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Mickey is the twin brother who is brought up by his biological mother with his seven older siblings. We first meet him when he is seven years old and he is friendly and excitable.
Nov 18, 2012 · Inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s heroic first solo flight across the Atlantic, its plot entailed Mickey and some animal friends attempting to assemble their own airplane. The cartoon premiered in Hollywood on May 15, 1928, in the form of a test screening. It failed to obtain distribution.
- Overview
- Background
- History
- Film appearances
- Television appearances
- Printed material
- Video games
- Disney Parks
- Relationships
“During the last few years we’ve ventured into a lot of different fields, and we’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with a lot of wonderful people. I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse.”
―Walt Disney
Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. A cheerful and plucky anthropomorphic mouse, Mickey made his first public appearance in Steamboat Willie, on November 18, 1928. Estimated as standing 2' 3" (68.58 centimeters) and weighing 23 pounds (10.43 kilograms), Mickey is easily identified by his round ears, red shorts, white gloves, and yellow shoes. He speaks in a falsetto voice, and his speech is typically infused with 1930s slang like "swell" and "gee". The essence of Mickey's character is that of an underdog who, despite being small and vulnerable, overcomes larger-than-life adversity through quick wit and a can-do spirit.
Mickey was popularized by his long-running short film series. His simplistic, "rubberhose" design allows for both relatable emotion, and exaggerated physical gags. Mickey's versatility, meanwhile, enables him to slip into any profession, location, or time period, while maintaining his core characteristics. Mickey steadily branched into other mediums over the years, beginning with a comic strip by cartoonist Floyd Gottfredson in 1930. In 1940, Mickey made his feature-length film debut with Fantasia, for which he was given his modern redesign by animator Fred Moore. In the 1950s, Mickey became a television mainstay with the premiere of 1955's The Mickey Mouse Club, as well as an icon for the Disney theme parks with the opening of Disneyland. Mickey has also featured prominently in critically acclaimed video games, such as 1990's Castle of Illusion and the Kingdom Hearts series.
Upon his inception, Mickey rapidly rose to the pinnacle of American culture, becoming the most popular and recognizable cartoon character in the world, and the prime influence of following cartoons. The character was especially treasured by Walt Disney, himself. The two were widely regarded as "alter-egos" by peers and historians, a perception supported by Walt originating Mickey's voice. Disney once attributed his success to the advent of Mickey, famously proclaiming that, "it was all started by a mouse".
As its most famous character, Mickey serves as the mascot of The Walt Disney Company. He has appeared in over 130 films, for which he received numerous accolades. In 1932, Walt Disney was presented an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Today, Mickey stands as the highest-grossing animated character of all time, and the 4th highest-grossing media franchise overall.
According to Symphony Hour, "Mickey and the Culture Clash", and "The Fancy Gentleman", Mickey's full name is Michel Mouse. He has an older sister named Felicity Fieldmouse, by whom Mickey has twin nephews named Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, whom he occasionally watches over.
Mickey is normally depicted as living a modest life with his pet dog, Pluto. His earliest cartoons portrayed him as a country boy living in the midwest. The Adventures of Mickey Mouse: Book I—published in 1931—described Mickey as living "in a cozy nest under the floor of the old barn." As the shorts evolved, Mickey's residence was moved to the more urban settings of Hollywood, California, as seen in Mickey's Kangaroo and Mickey's Elephant. The official backstory of Disneyland's Mickey's Toontown plays into this, explaining that Mickey is of midwestern origins, but moved to Hollywood for the sake of his acting career. In the comics, Mickey's hometown is the city of Mouseton in the state of Calisota.
Mickey's longtime girlfriend is Minnie Mouse. According to Walt Disney, Mickey and Minnie are married in private life and are merely depicted as dating onscreen. Despite their long-term relationship, Mickey has occasionally vied for Minnie's affections against her ex-boyfriend, Mortimer Mouse.
