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- "When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it's because he's so human; and that is the secret of his popularity. I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse."
- ―Walt Disney[src]
Mickey Mouse is an animated anthropomorphic mouse created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in the year 1928. Arguably by far its most famous character, Mickey serves as the mascot for The Walt Disney Company and the leader of The Sensational Six.
Fancifully estimated as standing 2 ft. 3 in. (69 cm) and weighing 23 pounds (10 kg), Mickey 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 80 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 also shares the same birthday with Minnie Mouse, his girlfriend.
Mickey's 3-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. Mickey is often cited as the world's most famous cartoon character of all time.
Personality
Mickey is easily recognized by his red shorts with white (sometimes yellow or golden) buttons on it, white gloves and large yellow shoes as well as his round mouse ears. He often gets himself into trouble as a result of his mischief and the fact that he can be forgetful and extremely imaginative.
Mickey sometimes chooses fun and adventure over working, a trait disliked by Minnie Mouse. While usually always having the better amount of luck, when teamed with his pals Donald and Goofy, he and his friends often end their day in failure and all three are the faults. Even so, Mickey has, on many occasions, proven to be the most reliable of the three being that, he has far better control over his temper than Donald, and more common sense than Goofy.
Mickey stands as a father figure for Pluto and has grounded him on many occasions as if he is a young boy. He also counts Pluto as his best pal and usually puts him before nearly everything else. Mickey describes himself as a good sport but on occasion has lost his temper on both enemies and friends. He is usually dumbstruck by the mere sight of Minnie Mouse giving her many titles such as "his best girl" and constantly goes out of his way to impress her. Mickey loves her with all his heart and Minnie loves him in return. From experience, Mickey believes there is at least a small dose of kindness in everyone's heart, resulting in him being quite forgiving. He is also understanding and sympathetic.
Mickey is very brave. Many cartoons begin with Mickey and Minnie enjoying each other's company until a villain (usually his nemesis Pete) kidnaps her and the takes her away, resulting to Mickey battling the villain and proclaiming his love. Mickey can be competitive and never backs down even when his opponent is twice his size. In many situations, Mickey has shown to be a trickster and enjoys pranking his enemies to get the better of them. Despite being very heroic, Mickey prefers to lay back and relax. He is optimistic and hardworking during harsh times and often encourages his friends to keep going, but on rare events has given up hope and even doubted himself. Its times like these when Mickey's friends, such as Donald and Goofy are optimistic and encourage him in return. Mickey is incredibly noble and generally puts the people he loves in front of his own well being. He has even been able to set aside differences with his foes when necessary.
In spite of being an anthropomorphic mouse, Mickey has the tendencies to act with his animal nature including the fact that, being a mouse, he loves cheese. In the television series House of Mouse, Mickey being a mouse is made fun of when he is shown to exercise on a hamster wheel and drink from a rodent drinking bottle (like the ones found in a hamster cage). These particular facts seem to only exist in the House of Mouse.
Creation and debut
Mickey through the years.
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 compensation.
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 enough, 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 Ub 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.
Mickey in his first appearance, Steamboat Willie in 1928
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.
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, probably most famous, and first sound cartoon Steamboat Willie, that Mickey began to gain the popularity that he has today. The short's original release date - November 18, 1928 - was later declared to be Mickey's official birthday in the early 1970s.
Mouse in Transition
Mickey Mouse entering 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 of Jimmy Durante.
Mickey's World of Color
Mickey the conductor in The Band Concert.
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).
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). There were 56 more color cartoons in the original Mickey Mouse Theatrical Series.
Mickey and the War
During this time period, World War II was taking place and the Disney characters went off to fight in that war. All of the main characters were given their own war-related cartoons at least once, with the strange exception of Mickey. While all of the other characters went off to war, Walt refused to draft Mickey.
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 advancement 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 from the mid-1950s to the later 1960s.)
