Mickey Mouse LifeStory

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Mickey Mouse's lifestory

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Birth
When: 19 November 1928
Where: UNITED STATES
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks and voiced by Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company celebrates his birth as November 18, 1928, upon the release of Steamboat Willie, although Mickey had already appeared six months earlier in Plane Crazy (Steamboat Willie being the first Mickey Mouse Cartoon with sound). The anthropomorphic mouse has evolved from being simply a character in animated cartoons and comic strips to become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. Mickey is currently the main character in the Disney Channel's Disney Junior series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". Mickey is the leader of The Mickey Mouse Club.


Mickey as a suitor
When: 14 March 1929
Where: WORLDWIDE
The Barn Dance, first released on March 14, 1929, was the first of twelve Mickey shorts released during that year. It was directed by Walt Disney with Ub Iwerks as the head animator. This short is notable for featuring Mickey turned down by Minnie in favor of Pete. It is also an unusual appearance of the Pete character; previously depicted as a menacing villain, he is portrayed here as a well-mannered gentleman. In addition, Mickey was not depicted as a hero but as a rather ineffective young suitor. In his sadness and crying over his failure, Mickey appears unusually emotional and vulnerable. It has been commented, however, that this only serves to add to the audience's empathy for the character.


First gloved appearance
When: 28 March 1929
Where: WORLDWIDE
The Opry House, first released on March 28, 1929, was the second short released during the year. This short introduced Mickey's gloves. Mickey can be seen wearing them in most of his subsequent appearances. Supposedly one reason for adding the white gloves was to allow audiences to distinguish the characters' hands when they appeared against their bodies, as both were black (Mickey did not appear in color until The Band Concert in 1935). The three black lines on the backs of the gloves represent darts in the gloves' fabric extending from between the digits of the hand, typical of kid glove design of the era.


Depiction as a regular mouse
When: 18 April 1929
Where: WORLDWIDE
When the Cat's Away, first released on April 18, 1929, was the third Mickey short to be released that year. It was essentially a remake of one of the Alice Comedies, Alice Rattled by Rats, which had been first released on January 15, 1926. Kat Nipp makes his second appearance, though his name is given as "Tom Cat" (this describes his being a tomcat, and the character should not be confused with the co-star of the Tom and Jerry series). He is seen getting drunk on alcoholic beverages. Then he leaves his house to go hunting. In his absence an army of mice invade his house in search of food. Among them are Mickey and Minnie, who proceed to turn this gathering into a party. This short is unusual in depicting Mickey and Minnie as having the size and partly the behavior of regular mice. The set standard both before and after this short was to depict them as having the size of rather short human beings. On another note, since this short was released during the Prohibition era, the alcoholic beverages would probably have been products of bootlegging.


Mickey as a soldier
When: 25 April 1929
Where: WORLDWIDE
The next Mickey short to be released is also considered unusual. It was "The Barnyard Battle", first released on April 25, 1929. This short is notable as the first to depict Mickey as a soldier and the first to place him in combat.


Theater-based Mickey Mouse Clubs
When: 1930
Where: WORLDWIDE
In 1930, Disney began the first of what would later be many Mickey Mouse Clubs, which were located in hundreds of movie theaters across the United States.


First comic strip appearance
When: 13 January 1930
Where: WORLDWIDE
By this point Mickey had appeared in 15 commercially successful animated shorts and was easily recognized by the public. So Walt Disney was approached by King Features Syndicate with the offer to license Mickey and his supporting characters for use in a comic strip. Walt accepted and Mickey made his first comic strip appearance on January 13, 1930. The comical plot was credited to Walt Disney himself, art to Ub Iwerks and inking to Win Smith. The first week or so of the strip featured a loose adaptation of "Plane Crazy". Minnie soon became the first addition to the cast. The strips first released between January 13, 1930 and March 31, 1930 have been occasionally reprinted in comic book form under the collective title "Lost on a Desert Island". Animation historian Jim Korkis notes "After the eighteenth strip, Iwerks left and his inker, Win Smith, continued drawing the gag-a-day format..."


Award
When: 1932
Where: WORLDWIDE
The artistic success of the animators was honored in 1932 when an Oscar was presented to Walt Disney for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse's popularity spawned a Mickey Mouse Club in 1929 which met every Saturday for an afternoon of cartoons and games in local theaters. The several million Mouse Clubbers had a secret handshake, special member greeting, code of behavior, and even a special club song, " Minnie's Yoo Hoo" .


Fantasia
When: 1940
Where: WORLDWIDE
The peak of Mickey Mouse's golden decade was his starring role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice in the feature Fantasia (1940), a major artistic innovation. It interpreted music in colors, shapes, movement, and story. The animation techniques were years ahead of their time and have never been matched. Fantasia also introduced stereophonic sound to theaters, an element not employed by other studios until more than a decade later.


Fun and Fancv Free
When: 1947
Where: WORLDWIDE
With the advent of World War II, the Disney Studio suspended nearly all commercial activity and concentrated on aiding the war effort with training films, goodwill tours, and designing of posters and armed forces insignia. Mickey Mouse played his part by appearing on insignia and posters urging national security and the purchase of war bonds. And, incredibly, the password of the Allied forces on D-Day, June 6,1944, was " Mickey Mouse." Following the war, Mickey Mouse returned to making cartoons and appeared in his second feature, Fun and Fancv Free (1947), in which he co-starred with Goofy and Donald Duck in a new version of " Jack and the Beanstalk," titled appropriately " Mickey and the Beanstalk."


Disneyland
When: 1955
Where: UNITED STATES
Mickey Mouse moved to Disneyland in 1955 to become chief host of the theme park, welcoming millions of visitors annually, shaking hands, posing for pictures, and leading the big parades on national holidays.


Mickey Mouse Activities
When: from 1971 to 1983
Where: WORLDWIDE
In 1971, Mickey Mouse helped open the Walt Disney World Resort in 1983 he donned a kimono for the dedication of Tokyo Disneyland and in 1992, he sported a beret for the opening of what is now called Disneyland Paris. His other activities include public appearance tours around the world for The Walt Disney Company.


Award
When: 18 November 1978
Where: WORLDWIDE
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.


Achievement
When: from 1993 to 1996
Where: UNITED STATES
Mickey Mouse has been saluted at three of the Disney theme parks by having " lands" created in his honor. Mickey's Birthdayland (now Mickey's Starland) opened on November 18, 1988, in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World to honor Mickey Mouse on his 60th birthday. Mickey's Toontown opened in 1993 in Disneyland, then in 1996 at Tokyo Disneyland and now serves as home to Mickey Mouse and all of his cartoon friends.

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