Mickey's occupational status is dependent on the story, but he is usually depicted as a jack-of-all-trades, working as anything from a steamboat deckhand to a sorcerer's apprentice. The most recurring employer of Mickey's is the Ajax Corporation, where he has worked alongside his best friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. Ajax consists of a variety of odd jobs (ghost exterminators, car washers, rollercoaster painters, etc.) and most of Mickey's assignments result in failure due to his and his team's incompetence. In comic stories, Mickey has frequently been portrayed as a detective working closely with his friend Horace Horsecollar and the Chief of Police, Chief O'Hara.
Though not for pay, Mickey has been a regular contributor to his local orphanage—which houses hundreds of nameless mice children. With help from Minnie, Donald and other friends, Mickey has organized numerous benefits for the orphans, such as picnic outings and theatre shows. In some cartoons, he and Pluto have even welcomed the orphans into their home.
In some continuities, such as that of Darkwing Duck, A Goofy Movie, and numerous meta Disney productions, like House of Mouse, Mickey is portrayed as an A-list celebrity made famous by his theatrical cartoon shorts, which are said to be based on real events in his life.
Creation; 1928-1930
“He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when the business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb, and disaster seemed right around the corner” ―Walt Disney in his 1948 essay, "What Mickey Means to Me" On March 4, 1927, Walt Disney signed a contract with Universal Pictures to produce a series of cartoons starring his character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, under the authority of producer Charles Mintz. With animation being headed by Disney's longtime collaborator Ub Iwerks, the Oswald series was a hit with audiences. As the series gained traction, however, the partnership between Disney and Universal quickly began to fall apart. Walt was informed by Iwerks that Mintz's assistant, George Winkler, had been hiring away Disney's animators behind his back. When Disney traveled to New York to negotiate a more profitable contract in 1928, Mintz instead proposed a 20% cut. Rather than accept Mintz's deal, Disney quit the Oswald series. On the train ride back to California, Walt desperately brainstormed ideas for a new cartoon character, in order to keep his studio afloat. He would eventually conceive a mouse character. Disney believed that a mouse would make for a cute and sympathetic character. He also felt that mice hadn't been overused in motion pictures, allowing for Mickey to stand out against the competition of the time. Walt would name his new character "Mortimer Mouse". His wife, Lillian Disney, disliked the name and instead suggested "Mickey Mouse". Walt created a sketch to get the basic idea of the character, and later shared it with Ub, who refined it. Mickey's model greatly resembled that of Oswald and other animal characters of the time, such as Otto Messmer's Felix the Cat. Iwerks would explain, "Pear-shaped body, ball on top, a couple of thin legs. You gave it long ears, and it was a rabbit. Short ears, it was a cat. With an elongated nose, it became a mouse." Along with Ub and a few other loyalists, Disney worked on the first two Mickey cartoons in secret, while simultaneously abiding to his contractual obligation to complete his final Oswald cartoons for Universal. The first Mickey short to be produced was Plane Crazy, and it was first screened for test audiences on May 15, 1928. Plane Crazy focused on Mickey's attempt to become an aviator in emulation of Charles Lindbergh. In this short, Mickey was gloveless and shoeless. His appearance bore animalistic qualities more closely resembling an actual mouse than modern interpretations. In terms of personality, Mickey was portrayed as a rash and arrogant character, even going as far as to antagonize his love interest, Minnie Mouse. Plane Crazy failed to find a distributor and was not released that year. The second-produced Mickey short, The Gallopin' Gaucho, was significant in introducing Mickey's trademark shoes, while also depicting the mouse as a more noble and heroic character. The short centered on Mickey embarking on a chase to rescue Minnie from the villainous Pete, which would become a recurring story thread throughout Mickey's career. However, The Gallopin' Gaucho also failed to make an impact with potential distributors and would not be released to the public that year. It was then that Walt decided to take an extremely ambitious step by breaking into "talkies". Sound had been in animated cartoons before, but never on a scale quite like Mickey's third-produced short, Steamboat Willie. A parody of Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill, Jr., the cartoon featured Mickey as the mischievous deckhand of a steamboat commanded by Pete. Towards the climax of the short, he conducts a performance of the song "Turkey in the Straw" with