Later Mickey Mouse History
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in Lonesome Ghosts
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.
As Mickey and Minnie's popularity rose, new characters were created as a supporting cast. These new characters would later go on to become icons alongside Mickey and Minnie, including Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and Daisy Duck. Around this time, Mickey began to star in a series of short cartoons alongside Donald Duck and Goofy. Some of their most well known shorts together include Lonesome Ghosts, Clock Cleaners, and Mickey's Trailer.
Mickey and Pluto in The Pointer
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 character 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.
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 were created including: The Phantom Blot, Chief O'Hara, Eega Beeva, and Mickey's nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse.
Mickey and his friends in the Mickey Mouse Club.
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 starred in the 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 the re-issue of The Rescuers) and The Prince and the Pauper (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 Tinker Bell.
Film appearances
Fantasia
Mickey in his first feature film, Fantasia.
- Main article: Sorcerer Mickey
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.
In the film's sequel, Fantasia 2000, Mickey starred in the same short, as well as a brief live-action/animation scene with James Levine to introduce Donald and Daisy's segment, Pomp and Circumstance.
Canceled Anchors Aweigh appearance
In 1945, the producers of the MGM musical Anchors Aweigh wanted Mickey to do a dance number with Gene Kelly and for Walt Disney to animate it. There were several theories why it never happened:
- Walt was willing to accept this offer but his brother Roy declined saying that they were in debt after World War II.
- Walt declined the offer.
- Walt and Roy agreed with the offer but MGM received a counter offer from Will Hanna and Joe Barbera to use Jerry Mouse instead since Hanna and Barbera were still working at MGM studios at the time.
Regardless of which theory was correct, the role and dance number ended up going to Jerry Mouse of Tom & Jerry fame and was animated by Will Hanna and Joe Barbera, who were still making Tom & Jerry cartoons at the time.
Fun and Fancy Free
Mickey in Mickey and the Beanstalk.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy live in a once peaceful village that became a wasteland after the beautiful singing Golden Harp was kidnapped by a 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 and with the beans grew a beanstalk. The beanstalk led to the castle of Willie the Giant who is the kidnapper. 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.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Mickey would make a cameo in the film alongside other cartoon characters as well. He makes a notable appearance skydiving with Bugs Bunny and later at the end leading the other toons into the human world to Roger Rabbit.
A Goofy Movie
Mickey made a cameo appearance hitchhiking with Donald Duck during the song On the Open Road. A Mickey Mouse phone was also seen in Max's room in the film's opening. At the end of the film, Mickey was seen in the crowd at the Power Line concert.
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
Mickey in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas.
In this film, Mickey is lacking in money, preventing him from easily purchasing a chain for Minnie's watch as a Christmas gift. To gain money faster, he and Pluto work extra hard at their job at "Crazy Pete's Tree Lot". However, after ruining Pete's scheme to sell an overpriced tree to a struggling family, Mickey's tip money is stolen by Pete, and the mouse is fired.
With no money, Mickey and Pluto think of a way to make more money, whilst Mickey plays his beloved harmonica. The beauty of Mickey's harmonica playing catches the attention of the Chief of Police who is having a toy drive. However, the band for the drive was unable to perform at the time. The Chief asks Mickey to play at the drive, but Mickey tries to explain that he has no time. Upon seeing the sad face of a child who donates a toy, Mickey decides to play.
Even after his stellar performance, Mickey still has no way to get Minnie her gift. Before Mickey departs, the Chief congratulates Mickey on his performance and tells him that he and his harmonica are something special. This gives Mickey the idea to trade in his harmonica for Minnie's chain. The store owner doesn't accept the offer however, until he hears Mickey's harmonica playing. Feeling sympathy for the mouse, the store owner goes through with the trade.
At Minnie's, the couple exchanges gift and it turns out that Minnie traded her watch for a case for Mickey's harmonica. The couple then realize that each other are all the gifts they'll ever need. In the finale, Mickey and Minnie join the other characters for Christmas carols.
