Who's Who Wednesday: Mickey Mouse

It all started with a mouse? As we learned lastweek when I told the story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney's animation days did not start with Mickey. It wasn't until Disney lost the rights to Oswald that he and his colleague, Urb Iwerks, started developing a new character. Iwerks presented several animal characters to Disney before he himself came up with the idea of a mouse, partly from his fond memories of a childhood pet. Disney chose the name Mortimer for the mouse, however his wife, Lillian, talked him into the name Mickey. Mickey appeared in several non-published cartoons. His 3rd cartoon but first released was Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928. In

this cartoon, Mickey worked for Captain Pete. Minnie Mouse also made her first appearance in this cartoon. Several cartoons after Steamboat Willie contained sound, but Mickey didn't speak until the film The Karnival Kid. His first words were, "'Hot dogs, hot dogs.'" Until this time, Mickey only whistled and laughed. Mickey soon became a suiter to Minnie. She always seemed to favor Pete. In the film The Opry House, we see Mickey's white gloves for the first time and in 1931, we meet Mickey's pe dog, Pluto. The popularity of Mickey Mouse soared and so began the Mickey Mouse Club. In 1932 there were over 1,000,000 members. This was also the year that Mickey won is first Academy Award. Walt Disney recieved an Honorary Academy Award for creating Mickey. Mickey was only shown in black and white until 1935. The Band Concert was released using tichnicolor film making. It was rated the 3rd greatest cartoon of all time in 1994. My favorite Mickey film is Fantasia, where Mickey starts out as a sorcerers apprentice. It was realeased in 1940. Walt Disney was the original voice of Mickey Mouse and remained so until 1946. Jimmy MacDonald took over for a short period of time and then Disney voiced it again from 1955-1959. The late Wayne Allune voiced Mickey until he passed away in 2009. The voice is now done by Bret Iwan. Many movies, theatrical musicals, cartoons, television productions, comic strips, merchandise and even video games feature the image of the beloved Mickey Mouse. Fisher-Price has just released a new stuffede toy called Rock-Star Mickey for the holiday season. At the Disney Parks Mickey is the central attraction. He appears at meet and greets as a non-speaking character. Rides and shows are even feature him, such as; Mickey's Toon Town, Mickey's PhilarMagic and Fantasmic at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios where he stars as Sorcerer Mickey. In toons, Mickey is usually seen wearing red pants with large yellow buttons, his famous white gloves and shoes. He can be found in various outfits at each Disney park and different seasons. Mickey Moue is the most famous cartoon character in the world. Make plans to head out to a park and meet him for yourself.