Minnie. Steamboat Willie reinvented Mickey's character with a more appealing design and relatable personality. In addition to writing the script, Walt provided the vocal performances of both Mickey and Minnie (he would continue to voice Mickey for decades to follow). Steamboat Willie was released on November 18, 1928 at Universal's Colony Theater in New York City, to critical acclaim. Though it was the third short to be produced, it was the first to be publicly released. As such, November 18th is recognized as the official birthday of Mickey Mouse, as declared by archivist Dave Smith in 1978. The opening sequence of the short—in which Mickey whistles the tune of "Steamboat Bill"—has served as the opening logo of Walt Disney Animation Studios films since 2007. The success of Steamboat Willie later allowed for the official releases of both The Gallopin' Gaucho and Plane Crazy, remastered with sound. A slew of shorts would quickly follow, a majority of which portrayed Mickey as a rascally mouse living in a barn-like setting. The plots in Mickey's earliest cartoons were typically bare bones. Generally, the majority of the runtime was dedicated to musical sequences accompanied by rubberhose gags involving the characters and anthropomorphic objects. As more cartoons were released, Mickey's character would develop in significant ways—much of which occurred in the character's sophomore year of 1929. In The Opry House (released on March 28), Mickey was given his trademark gloves, which made him easier to animate. The Plowboy (released on June 28) introduced Horace Horsecollar, who would regularly appear as Mickey's steed and friend. Clarabelle Cow was depicted as Minnie's best friend, and became a recurring character in the films, alongside Horace. In The Karnival Kid (released on July 31), Mickey spoke his first words, "Hot dog!". The phrase would become the character's catchphrase in later shorts. In Mickey's Follies (released on August 28), Mickey performed the song "Minnie's Yoo Hoo", an instrumental version of which would become the theme song of his film series until 1933. With Mickey's success all but assured, Disney was offered a deal—$300 in cash for the right to feature Mickey on a children's pencil tablet. Walt accepted, and thus began Mickey Mouse's foray into merchandising. Furthermore, Disney created the original Mickey Mouse Club in 1929 for fans of his character and cartoons. Though the club had its start in the United States, it would later expand to overseas markets, such as Europe and Australia. The club had over one million members. In June of 1929, J.V. Connelly of King Features Syndicate proposed the concept of a Mickey Mouse comic strip for newspapers.
1930-1950
On January 30, 1930, the first of Mickey's printed adventures was distributed—as written by Walt Disney, and illustrated by Ub Iwerks. Dubbed "He's Going to Learn to Fly Like Lindy", the strip sees a barn-dwelling Mickey dreaming about becoming an aviator like Charles Lindbergh. By the summer of 1930, the comic had appeared in up to 40 newspapers across the world. By May of that year, Mickey's comic stories were taken over by Disney artist Floyd Gottfredson, who would become renowned for four decades worth of work on Mickey Mouse comic stories. Like Mickey's entry into merchandising, the Mickey Mouse strip is credited to having attributed to Mickey's "golden age" and worldwide success. That same year, The Chain Gang introduced a non-anthropomorphic bloodhound character who would evolve into Pluto, Mickey's pet dog and a frequent supporting character in the films. At the 5th Academy Awards in 1932, Mickey received his first nomination for Mickey's Orphans. At the same ceremony, Walt was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation. Coming off the success of Disney's Technicolor Silly Symphonies cartoon Flowers and Trees (which won the Academy Award that year, beating Mickey's Orphans), Mickey's first appearance in color was in Parade of the Award Nominees, a short created for the 5th Academy Awards banquet. As a result, it was not released to the public. In his first animated appearance in color, Mickey donned green shorts, yellow gloves, and shoes. Despite this, Mickey continued to appear in black and white films moving forward. One of which, Mickey's Revue, introduced the character Dippy Dawg, who would evolve in Mickey's friend Goofy. The Disney artists indulged in Mickey's popularity by producing Mickey's Gala Premiere in 1933 (which paired Mickey with numerous A-list Hollywood stars). On June 1, 1934, Mickey briefly appeared in Hollywood Party opposite Jimmy Durante—the only animated character to appear in the crossover picture. That same year, Mickey made his debut in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and was the third character from pop culture to have a licensed balloon. 