Mickey Mouse
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Mickey Mouse is the most famous and popular of all the Disney characters, and is no doubt, Walt Disney's most famous creation. Fancifully estimated as standing 2 ft 3 in (69 cm) and weighing 23 pounds (10 kg), the mouse rapidly rose to the pinnacle of American culture, being more widely recognized overseas than any other American icon but the U.S. flag. For over eighty years, he has signified The Walt Disney Company, animation, goodwill, fun, laughter and most of all Walt Disney himself. It was said by Lillian Disney, his wife, that over the years, Mickey and Walt grew together and were mirrors of each other's personality. They both started off mischievous and cheeky, but as they grew older preferred to step out of the spotlight and observe others work their magic. President Jimmy Carter once said; "Mickey Mouse is the symbol of goodwill, surpassing all languages and cultures. When one sees Mickey Mouse, they see happiness".
Mickey's three-circle silhouette serves as the logo for most of Disney's subsidiaries, save for the ones that don't carry the 'Disney' or 'Walt Disney' label. Andy Warhol's portrait The Art of Mickey Mouse used Warhol's famous pop art techniques on the classic mouse. Ever scince his creation Mickey Mouse has been known as the world's most famous cartoon character.
[edit] Creation and debut
Mickey was originally created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier star created by the Disney studio. Oswald had been created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. In fact, Mickey closely resembled Oswald in his early appearances. However, Disney received an unpleasant lesson when he asked Mintz for a larger budget for his popular Oswald series: in reply, Mintz fired Disney and Iwerks and taken all of Disney's artists to draw Oswald, to which Mintz and Universal owned the rights. From that point on, Disney made sure that he owned all rights to the characters produced by his company. Oswald would eventually return to the Disney fold in 2006 as part of a trade between NBC Universal and Disney, with NBC getting the contract of sports announcer Al Michaels as compinsation.
In order for Walt and his older brother and business partner Roy to keep their company active, new characters had to be created to star in their subsequent animated shorts. One day, during a train ride, Walt desperately wanted to come up with a money-making character to replace the one he lost, Oswald, whom he loved dearly. He had visions of a mouse in the back of his head (he had previously made silent cartoon shorts with animated mice). He wanted to name his new creation Mortimer Mouse, but his wife Lillian Marie Bounds thought the name was too pretentious, so she suggested he change it to Mickey Mouse which he did. The name Mortimer would later be used for a character in a Mickey cartoon, that oddly enogh, became a new rival for Mickey.
It has been suggested that Walt Disney was influenced by an actual mouse that he almost tamed by feeding it crumbs on his desk at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse (Mickey's flapper girlfriend) debuted in the cartoon short Plane Crazy, first released on May 15, 1928. The short was co-directed by Walt Disney and Iwerks. Iwerks was also the main animator for this short, and reportedly spent six weeks working on it. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were credited for assisting him; these two had already signed their contracts with Charles Mintz, but he was still in the process of forming his new studio and so for the time being they were still employed by Disney. This short would be the last they animated under this somewhat awkward situation.
The plot of Plane Crazy was fairly simple. Mickey is apparently trying to become an aviator in emulation of Charles Lindbergh. After building his own aircraft, he proceeds to ask Minnie to join him for its first flight, during which he repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempts to kiss her, eventually resorting to force. Minnie then parachutes out of the plane. While distracted by her, Mickey loses control of the plane. This becomes the beginning of an out-of-control flight that results in a series of humorous situations and eventually in the crash-landing of the aircraft. A non-anthropomorphic cow that briefly becomes a passenger in the aircraft is believed to be Caroline Cow making her debut.
Mickey as portrayed in Plane Crazy was mischievous, amorous, and has often been described as a rogue. Modern audiences have occasionally commented on this version of Mickey as being somewhat more complex and consequently more interesting than his later self. At the time of its first release, however, Plane Crazy apparently failed to impress audiences, and to add insult to injury, Walt could not find a distributor. Though understandably disappointed, Walt went on to produce a second Mickey short: The Gallopin' Gaucho. It would not be until Mickey's third, probaly most famous, and first sound cartoon Steamboat Willie, that Mickey began to gain the popularity that he has today. In fact, Steamboat Willie was so popular that Walt made it's release date, November 18, 1928, Mickey's birthday.
