own good luck. Despite his less-appealing traits, Oswald remains fundamentally good-hearted. He is motivated by a love for adventure and heroism.

Oswald has also been shown harboring a strong jealousy towards his "replacement" for effectively stealing his life. Some materials indicate this relationship outside of spin-off material; pictures were approved by Walt himself that depicted Mickey and Oswald meeting for the first time and support these sentiments.

With luck on his side, Oswald is willing to take risks and will attempt to do what's best for his family and friends. Though he doesn't appear to be, Oswald can be quite friendly if he wants to. His love for Ortensia is just as strong as Mickey's love for Minnie.