Hot Dog! Ten Fun Facts about Mickey Mouse

What would an animation blog be without at least paying homage to the most famous mouse in all cartoondom? Here are ten fun facts you may or may not already know about Disney’s world-famous mascot, Mickey Mouse:

1.       Many people think that the infamous Steamboat Willie (1928) marked Mickey’s first onscreen appearance, and that he represented the first talking cartoon character. Neither of these statements is true. Mickey Mouse in fact starred in two cartoons prior to Steamboat Willie, titled Plane Crazy (1928) and Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928) respectively, although it should be noted that these were not distributed to the general public. Disney’s decision to make Steamboat Willie with synchronised music and sound led to his public dissemination, and resulted in unprecedented nationwide success. Regardless, while the cartoon accomplished much in that it represented the first full, one-reel juxtaposition of film and music, there were already earlier examples of sound synchronisation in animated film in existence, by the likes of the Fleischer brothers, although these examples were more minimal in scope.

2.       Many people also attribute Mickey’s design to Walt Disney himself, when in fact he was visually designed by Ub Iwerks, who went on to independently create his own cartoons and establish new star Flip the Frog, who was at the centre of a number of cartoons throughout the 1930s, produced by The Iwerks Studio. Sadly, these cartoons were never majorly successful. Disney’s influence is widely disputed.

3.       Mickey’s first colour cartoon was The Band Concert, released in 1935, which sees Mickey assume the role of band leader/conductor of a concert which resolves to carry on despite a number of distractions. Most famously, the climax of the cartoon features a tornado, incited by the frantic musical composition, which sends all the band members high into the air as they continue to play.

4.       Mickey’s late-1930s redesign is attributed to animator Fred Moore, which resulted in his adding whites to his eyes as opposed to merely drawing them as simple black dots, as well as adding his infamous white gloves. This redesign initially appeared in The Pointer (1939). Around this time, the focus diverted from plain, slapstick gags to character development.

5.       Despite his name being synonymous with Disney, and his silhouette becoming the Disney logo, only one of his cartoons won an Academy Award. The cartoon is entitled Lend a Paw (1941) and ironically features Pluto as its protagonist. In the cartoon, Pluto saves a kitten, only to become envious of the furry feline after Mickey begins to care for it.

6.       In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame.

7.       Mickey has appeared in only three theatrical releases in Disney’s animated features canon. These are Fantasia (1940), Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and Fantasia 2000 (1999). Both of the Fantasia films showcase the infamous Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence that has become one of the feature’s most iconic segments, while Fun and Fancy Free presents the final appearance of Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey Mouse, in the cartoon Mickey and the Beanstalk, during the recording of which the baton was passed on to actor Jimmy MacDonald.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)

8.       Mickey has been voiced by Walt Disney, Jimmy MacDonald, Clarence Nash, Stan Freberg, Alan Young, Wayne Allwine and Bret Iwan. Allwine initially provided his voice in 1983’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol and continued to lend his vocals until his death in 2009. During his career, he voiced Mickey in such notable films as The Prince and the Pauper (1990) and Fantasia 2000 (1999), as well as straight-to-video features Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004).

9.       Mickey has starred in a number of video-games, including Epic Mickey, Castle of Illusion and Mickey Mania. Initially created for the Sega Mega Drive in 1994 and rereleased as Mickey’s Wild Adventure in 1995 on PlayStation, Mickey Mania is notable for having paid homage to a number of significant and memorable shorts, including Steamboat Willie, The Mad Doctor (1933), The Band Concert (1935) and Lonesome Ghosts (1937).

The Brave Little Tailor (1938)

10.   Ten of Mickey’s cartoons have been nominated for an Academy Award, including The Brave Little Tailor (1938), Runaway Brain (1995) and, most recently, Get a Horse! (2013), which was presented as an accompaniment to Disney’s 53^rd animated feature Frozen (2013).

 

Images obtained from:

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. (1999) [DVD] Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Burbank, California.

The Sword in the Stone. (2001) [DVD] Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Burbank, California.