[edit] From comedy to musical
The ninth Mickey short to be released that year was The Jazz Fool, first released on July 5, 1929. The title was probably intended to be reminiscent of both The Jazz Singer, and also The Singing Fool, first released on September 19, 1928. Both musical films featured Al Jolson as their star and had proved commercially successful. This film followed the originals in having minimal plot and focusing on musical performances. Mickey and his friend Horace Horsecollar, the later in his first anthropomorphic appearance, are cast as the sole two performers of "Mickey's Big Road Show". The former plays the piano and the later the xylophone. The soundtrack of the film reportedly contained elements of both ragtime and Dixieland jazz. This short is considered to be representative of a change of focus early in the series. The preceding shorts already featured their share of song and dance numbers as part of their comedic plots. Many of the following ones can better be described as animated song and dance shows with little to no plot.
[edit] Mouse in transition
[edit] Mickey entering the Depression Era
The twelfth and last Mickey short released during the year was Jungle Rhythm, first released on November 15, 1929. Mickey is seen in a safari somewhere in Africa. He rides on an elephant and is armed with a shotgun. But the later proves to be problematic soon after Mickey finds himself standing in between of a lion and a bear. Mickey proceeds to play music to calm them down. During the rest of the short, various jungle animals dance to Mickey's tunes. The tunes vary from the previously mentioned "Yankee Doodle" and "Turkey in the Straw" to Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne" (1788), Johann Strauss' "The Blue Danube" (An der schönen, blauen Donau - 1867) and Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii's Aloha `Oe - 1878. This was the first Mickey short to be released during the Great Depression. Mickey's efforts as an entertainer to the jungle can be seen as representative of a function often credited to him. To provide relatively cheap but much needed entertainment to the audiences of the period.
[edit] Mickey Mouse Comics
The Mickey Mouse comic strip, distributed by King Features Syndicate, made its debut on January 13, 1930. The original artist was Ub Iwerks. He drew the strip for a month and then was followed for three months by Win Smith. When Smith left, Floyd Gottfredson was asked to take over the strip for a few weeks until they could find a replacement. But Gottfredson continued to draw the strip for 45 years, until the day he retired.
The Mickey Mouse Sunday page began on January 10, 1932, and was drawn by Manuel Gonzales for over 30 years.
[edit] The Mickey Mouse March
[edit] Later Mickey history
[edit] 1930-1950
In his earliest cartoons Mickey was often mischievous and the cartoons sometimes used outhouse humor. As the series became more popular, Disney decided to change his best-known character into a well meaning everyman, and creating mischief was thereafter left to other characters.
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.
Mickey's most well known supporting characters are his girlfriend, Minnie Mouse; his dog, Pluto; and his best friends, Goofy and Donald Duck.
By his sister Amelia Fieldmouse Mickey has two nephews, Morty and Ferdie Feildmouse. These characters are not as popular or famous as other Disney characters.
In 1929, Disney created the original Mickey Mouse Club for fans of his character and cartoons, which later formed the basis for a popular 1950's television show (with follow-ups of the same name in the 1977 and 1989).
Mickey has only starred in one theatrical feature film: the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of Fun and Fancy Free (1947). He has also starred in two half-hour theatrical featurettes, Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983, screened in front of a re-issue of The Rescuers) (1990, screened in front of The Rescuers Down Under).
Many television programs have centered around Mickey, such as the recent shows Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse.
For many years, Mickey Mouse has served as the mascot for The Walt Disney Company, alongside Jiminy Cricket and Tinkerbell.
[edit] Mickey's 75th Birthday
Mickey's 75th Birthday was one of the biggest celebrations of all time.For the occasion, Disney was unveiling 75 six-foot-tall statues of Mickey, each customized by a celebrity -- from Janet Jackson to Ben Affleck (alas, Jennifer Lopez must be waiting for Minnie's big day). It's a true testament to Walt that he was able to create Mickey Mouse with such depth and personality that, on his 75th anniversary, Mickey continues to take us on adventures, make us laugh and inspire us, Eisner said in a statement.