1934 also introduced Donald Duck as Mickey's temperamental foil and companion. Donald was created in response to the many taboos being placed upon Mickey by audiences of the time. Donald allowed for Disney and his artists to give their films "a little attitude". Disney chose to pair Mickey and Donald together to add contrast to the shorts, with their first shared cartoon being Orphan's Benefit. It wouldn't be until 1935's The Band Concert, that Mickey was given his first official cartoon in color. The short depicted Mickey as the struggling conductor of a public band concert, with nuisances, such as Donald Duck and a sudden tornado causing havoc throughout the performance. Despite the breakthrough, two more Mickey cartoons were released that year in black and white. One of which was Mickey's Service Station, which is notable for being the first in a series of comedy films starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy together. The other one, called Mickey's Kangaroo, was the last of Mickey's black and white cartoons. With the introduction of color, Mickey's body structure was given a new look; his round body was replaced by a pear-shaped-looking one and his head was changed so his nose was closer to his face. His ears were turned from round to oval and his eyes became more detailed (the pupils smaller, the eye itself outlined instead of partially open). As Mickey's fame grew, a segment of unhappy parents disapproved of the character's flawed behavior. To appease the demographic, Mickey's later cartoons strayed away from the controversial gags and stories of the character's formative years. Consequently, the character's popularity declined steadily throughout the late '30s. He was even omitted from a number of the Mickey, Donald, and Goofy shorts, beginning with 1938's Polar Trappers. To boost Mickey's relevance, Walt envisioned, "an advancement in the sophistication of Mickey's roles and acting ability." To allow a broader range of emotion in the character animation, Fred Moore was brought on to redesign Mickey. In 1936, with Mickey's new design in place, Walt began early development on a deluxe short titled The Sorcerer's Apprentice, based on the 1797 poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and its 1897 orchestral adaptation by Paul Dukas. Starring Mickey as the titular apprentice, the piece was conceived as a cross between animation and classical music—not unlike Disney's Silly Symphonies. While development was underway for Sorcerer, Fred Moore's redesign of Mickey would appear in 1939's Mickey's Surprise Party, and The Pointer; the latter of which went on to receive an Academy Award nomination. 's production cost ballooned to $125,000—three to four times greater than the usual Silly Symphony, according to producer Ben Sharpsteen. Knowing that The Sorcerer's Apprentice would not make back its budget, talks began in 1938 to expand the project and produce a full-length feature, of which The Sorcerer's Apprentice would be a segment. This would evolve into Fantasia, which would become Disney's third animated film, following the critical successes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 and Pinocchio in 1940. While the film is lauded today as a cinematic masterpiece, Fantasia was a financial and critical disappointment upon release in 1940. Rather than make a comeback as Walt had intended, Mickey would continue to decline. There were several contributing factors to Mickey's decline. For one, it was perceived that the essence of Mickey's character was too subtle and human for most storymen to capture accurately—the one exception being Walt Disney, himself. However, Walt had become too preoccupied with feature films to contribute to the shorts. Animator Ollie Johnston would explain, "The story guys were not capable of doing a Mickey story without Walt. He was the only one who could get the feeling of that personality." In a 1949 interview, Disney stated, "Mickey's decline was due to his heroic nature. He grew into such a legend that we couldn't gag around with him. He acquired as many taboos as a Western hero—no smoking, no drinking, no violence." Mickey would continue to appear in noteworthy shorts, but these were few and far between. One of which included Lend a Paw, which became the only Mickey Mouse cartoon to date to win an Academy Award, having won for Best Animated Short of 1941. Around the same time, an effort was made within the studio to develop a full-length feature film starring Mickey Mouse. Animators Bill Cottrell and T. Hee pitched the idea of a feature film based on Jack and the Beanstalk, with Mickey in the role of Jack. In response to the pitch, Walt, "burst out laughing with tears rolling down his cheeks with joy", as Cottrell and Hee later recalled. Though Disney enjoyed it, he claimed that Cottrell and Hee, "murdered [his] characters", and thus rejected the pitch. Cottrell and Hee eventually coerced Walt into giving the greenlight, and after much delay in 1947, Mickey made his second feature film appearance, as the protagonist of the Fun and Fancy Free segment, Mickey and the Beanstalk. The feature would mark the first performance of Jimmy MacDonald as Mickey, who provided the character's voice for the film in tandem with Walt.