The Lion King 1½
Mickey makes a brief, non-speaking cameo in the form of a silhouette during the film's finale, joining a cast of various other Disney characters as they prepare to watch The Lion King 1½.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers
Mickey in Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers.
When Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto were children, they were street urchins who were attacked by the nefarious Beagle Boys. Suddenly, three heroic musketeers came to the rescue. Once musketeer even gave Mickey his hat as a gift. From that day on, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy dreamed of becoming musketeers, but even as they became adults, they were still just as far from their dream as ever. Now, they serve as janitors for real musketeers, but still keep the dream alive by daydreaming of how great the musketeer life would be.
However, Captain Pete constantly bash the trio by telling them they'll never be musketeers because: Mickey is too small, Donald is a coward, and Goofy's too dumb. Unbeknown to the trio, Pete is actually plotting to kidnap Princess Minnie Mouse, and take over France as king. To do so, he hires the Beagle Boys to kidnap the princess, but they fail. Out of fear, Minnie demands musketeer bodyguards and Pete hires Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, believing they'll do a terrible job. On their first day, the trio rescues Minnie and her lady-in-waiting Daisy, from the Beagle Boys in yet another kidnap attempt.
After the rescue, Mickey and Minnie fall in love. Meanwhile, Pete plots to get rid of the trio after he realize they're more trouble than usual. Goofy is lured away from Minnie's castle by Pete's lieutenant Clarabelle and Donald is kidnap by the Beagles but he is able to escape. When he does, he heads back to the palace to warn Mickey. Mickey attempts to have Donald help him take down Pete, but the duck is too afraid. Donald quits and leaves France, while Pete kidnaps Mickey.
He takes Mickey to Mount. St. Micheal. There, he is imprisoned in a chamber that will flood with high tide, drowning Mickey. Fortunately, Goofy is freed by the reformed Clarabelle, and Donald decides to rejoin the force. Donald, Goofy, and Pluto head off to rescue Mickey, which they do just in time. Mickey and the gang head to the opera theater where Pete has already managed to take control. A battle follows and Pete is defeated. Mickey and Minnie then proclaim their love, and the trio are dubbed royal musketeers.
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
Mickey in Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas.
In the sequel to Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey is first seen attending Minnie and Daisy's ice skating tournament. Later on, Mickey is planning a big Christmas party for everyone to enjoy. Although Minnie would rather have him do something simple, Mickey goes ahead and decorate excessively with animatronic Santa Claus, a moving train set around the Christmas tree, and much more. While on the phone with Minnie, Pluto accidentally ruins the decorations. With all the decorations destroyed, Mickey has no choice but to go out and get new decorations. Before he leaves, he grounds Pluto and sends him to his dog house. After Mickey departs, Pluto runs away and finds himself at the North Pole.
Meanwhile, Mickey has returned to redecorate the house. Unlike the previous decorations, these are simpler. After the finishing touches were complete, Mickey went to the dog house to apologize to Pluto for his anger, wanting Pluto to place the star on the tree. Instead of Pluto, Mickey finds his discarded collar, and spots paw prints on the snow, heavily indicating that Pluto has run away. In panic, Mickey calls Minnie for help, and heads out to find his pal. He spends the entire day hanging up posters around the city. During the night, Mickey visits Santa Claus, who is having a meet-and-greet session, and tells him that all he wants for Christmas is Pluto back.
Mickey returns home, with all hope lost. Suddenly, Pluto pops up on the roof of the house and rushes down to Mickey's arm. Just as the two begin to reunite, a snow plow truck that nearly ran into Mickey earlier, rushes into the front yard of Mickey's house. The driver turns out to be Goofy, accompanied by Max, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Minnie explains that Scrooge purchased a snow plow company to help find Pluto. Overjoyed with his friends being there, Mickey invites them in, and they all sing Christmas carols to celebrate.