[edit] Recent Popularity
On November 18, 1978, in honor of his 50th anniversary, he became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located on 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Throughout the decades, Mickey Mouse competed with Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny for animated popularity. But in 1988, in a historic moment in motion picture history, the two rivals finally shared screen time in the Robert Zemeckis film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Only three people have regularly provided the voice for Mickey (not including theme park attractions and parades): Walt Disney from 1928 to 1947, James MacDonald from 1948 to 1983, and Wayne Allwine, from 1977 until his death in 2009, who first voiced the Mouse in Mickey's Christmas Carol in 1983. Hallmark greeting card illustrator Bret Iwan has been chosen to represent the new voice of Mickey, starting with a Mickey toy. He has also done Mickey for Disney Cruise Line promotions, and he is featured in the Disney On Ice: Celebrations ice show. Mickey's most recent theatrical cartoon was 1995's short Runaway Brain, while in 2004 he appeared in the made-for-video features The Three Musketeers and the computer-animated Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas.
Mickey is the star of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney series Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Mickey was the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 2005.
In the Kingdom Hearts video game series, King Mickey Mouse resides over Disney Castle alongside Queen Minnie Mouse. Donald Duck is his Court Wizard, while Goofy is the Captain of the royal guards. Mickey has been in every Kingdom Hearts game up to date.
[edit] Disney Parks
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 oppertunities at all 11 Disney theme parks worldwide. Classic cartoons staring the beloved characters are also screened in the Main Street Cinema at Disneyland and the Town Square Exposition Hall at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom is also home to Mickey's PhilharMagic, an all-new computer animated 3D film staring Mickey, Donald, and a host of other classic Disney characters. Even 1971, the Mickey Mouse Revue. The attraction debuted at Walt Disney World in Fall 2003 and has since opened in Hong Kong Disneyland as well. Back in Disneyland's old Adventure Thru Inner Space, most of the molecules were shaped around Mickey heads.
[edit] Catchphrases
Mickey like Donald and Goofy has many catchphrases. Some of Mickey's most famous catchphrases are Hey Everybody, See ya Real Soon and Hot Dog. Some of his other well known catchphrases are Golly and Oh my gosh!.
[edit] Filmography
Mickey Mouse appeared in 133 short films. Here's Mickey Mouse list of shorts, movies, specials, package films, mini-movie, shows and video games:
[edit] The Early Years
The Early Years were the years that Mickey was starting out in. During these years, Mickey was much more brash, rude and a bit of a bully. Due to this fact, these cartoons seem colder than any other Mickey cartoon would have. Many of these films just take an idea and a setting, throw a few gags in, and have Mickey come out as the victor (Even rarer and perhaps colder would be when Mickey came out the loser, like in The Barn Dance).
[edit] 1928
- Plane Crazy - First appearance of Mickey Mouse.
Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie
- Steamboat Willie - First Mickey Mouse sound cartoon.
[edit] 1929
- The Opry House - First time Mickey wears gloves.
- Mickey's Choo-Choo
[edit] 1930
[edit] 1931
[edit] Mickey Becomes a Character
During these years, Mickey becomes a character that you could sympathize for. He had to be. During the time, many mothers were upset at how Mickey's constant rudeness and bullying was starting to rub off on their own children. Walt then (regretfully) turned Mickey into a kinder, hero-type character as opposed to the more anti-hero charcter he was in the early years. He became an everyman who could do anything (and usually did). He was turned into a character that people could laugh with, and not at. It was also during this peoiod that Mickey was paired up with Donald Duck and Goofy.
[edit] 1932
- Parade of the Award Nominees
[edit] 1933
- The Night Before Christmas - Black and White Toy versions of Mickey make a cameo.