1950-2000
In the final years of Mickey's original theatrical run, Disney's cartoon shorts were given a "modernized" style of animation that Disney used from the mid-1950s to the later 1960s. Mickey, himself, was given eyebrows in his redesign. Eyebrows would continue to be seen on Mickey's face until the late 1980s and rarely in the early 1990s, until being removed altogether. There were 56 more color cartoons in the original Mickey Mouse theatrical series. The last of which was The Simple Things in 1953, which focused on Mickey and Pluto's day at the beach. Afterward, Mickey's series would receive a thirty-year hiatus. Although he no longer appeared in theatrical cartoons, Mickey would maintain some degree of relevance by remaining the face of the Disney company, specifically in merchandising. In 1953, Disney commemorated Mickey's 25th anniversary with a portrait depicting the mouse by John Hench. This would be the first in a tradition in which the Disney company would commission and release a portrait to coincide with a major anniversary of Mickey's. Hench would paint the portraits for 1978, 1988, 1998 and 2003. Following Hench's death, Paul Felix designed the portrait for 2008, while veteran animator Mark Henn designed the portrait for 2018. The portraits are currently residing at the Walt Disney Archives. Perhaps most notably in the 1950s, Walt debuted the popular The Mickey Mouse Club television show (with follow-ups of the same name debuting in 1977 and 1989). In relation to Mickey, the show is perhaps most notable for introducing Jimmie Dodd's "Mickey Mouse March", which would go on to become Mickey's trademark theme song. It also marked the first appearance of the iconic Mouse Ear hats that would become staples in Disney theme parks, the first of which—Disneyland—opened the same year in 1955. Mickey was present for Disneyland's opening, and continues to serve as the park's "ambassador" to this day. On November 18, 1978, in honor of his 50th anniversary, Mickey became the first animated character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. That same year, Mickey would appear at the 50th Academy Awards ceremony to help announce the winner for Best Short Film (Animated). Mickey would later go on to appear at the Academy Awards ceremonies of 1988 and 2003. In 1983, Mickey appeared in his first theatrical short since 1953's The Simple Things: Mickey's Christmas Carol, where he played the role of Bob Cratchit, opposite Scrooge McDuck's Ebenezer Scrooge. The short also marked the debut of Wayne Allwine, who would voice Mickey for three decades, until his death in 2009. As Mickey's 60th anniversary grew near in the late '80s, there was an initiative to bring classic Disney characters back into the spotlight via animated short productions. Several projects were planned, one of which included 1990's The Prince and the Pauper, which was screened in front of The Rescuers Down Under and featured Mickey starring in the (duo) lead role. Two additional Mickey projects were slated to release around this time, including the featurette Swabbies (1989), and a Christopher Columbus-inspired period piece titled Mickey Columbus (1992). Both cartoons were shelved, however. Outside of fleeting cameos and references, Mickey was largely absent from the Disney Afternoon block that aired throughout the 1990s on Disney's television networks. However, Mickey was featured in the opening and closing sequences of the block, interacting with some of the characters from its series. In 1994, four of Mickey's cartoons were included in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons, which listed the greatest cartoons of all time as voted by members of the animation field. The films were The Band Concert (#3), Steamboat Willie (#13), Brave Little Tailor (#26), and Clock Cleaners (#27). In 1995, Mickey starred in a new theatrical cartoon short titled Runaway Brain, where Mickey's brain and body gets switched with that of a monster who falls in love with Minnie. This short was originally screened in front of A Kid in King Arthur's Court. Mickey and his friends received a major comeback with the premiere of the Mickey Mouse Works series of shorts in 1999, shepherd by Roy E. Disney (son of Roy O. Disney and nephew of Walt). Developed in the style of Disney's Golden Age of Animation, the show featured new cartoons starring Mickey, in which he embarked on comical misadventures often caused by his own mischief. Outside of his mainline shorts, Mickey also starred in the 90-second umbrella title Mickey to the Rescue, which followed Mickey's quest to rescue Minnie from Pete's lair. In the 12-minute long Mouse Tales cartoons, Mickey served as the protagonist in adaptations of classic stories.
