A MOUSE IS BORN

No matter what legend one chooses to believe, the truth probably lies closer to the fact that although Walt gave Mickey his personality and character, animator Ub Iwerks created Mickey's design and appearance. Patterned after many cartoon characters of the day, especially Felix the Cat, Ub refined Walt's designs to give Mickey a fluid range of motion. Ub also almost single-handedly animated the initial Mickey Mouse shorts, producing as many as 700 drawings a day!

The first cartoon that Mickey would star was entitled Plane Crazy. The 1928 silent film spoofed the recent trans-Atlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh. After its completion, it was previewed at a Sunset Boulevard movie-house on May 15. Its reception encouraged Walt and the gang to cast Mickey in another adventure, Gallopin' Gaucho. But Walt was having trouble securing distribution for the Mickey Mouse series. He knew that he needed a hook and he found it with sound.

Warner Brothers releasing of the first "talkie," The Jazz Singer, in October of 1927 revolutionized the movie industry. Moviegoers know not only wanted to watch films but they wanted to hear them as well. After developing a way to synchronize sound with his cartoons, Walt recorded the soundtrack of Mickey's third picture, Steamboat Willie. This cartoon would debut November 18, 1928 at the Colony Theater in New York City with a talking feature movie, Gang War, starring Olive Borden and Jack Pickford.

Mickey Mouse was a huge hit. The New York Times said Steamboat Willie was "an ingenious piece of work with a good deal of fun. It growls, whines, squeaks and makes various other sounds that add to its mirthful quality." Weekly Film Review said, "It kept the audience laughing and chuckling from the moment the lead titles came on the screen, and it left them applauding." And Exhibitor's Herald said, "It is impossible to describe this riot of mirth, but it knocked me out of my seat."

And so began the tale of the mouse, a happy-go-lucky fella who was born, nurtured and developed at just the right time, Mickey Mouse would be the successful building block that Walt Disney would use to grow the entire company. He would entertain millions of people in films, on television and as host at Disney theme parks worldwide. In fact, it would be hard to imagine a world without the ever-present smiling face of Mickey Mouse.

So the next time you are enjoying a Disney movie or listening to a Disney song or are experiencing a good time at one of Disney's theme parks, remember that you have a little guy named Mickey Mouse to thank for it all. Never lose sight of that.

For more in-depth coverage of Mickey's origins, check out the following sources used in writing this essay.

• Walt Disney, An American Original by Bob Thomas
• Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse - His Life and Times by Richard Holliss and Brian Sibley
• "Mickey Mouse and the Disney Repertory Players," an essay by Charles Solomon from the CD-ROM, Walt Disney - An Intimate History of the Man and His Magic

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- Story by Matthew Walker
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