- The Mail Pilot
- Puppy Love
- The Pet Store
- The Steeple Chase
- Giantland
[edit] 1934
- Shanghaied
- Playful Pluto
- Gulliver Mickey
- Mickey's Steamroller
- Mickey Plays Papa
- The Dognapper
- Two-Gun Mickey
[edit] Mickey and Color
During this time period, Mickey and the gang were introduced to Technicolor, something that Walt had taken a gamble on for the Silly Symphonies in 1932. Walt didn't want to take a gamble on his most famous creation, the Mickey Mouse series. In 1935, however, Walt felt that Mickey was ready for color. The feedback and profits rocketed so Walt never used Black and White again, not even for his television series (which were filmed in color).
[edit] 1935
- Mickey's Man Friday
- Mickey's Service Station
- Mickey's Kangaroo - Final black and white Mickey cartoon.
Mickey and Minnie in The Brave Little Tailor.
- The Band Concert (First Mickey Mouse cartoon in color)
- Mickey's Garden
- Pluto's Judgment Day
[edit] 1936
- Orphans Picnic
[edit] 1937
[edit] 1938
- The Brave Little Tailor
- The Fox Hunt - Donald and Goofy cartoon. (cameo)
[edit] A New Mickey
During this time, Mickey's body structure was changed and 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 body. 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).
[edit] 1939
- Society Dog Show
Mickey's Most Popular role
- The Pointer - First cartoon to use the modern look.
- Mickey's Surprise Party
- The Standard Parade
[edit] 1940
- The Sorcerers' Apperetice - A segment from the film Fantasia.
[edit] 1941
- Orphan's Benefit 1941 color remake.
[edit] Mickey and the War
During this time period, World War Two was taking place and the Disney characters were off to war. All of the main characters were given their own war-related cartoons at least once, except for one: Mickey. While all of the other characters were off to war, Walt refused to draft Mickey. (Goofy also lacks wartime shorts. This must be because he was discharged for being so "goofy".)
[edit] 1942
- Symphony Hour - Last Mickey Mouse cartoon until 1947.
- All Together - Last Mickey Mouse dot eyes cartoon.
- Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire Line - (cameo) A picture of him as a soldier is hung up on Minnie's wall.
[edit] 1943
- Pluto and the Armadillo
[edit] Mickey's Postwar Years
After the war was over, Mickey made a comeback. He began to star in his own cartoons again and paired up with Donald and Goofy for the first time in years. (This era also shows a great advance in the animation style. This is probably due to the fact that many of the old animators had died overseas and Disney had to find new ones. These cartoons led the way to the "modernized" style of animation that Disney used in the mid fifties to late sixties.)
[edit] 1946
- Squatter's Rights
[edit] 1947
- Mickey and the Beanstalk - a segment of Fun and Fancy Free.
- Mickey's Delayed Date (First cartoon to use the "modernized" style of animation) - First Mickey Mouse short since 1942.
[edit] 1948
- Pluto's Purchase - In a Pluto Cartoon.
[edit] 1949
- Pueblo Pluto - In a Pluto Cartoon.
[edit] 1950
- Crazy Over Daisy Donald Duck cartoon (cameo)- Donald waves at Mickey and Minnie while riding by.
[edit] 1951
- Plutopia
- R'Coon Dawg
[edit] 1952
- Pluto's Party - First Mickey Mouse cartoon with eyebrows.
- How to Be a Decective (cameo) - A picture of his face is on a comic book in a Goofy Cartoon.
[edit] 1953
- The Simple Things - Last Mickey Mouse theatrical film until 1983.
[edit] 1955-1959
- Mickey Mouse Club (tv series) - In opening theme song and intro.
- On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends (1956) - a episode of the TV show Walt Disney Presents.
[edit] The Modern Years
It was by this time, Mickey's rise to fame increased alot. He had a new voice, played by the late Wayne Allwine. This era also had Mickey's return to theaters after a 30-year long hiatus, had a brief revival of animated shorts on Mickey Mouse Works/Disney's House of Mouse, starred in a few successful video games and even stepped into the world of CGI animation. In recent years, one of his most famous role has been the role as King Mickey from the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise.
[edit] 1977
- All New Mickey Mouse Club - He appears in the beginning of every episode welcoming the mouseketeers. Mickey's last animated appearance with eyebrows.
[edit] 1983
- Mickey's Christmas Carol - First Mickey Mouse film since 1953.
