We all know Mickey Mouse–the beloved mascot of Disney, often hailed as Walt Disney’s first star. However, if you look a little deeper into Disney’s history, you’ll find that’s not quite true. Not as many people know about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character made before Mickey, when Disney worked with Universal. Disney sadly lost the rights to Oswald due to legal troubles only a few years later. But, did you know there was another character made before Disney’s career even started to take shape? Even fewer people are aware of Julius the Cat, one of the first recurring and named characters in Disney’s history, whose legacy is widely forgotten.

Julius’s story begins in 1922, as live-action animated hybrid films called the Alice Comedies began production. These films starred the titular character Alice, a live-action girl in a cartoon world. The shorts began with her as the main character through her various adventures, but Disney and animator Ub Iwerks quickly realized that the young actress wasn’t able to provide the comedy that was vital to cartoons at the time. Their solution? An animated cat companion to provide slapstick humor to the films. This did the trick. Julius quickly overtook Alice in popularity and was moved to the main character spot. These cartoons often featured the two running into trouble, usually from Peg Leg Pete (who was a bear at the time) and even the authorities on occasion. Julius was often a source of mischief, one time even landing Alice in jail. But, it was clear he had a kind heart underneath the surface, as he saved her life many times.

Now, if you know a lot about old cartoons, you might have realized that Julius holds an uncanny resemblance to Felix the Cat, even having the same detachable tail, and this is no accident. Margret Winkler, a film producer, used to have distribution rights to Felix, but after multiple fights with his creators, she split up with them and partnered with Disney, urging him to copy Felix’s success. Disney was not thrilled with the idea but agreed anyway. This was met with criticism from the public, with many critics pointing out the blatant similarities.

Julius didn’t go out with a bang or any fanfare, but was simply discontinued as Disney pursued bigger and better things. His legacy doesn’t live on in most people’s memories, but he’s not completely forgotten either. Many of the Alice Comedies have been re-released on DVD and archived on the internet, and the Julius Katz stores in Disney California Adventure and Buena Vista Street have been named in the cat’s honor. While it’s not likely to expect him to make a comeback, Julius is still an incredibly important part of Disney’s history as Walt’s first animated star and the true character that started it all.