Hollywood Party
In the 1934 feature film, an animated Mickey crashes the live-action environment of Jimmy Durante's house party, much to the shock of Durante and the other celebrities in attendance. Mickey mischievously mocks Durante, puts on a piano performance, and introduces the cartoon The Hot Chocolate Soldiers.
Fantasia
Mickey's most famous role (alongside Steamboat Willie) is in the 1940 film Fantasia. In the film, Mickey appears in a segment called "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". After the segment, he and Leopold Stokowski share a live-action/animated handshake, congratulating each other. In this role, Mickey is the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer known as Yen Sid. Whilst the sorcerer spends his time conjuring spells and working with his abilities, Mickey merely works more as a servant, carrying buckets up a massive staircase to a well full of water. One night, however, after Yen Sid retires to slumber, Mickey sneaks on the sorcerer's hat, which appears to be the main source of his magic. Having enough of the physical labor, Mickey brings a broomstick to life with his new found magic and orders it to carry on his duties. It's a success, and the little mouse soon falls asleep, dreaming he is the world's greatest sorcerer. At first, he does not realize the broom continues to bring water to the well. So much, that the tower becomes flooded. Mickey tries to stop the broom, but it's no use, and the mouse is forced to kill it by cutting it to pieces with an ax. After the deed is done, Mickey begins to rest again, but the tiny pieces of sliced wood magically become hundreds of living brooms, and the army continues on with the duty of filling the overflown well with water, soon flooding the entire tower until Yen Sid arrives and puts an end to the chaos. After all seems well, Mickey silently apologizes and is ordered to return to his duties as punishment.
Fun and Fancy Free
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy live in a once peaceful village called Happy Valley, that became a wasteland after the beautiful singing Golden Harp was kidnapped by a mysterious giant. The friends nearly die of starvation, but Mickey went off to sell their prized cow for food. Instead of a meal, Mickey bought three magic beans from a peddler, which Donald in a fit of anger threw out of the house. The beans then grew into a beanstalk that led to the castle of Willie the Giant who is the kidnapper of the Harp. The three battle the giant to save the harp and restore the peace in their village. They rushed down the beanstalk with the harp, chopped it down once on the ground, and escaped safely. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy became heroes and peace is restored.
Walt Disney anthology series
Mickey was regularly featured in the series, portrayed as a good friend and partner of the show's host, Walt Disney himself, as well as an acclaimed actor for the company. Mickey was commonly the primary focus of a few episodes but was also heavily featured in episodes centering around Donald (much to the duck's dismay), Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, and others. Some of these episodes include On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends, A Ranger's Guide to Nature, Four Tales on a Mouse, The Donald Duck Story, From All of Us to All of You, The Goofy Success Story, and many others. Throughout the years, various specials celebrating Mickey's success and history also aired, mostly centered around the mouse's birthday, including Mickey's 50 and most notably Mickey's 60th Birthday, where the story revolved around Mickey Mouse mysteriously disappearing during the anniversary of his debut, resulting in worldwide catastrophe and despair.
The Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey was the mascot of the daily variety show. He featured prominently in the opening theme song, in which he donned a marching band outfit while being celebrated by a slew of his supporting cast—with the exception of an envious Donald Duck, who is instead trying to steal the spotlight. The series refers to Mickey as the "leader of the club"—the members of which are referred to as Mouseketeers, whom sport hats modeled after Mickey's round ears. Throughout the week, an animated segment featuring Mickey kicked off each episode by greeting the Mouseketeer audience and calling the cue to start the show, to the tune of classic Disney songs. On Monday and Tuesday, Mickey appeared as a concert pianist ("A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes") and a vaudevillian actor ("Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"), respectively. On Wednesday and Thursday, he was the sorcerer's apprentice ("The Siamese Cat Song") and a trombone-playing bandleader ("Following the Leader"). Finally, on Friday, he was a cowboy with a western drawl ("Pecos Bill"). Walt Disney reprised his role as Mickey for these animations, partially as a way to prove that he could still pull off the voice. A classic Mickey Mouse short film would play towards the end of episodes. These were presented as "Mouskartoons", and featured a brief introduction in which Jimmie Dodd would pull a raffle from a place called the "Mickey Mouse Treasure Mine".
Bonkers
Mickey was given a guest spot on Bonkers in "I Oughta Be in Toons". Mickey was kidnapped and was rescued by Bonkers (who idolizes Mickey) and Lucky Piquel. Throughout the episode, Mickey was never actually seen (except as a silhouette at the beginning of the episode) and only referred to as "the Mouse". Additionally, Mickey was referenced in other Bonkers episodes of the series, even making a few cameo appearances, though never in-person. In "Of Mice and Menace", the Toon Museum features an exhibit that includes a portrait of Mickey as depicted in Steamboat Willie, alongside the boat's steering wheel. In "Springtime for the Iguana", Bonkers notes that Mickey got his start in "the lowly role of a steamboat captain" (though in the actual short, Pete was the boat's captain) as a means of convincing Roderick Lizzard to portray the role of a monster.
Comics
From 1930 until 1950, though the numbers of the comic creators that worked on Mickey increased, the most popular version (considered the "classic" version today) was that of Floyd Gottfredson, who developed Mickey's character, adopted characters from the cartoons and created many others. Since 1950, the most popular version of Mickey has been that of Italian creator Romano Scarpa, who has further developed Gottfredson's characters and has added many of his own. With the inclusion of comic stories added to Mickey's career, a cast of new characters was created, including the Phantom Blot, Chief O'Hara, Eega Beeva, and Mickey's nephews Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse. Some of these additional characters would go on to make animated appearances in Mickey Mouse media, such as television and a few of the classic shorts.
Kingdom Keepers
Although Mickey never made an appearance in the Kingdom Keepers books, it's known he is the leader of the Disney characters and is mentioned by Minnie and Ariel in the fourth book, Power Play. Here, they say Mickey disappeared since an event called the night, when strange noises and some kind of struggle were heard from his house at Mickey's Toontown Fair (this is the "reason" why they closed the land). It is eventually learned that his original sketch was torn apart and scattered to keep the Overtakers from finding it, leading to him vanishing.
Mickey has starred in many video games, including Mickey Mousecapade on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse, and the Magical Quest trilogy on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse on the Sega Genesis, and many others. Mickey made his sixth generation era debut in Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse, a Nintendo GameCube title aimed at younger audiences.
Mickey is also a major character in the Kingdom Hearts series, taking the role as the king of his world Disney Castle, ruling along side Minnie. In this video game series, he is not the protagonist of the series, but he does assist the protagonist and the rest of his friends being as one of his fellow Keyblade bearers from time to time.