[edit] 1988
- Totally Minnie - TV special. (cameo)
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit-(cameo)
- Mickey's 60th Birthday - TV special.
[edit] 1990
[edit] 1995
- A Goofy Movie (cameo) - Goofy and Max drive by a hitchhiking Mickey and Donald; Mickey is later seen briefly in the audience of the Powerline concert.
[edit] 1997
- The Making of Mickey and the Beanstalk - segment from "The Making of Fun and Fancy Free"
[edit] 1998
- The Spirit of Mickeyhosted by Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
[edit] 1999
- Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) - Package films
- Mickey Mouse Works (1999-2000) - A TV series featuring new made-for-tv shorts featuring Mickey and friends.
[edit] 2000
- Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[edit] 2001
- House of Mouse (2001-2004) - A TV series featuring Mickey and friends hosting a night club and showing cartoons.
- Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at a House of Mouse (2001) - House of Mouse video release.
[edit] 2002
- Mickey's House of Villians (2002) - House of Mouse video release.
[edit] 2004
- Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004)
- Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004) - First Mickey Mouse film in CGI.
[edit] 2006
- Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006-present) - Educational TV series starring Mickey and friends for preschoolers in CGI.
[edit] Video Games
- Sorcerer's Apprentice - Atari 2600 (1983)
- Mickey's Space Adventure - Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, TRS-80 CoCo (1984)
- Mickey Mousecapade - NES (1987)
- Mickey Mouse: The Computer Game - Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum (1988)
- Mickey Mouse - Game Boy (1989)
- Adventures in the Magic Kingdom - NES (1990)
- Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse - Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System (1990)
- QuackShot starring Donald Duck (blimp cameo) - Sega Genesis (1991)
- Fantasia - Sega Genesis (1991)
- Mickey's Crossword Puzzle Maker - Apple II, DOS (1991)
- Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse - Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System (1992)
- The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse - Super NES (1992); Game Boy Advance (2002)
- World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - Sega Genesis (1992)
- Legend of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse - Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System (1994)
- The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey and Minnie Mouse - Sega Genesis, Super NES (1994); Game Boy Advance (2003)
- Mickey's Ultimate Challenge - Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Super NES (1994)
- Mickey Mania - Sega Genesis, Super NES, Sega CD, Sony Playstation (1994)
- Disney's Magical Quest 3 starring Mickey and Donald - Super NES Japan-only (1995); Game Boy Advance (2005)
- The Disney Collection - Sega Genesis (1996)
- Mickey's Racing Adventure - Game Boy Color (1999)
- Magical Tetris Challenge - Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation (1999)
- Disney's Mickey Mouse Toddler - Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows (2000)
- Mickey's Speedway USA - Nintendo 64 (2000); Game Boy Color (2001)
- Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum - Nintendo 64 Japan-only (2000)
- Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Mix - Sony Playstation (2001)
- Disney's Mickey Saves the Day: 3D Adventure - Microsoft Windows (2001)
- Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse - Nintendo Gamecube (2002)
- Kingdom Hearts - Sony Playstation 2 (2002)
- Disney Sports Skateboarding - Nintendo Gamecube (2002)
- Disney Learning Adventure: Search for the Secret Keys - Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows (2002)
- Disney's Party - Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Gamecube (2003)
- Disney Sports Snowboarding - Game Boy Advance (2003)
- Disney's Hide and Sneak - Nintendo Gamecube (2003)
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - Game Boy Advance (2004)
- Disney: 3 Spellen - Microsoft Windows (2005)
- Kingdom Hearts II - Sony Playstation 2 (2005)
- Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ - Sony Playstation 2 Japan-only (2007)
- Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories - Sony Playstation 2 Japan (2007;bundled with Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+); America (2008;seperately)
- Kingdom Hearts coded - mobile phone (2008;Japan)
- Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Grooves - Nintendo Wii (2009)
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Nintendo DS (2009)
- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - Sony PSP (2010) The game's release date has been pushed back due to Wayne Allwine's unfortunate passing as Bret Iwan replaces Allwine.
- Epic Mickey - Nintendo Wii (2010)
[edit] External links
 | This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Mickey Mouse. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with DisneyWiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