Planned feature film
In March 2011, veteran Disney animator Burny Mattinson announced that a full-length feature film based on Mickey is currently in development. So far, there is no information about what the plot of this movie is, but it has been confirmed as a project being made by the Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film is said to have Donald Duck and Goofy as well. If it gets the greenlight, it will be the first film starring Mickey and his friends to be a part of the Disney Animated Features canon. The film is rumored to tentatively be titled Mickey Mouse.
Mickey is also set to appear in the live-action film, Magic Kingdom. Mickey's role in the film so far is unknown.
Television shows
The Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey was the mascot for the show and scene in the opening theme song with him as the club's leader. Mickey was dressed in a marching band outfit.
Bonkers
Mickey was given a guest spot on Bonkers in "I Oughta be in Toons". Mickey was kidnapped and was rescued by Bonkers and Lucky Piquel. Throughout the episode, Mickey was never actually seen (except as a silhouette in the first scene of the episode) and only referred to as "The Mouse".
Mickey Mouse Works
Mickey in Mickey Mouse Works.
Mickey was the star of the series similar to his classic cartoons. Mickey usually got into problems out of his own mischievous attitude. Mickey had his own 90-second cartoon segments entitled "Mickey to the Rescue" in which he would break into Pete's trap-laden hideout to rescue Minnie.
In some episodes, Mickey would be involved in the Ajax business with Donald and Goofy having various jobs often ending in complete failure while in other cartoons might involve him in trying to impress Minnie by going over the top and modern. Some episodes involved Mickey competing with his much hated rival Mortimer Mouse.
Mickey was shown to be a trickster in the show, in such shorts as Mickey's Mountain and Mickey's Cabin, usually having Mickey outwit his nemesis Pete as they battle each other. Mickey was able to trick the dim-witted Pete on many occasions.
House of Mouse
Mickey as the host of House of Mouse.
Mickey is the owner of the popular night club in downtown Main Street. Mickey strives to keep the club profitable to keep safe from the landlord, Pete, while making sure himself is entertaining. Like his previous series, Mickey is mischievous and often gets the club in hot water because of that, such as in the episode "Rent Day", where he spent the club's rent on a large order of cheese.
In Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, Mickey and the guests are trapped inside the club on Christmas Eve. Mickey suggests they throw a Christmas party at the club. While the guests enjoy themselves by watching cartoons and socializing, Mickey and the employees try to get Donald into the Christmas spirit. With the guidance of Jiminy Cricket, Mickey is able to shed light on Donald, making it a merry Christmas for everyone.
In Mickey's House of Villains, Mickey tries to give his guests a good-spirited spooky Halloween. However, things take a turn for the worse when Jafar rallies the villains together at midnight and kicks him out along with the rest of the staff (trapping non-evil guests in the kitchen) and rename the club the "House of Villains". Mickey tries reasoning with Jafar to get the club back to normal, but to no avail. This forces Mickey to sneak backstage and don his sorcerer robes and hat from his time as Yen Sid's apprentice and take Jafar on in a magical duel. However, he soon loses his hat and becomes disadvantaged as the villains gang up on him, but Aladdin provides a lamp to imprison Jafar, scaring the other villains away and returning the House to normal.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Mickey as he appears in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Mickey is the host of the CG animated series in which he uses brains and teamwork to solve problems. Mickey is the leader of the clubhouse gang and often going on various adventures to help and/or save his friends.
Mickey was voiced by official voice actor Wayne Allwine for the first three seasons until his death. The role was then taken over by Bret Iwan. However, Allwine's Mickey voice was a tad bit too low at some point. Iwan's Mickey voice is staying in the lighter high range close to how Allwine would used to normally perform it.
