Happy birthday, Mickey Mouse! Mickey turns 87 today!
On November 18, 1928, the film Steamboat Willie premiered, the first sound-synchronized animated cartoon. Mickey Mouse made his way into the world and into the hearts of many, bringing a lot of smiles and laughs with him.
“Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner,” explained Walt Disney. Mickey didn’t appear in color for a few years, with his first color animated film being The Band Concert in 1935.
Disney always said that he and Mickey were linked, but some may be surprised to learn that Walt was Mickey for a large period of time. Walt Disney provided the voice for Mickey Mouse from when he first created him in 1928 until 1946. At that point, Jimmy MacDonald, an English voice actor, took over the responsibility. Walt again voiced Mickey for The Mickey Mouse Club from 1955-59.
Walt Disney said, “When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it’s because he’s so human; and that is the secret of his popularity.”
One thing that never fails to make me laugh and smile is this video of Mickey Mouse Dancing. He busted a move on four different occasions at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration earlier this year, and I had to compile that footage. Seeing Mickey moonwalk was definitely a highlight for me.
On Mickey Mouse’s special day, it seems appropriate to remember Walt Disney’s words: “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.”
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