The first game in the Epic Mickey series, featuring a darker version of the Disney universe, was released in 2010 for the Wii. It centers around Mickey's adventures in Wasteland, a world where forgotten and rejected Disney elements and characters reside, including Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Mickey Mouse appears in his Sorcerer Mickey form at the beginning of Disney Infinity in the introduction. He is also available as a playable character. He is available in his normal form in the third game, alongside Minnie. The "classic" version has boxing abilities and throwing items, and can summon Goofy, Donald, Pluto, and Oswald. He also has a costume change to turn into King Mickey from Kingdom Hearts. In 2.0 a crystal version of his Sorcerers's apprentice character was made.
Mickey makes a cameo appearance in Nintendo's crossover fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, in the form of the keychain bearing his emblem that is attached to Sora's Keyblade.
Mickey is a playable character in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode. Mickey wasn't immediately playable in the game, instead he was introduced half a year later, in November 2018, just in time for his 90th Anniversary! Mickey Mouse is a Back-Line Support role hero. Mickey's skillset is unique to the game, allowing him to changing to his costume from various shorts and movies from his early days. Each of these costumes cause different effect to help the allies on battlefield; healing, increasing damage, and granting energy. Mickey Mouse has friendship campaigns with Sulley & Boo and Jack Skellington. He also has friendship campaigns with Moana, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse.
Ever since Disneyland first opened in 1955, Mickey and the gang have been an important part of the Disney theme park experience. Today, they can be seen everyday in shows, parades, and meet-and-greet opportunities at every Disney theme park, resort, and cruise ship worldwide. Usually dressed in a tuxedo jacket, a yellow bow, long red pants, and black shoes, Mickey is the most requested character in the parks.
A number of the Disney parks feature a "Partners" statue, which depicts Mickey and Walt Disney holding hands as the partners responsible for bringing Disneyland to life.
has an article focusing on the relationships of Mickey Mouse.
Sep 14, 2024 · Mickey was a cheerful and mischievous anthropomorphic rodent who starred in more than 100 cartoon shorts and became a worldwide cult figure. The Mickey Mouse Club was one of the most popular television shows for children in the United States in the 1950s, and the signature black cap with mouse ears worn by the show’s stars has become one of ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Mickey Mouse is the most popular character of Walt Disney’s animated cartoons and arguably the most popular cartoon star in the world. Mickey is of...
- Walt Disney named his first iteration of the character Mortimer Mouse. However, at the urging of Lillian Disney, his wife, the character was rename...
- Walt Disney began his first series of fully animated films in 1927, featuring the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. When his distributor appropria...
- Mickey Mouse was voiced by just three voice actors between 1929 and 2009. Walt Disney lent his voice to Mickey beginning in 1929. Jimmy MacDonald t...
- Mickey Mouse’s enduring popularity can likely be credited to the way he ubiquitously represents wholesome values of kindness and innocence. It can...
- Mickey has starred in over 121 theatrical releases, including shorts and featurettes.
- Mickey was the first cartoon character to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! His star was added on November 18, 1978.
- Mickey has different names around the world. For example, he is known as Musse Pigg in Sweden, Mi Lao Shu in China and Topolino in Italy.
- Walt Disney’s original name for Mickey was Mortimer! However, his wife Lillian Disney felt that it didn’t work for the character Walt had created and hence, she suggested Mickey!
Nov 18, 2009 · 1. Plane Crazy was Mickey's first flick, but Steamboat Willie is what made him famous. Plane Crazy didn't really connect with audiences the way Steamboat did—it was also silent. Steamboat...
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What does Mickey do in House of mouse?
How does Mickey feel about his friends?
Feb 3, 2020 · The story surrounding the origin of Mickey Mouse is well-known. Walt, feeling defeated after losing the rights to produce films with the Oswald character that he created, was on a train ride home when he began thinking about a new star.