In the show, Mickey and the clubhouse gang solve various problems using the viewers help. Aside from leaving on adventures and solving puzzles, Mickey and his friends also go through other problems such as stopping Goofy's Goofbot and Mickey and Pluto spending the day trying to return to solid grown after being trapped in a bubble. Mickey is also the host of the spin-off television series: Mickey Mousekersize. In these shorts, Mickey, accompanied by Toodles, help his friends stay in shape by using exercises to solve their daily problems.
Mickey Mouse
Mickey and his friends are set to star in an upcoming animated series that is set to premiere on Disney Channel. In the series, Mickey and the gang will partake in a series of new adventures around the world such as Paris, New York, and many more.
Later 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.
Only four people have regularly provided the voice for Mickey (not including theme park attractions and parades in the 1970s and 1980's). His first three official voice actors were Walt Disney (regularly from 1928 to 1947, occasionally from 1947 to 1966), James MacDonald (from 1947 to 1977) and Wayne Allwine (from 1977 until his death in 2009). After Allwine's passing, Hallmark greeting card illustrator Bret Iwan was chosen to be the new voice of Mickey, starting with a Mickey toy.
Mickey battles Julius in Runaway Brain.
Mickey's most recent theatrical cartoon was 1995's short Runaway Brain, a short focusing on Mickey's brain and body being switched with that of a monster, who falls in love with Minnie, named Julius.
Mickey Mouse has received nine nominations for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. These are Mickey's Orphans (1931), Building a Building (1933), Brave Little Tailor (1938), The Pointer (1939), Lend a Paw (1941), Squatter's Rights (1946), Mickey and the Seal (1948), Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), and Runaway Brain (1995). Among these, Lend a Paw was the only film to actually win the award. Additionally, in 1932, Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation and popularity.
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).
Mickey served as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 2005, as part of the kickoff of the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth", celebrating Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. In 2009, Mickey has reappeared in balloon form in the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, dressed as the captain of the Disney Cruise Line. That same year, Disney Channel premiered a short-series known as Have a Laugh! which is a collection of remastered shorts starring Mickey and friends.
In 2010, three dozen Mickey statues were used to promote the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which was played in Anaheim, California, adorned with insignias of the teams.
In 2011, Mickey and Minnie were given the honors as Grand Marshals of the 20th Annual Festival of Lights Parade in Chicago. Mickey would also be featured in the short series A Poem Is... on Disney Junior. In 2012, Mickey and the gang starred in the animated short, Electric Holiday.Mickey will star in 19 cartoon shorts staring June 28 2013
Disney Parks
Mickey poses for a photo at Hong Kong Disneyland.
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 all 11 Disney theme parks worldwide. Mickey is the most requested character in the parks. 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. Back in Disneyland's old Adventure Thru Inner Space, most of the molecules were shaped around Mickey heads.
Disneyland
In Disneyland Park, Mickey can often be found in Mickey's Toontown in the Movie Barn. For entertainment, Mickey is seen in nearly all parades and every showing including Mickey's Soundsational Parade and the popular Fantasmic! Mickey can often be found with the Disneyland Band. Over at Disney California Adventure, Mickey is found at Paradise Pier for meet-and-greets, and was also included on some billboards with characters like Goofy, Donald Duck, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Horace Horsecollar, and more . Mickey, in his sorcerer outfit, can be seen at the end of World of Color.
Walt Disney World
At the Magic Kingdom, Mickey is found in Main Street, U.S.A. with Minnie inside the Town Square Theater. Mickey is sometimes found in Fantasyland. For entertainment, Mickey can be seen in Mickey's PhilharMagic, Dream Along with Mickey, Celebrate A Dreams Come True Parade, Main Street Electrical Parade and far more. Over at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Mickey has the starring role in Fantasmic!. Mickey also makes a cameo in Muppet*Vision 3D. In Animal Kingdom, Mickey and friends can be found in Camp Minnie Mickey for meet-and-greets as well as being featured in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. Mickey also appears at Disney's Contemporary Resort in the Chef Mickey's restaurant for breakfast meet-and-greets. Mickey has two spell cards in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom known as "Apprentice Mickey's Broomsticks" and "Mickey's Magic Beans".
