The Boeing Company (BA)’s Bad Breakup and The Walt Disney Company (DIS)’s Lost Lucky Charm

Wall Street was clearly on the prowl for “war brides” at the stock exchange, as metals and all manner of companies that used them surged forward, dragging nearly every company that might possibly provide war materiel to America’s European allies up with them. The New York Times reported that “Many traders … were evidently acting on expectations that neutrality legislation, forbidding exports to belligerents of arms, ammunition and implements of war … would soon be altered.”

This hope was borne out two months later when Roosevelt signed a newer Neutrality Act into law that reinstated an allowance for belligerent nations (in practice, Britain and France) to purchase arms and materiel with cash. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:^DJI) had already given up hope for further gains by this point: The index peaked a week later and would wind up spending the next two and a half years in a bear market.

Good luck charm
Walt The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) debuted his first original cartoon character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, on Sept. 5, 1927. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) had contracted with Universal Studios, through Winkler Pictures (an earlier partner), to distribute new cartoons in the summer of 1927, but his first submission was underwhelming, and the distributor requested changes. A reworked Oswald, starring in Trolley Troubles, suitably impressed Universal, which copyrighted Oswald immediately. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) went on to produce 25 more Oswald cartoons before Winkler Pictures poached most of his animators in an effort to produce the cartoon shorts on its own.

To cope with the loss of his first real success, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) came up with the idea of a mouse character, who debuted in November of 1928. The mouse, in many ways a stylistic modification of Oswald who retained much of his predecessor’s personality, became far more successful than Oswald, which is one good reason why nobody owns stock in Winkler Pictures today. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) eventually reacquired the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in a 2006 trade that sent Al Michaels, then an ABC/ESPN football sportscaster, to NBC. Oswald has since returned to prominence as a star in the video game series Epic Mickey, in which he first opposes and then unites with the mouse that pushed him out of the picture so many years ago.

The article Boeing’s Bad Breakup and Disney’s Lost Lucky Charm originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Alex Planes.

Fool contributor Alex Planes holds no financial position in any company mentioned here. Add him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter @TMFBiggles for more insight into markets, history, and technology.The Motley Fool recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of Walt Disney.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.