Disneyland Paris
In Disneyland Park (Paris), Mickey is seen in "Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade", "Disney's Fantillusion Parade", Mickey and his Magic Halloween Night and more. For meet-and-greets, Mickey can be found in Main Street or at the "Meet Mickey Mouse" greeting spot in Fantasyland. At Walt Disney Studios Park, Mickey is often found for Disney's Stars 'n' Cars. A silhouette of Mickey can be seen in the nighttime spectacular Disney Dreams!.
Tokyo Disney Resort
In Tokyo Disneyland, Mickey is found in both Toontown and World Bazaar for meet-and-greets. For shows, Mickey is featured in Minnie Oh! Minnie! and One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On!.
In Tokyo DisneySea, Mickey is seen as meet-and-greets in Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront and Lost River Delta. For entertainment, Mickey is featured in Fantasmic!, My Friend Duffy, The Legend of Mythica, and Big Band Beat at the Broadway Music Theatre.
Hong Kong Disneyland
In the park, Mickey is seen at the Fantasy Gardens for meet-and-greets. For entertainment, Mickey is seen in the Flights of Fantasy Parade and The Golden Mickeys.
Disney Cruise Line
Mickey is apart of the Oceaneer Lab with the younger children on board and for shows, Mickey is found in "The Golden Mickeys" and "Believe". On the Disney Fantasy, Mickey is the leader of a detective agency in "Midship Detective Agency". Mickey, along with Donald and Goofy, teams up with different Disney characters to help solve a case. On the Disney Magic cruise, Mickey can be seen flying Minnie around in The Toon Plane in the Magical Porthole. Mickey also joins on on the Sail Away Parties when the ships sail from their ports.
In video games
- Main article: Mickey Mouse in video games
Mickey with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in promotional artwork for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
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. A costume of Mickey is playable in the video game Disney Universe, released in 2011. In Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Mickey is one of the many characters available for meet-and-greets and gives several tasks to the player(s).
The first game in 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 reside, including the character and Mickey's half-brother Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The sequel, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, was released in 2012.
Kingdom Hearts series
Mickey also plays a major recurring role in the Kingdom Hearts video game series, known as King Mickey. In the series, he is the king of Disney Castle, and he sets off to battle the forces of Darkness. He is an incredibly powerful character in the Kingdom Hearts universe, as shown when he defeated three Darkside Heartless in a single blow whilst inside the Realm of Darkness. First studying under Yen Sid, Mickey is possibly the inventor of Gummi Ships. He is the first to realize the threat of darkness spreading between worlds, and one of the characters most strongly affiliated with light, including Sora.
Kingdom Keepers
Mickey hasn't made yet an appereance on the Kingdom Keepers books, but it's known he is the leader of the Disney characters and is mentioned by Minnie and Ariel in the fourth book. 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). They also say, there's the possibility that he is in hiding, but the most possible thing is that he has been taken by The Overtakers .
Relationships with other characters
- Main article: Mickey Mouse's Relationships
Catchphrases
Mickey, like Donald and Goofy has many catchphrases. Some of Mickey's most famous catchphrases are: Oh boy!, Hi folks!, Hey Everybody, See ya Real Soon and Hot Dog. Some of his other well known catchphrases are Golly and Oh my gosh!. His trademark laugh is among one of his catchphrases.
Filmography
- Main article: Mickey Mouse's Filmography
Trivia
- Mickey's full name was said to be Michael Mouse in the cartoon Symphony Hour and again in House of Mouse.
- Mickey Mouse was listed #50 in Empire Magazine's The 50 Best Animated Movie Characters; a list for characters from animated features. The low listing was due to Mickey's lack of critically acclaimed theatrical feature films with the exception of Fantasia. However, the list refers to Mickey as "the world's most famous cartoon character of all time" to make up.
- Many variations of Mickey's silhouette logo have been made, see: List of Mickey Mouse Head Formed by Circles, these are called hidden mickeys.
- According to Walt Disney, Mickey and Minnie Mouse have never been married on screen. But, in 1933, during an interview with Film Pictorial, Walt said, “In private life, Mickey is married to Minnie... What it really amounts to is that Minnie is, for screen purposes, his leading lady.”
- Mickey was used along with Minnie in a 1930 Aesop's Fables cartoon called "The Office Boy" after Walt Disney admitted influence from this cartoon series which had been around even before Mickey was even created. But Walt sued its creator Paul Terry for "plagiarizing" his character which lead to Aesop's Fables ending in 1933.
- Wayne Allwine's final performance of Mickey Mouse before his death was in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Because of this, there is a dedication to him in the credits of the English version of the game.
- Steamboat Willie's Mickey makes a cameo appearance as a transformation of Genie's in Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
- Although Mickey is usually shown to have magic powers with the Sorcerer Hat of Yen Sid, it is shown that Mickey can control magic without aid.
- Mickey's first-ever spoken line was "Hot Dogs!" in The Karnival Kid (1929). This is a very similar line to one of his catchphrases, "Hot dog!"
- In the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Mickey is often referred to by the Cast Members as the boss or Mr. Mouse.
- In the 2011 Disney/Pixar film Cars 2, two characters named Mama Topolino and Uncle Topolino are tributes to Mickey, as Topolino (meaning "little mouse") is Mickey's name in Italian.
- In 1933, Mickey Mouse received 800,000 pieces of fan mail.
- In Aladdin, Rajah's face turned into Mickey's for a split second when he transformed from a kitten to a tiger again.
- In 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Mickey makes numerous appearances. When the Pups are riding on top of a Subway Train in the first episode; "Home is Where the Bark Is", Mickey's silhouette can be seen as one of the passengers. In "Roll Out the Pork Barrell"; Rolly has a stuffed animal of Mickey Mouse. And in "On The Lamb", One of the Trees in the Gruteley Nursery is in the shape of a Mickey Mouse Head.
- In the anime series Stitch!, Hidden Mickeys are a common running gag being seen in many episodes.
- A Mickey Mouse plush was seen in Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.
- The original Epic Mickey game showcase Mickey having a certain degree of super human strength, being able to break out of metal restrictions.
- Mickey and Oswald, though similar in appearance, are not exactly related. For this to be true, Pete, Goofy, and Donald would be considered his brothers as well being that they are characters of Walt Disney as well. However, Mickey was created by Walt to replace the loss of Oswald. Walt himself has never confirmed their relationship to each other so therefore Oswald and Mickey as brothers is not valid. However, they are deemed generally half-brothers by fans due to this conclusion though the relationship was not stated and from the fact Walt played a role in both their creations.
- In the popular ABC television series Once Upon a Time, several figurines of Mickey and Minnie can be seen, most notably in Mr. Gold's pawn shop.
- Mickey, Donald, and Goofy make a cameo in the opening Concert Hall sequence of The Little Mermaid as King Triton passes them on camera left. They're in the audience with the merpeople.
- Mickey makes a cameo in the end credits of the Teacher's Pet film. He is shown posing with the Helperman family in a photo of a trip they took to Walt Disney World.
- Wayne Allwine's Mickey voice was a tad bit too low for the role at some point in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Bret Iwan's Mickey voice is staying in the lighter higher range close to how Allwine would used to normally perform it to help bring Mickey back to life again.
- Mickey makes a small cameo in Wreck-It Ralph. His picture appears on a sign above Litwak's Arcade.
- Mickey's brain is not only in his head but also in his ears, as seen in Runaway Brain
- Despite Walt Disney's famous "It all started by a mouse" quote, "It all" started by a certain rabbit...
