16 Things You Never Knew About Mickey Mouse
16.
A Better Replacement- Mickey Mouse was designed as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit,
an animated cartoon created by film producer Charles Mintz for Disney through Universal
Studios.
But Disney and Universal had a fall out in which Universal acquired control of the rabbit.
Disney left and ended up creating Mickey Mouse.
You can see the similarities between the two characters, especially in their eye, nose,
and smile.
In February 2006, Disney finally gained Oswald’s rights, but to think we almost had Oswald,
the Rabbit as Disney’s official mascot instead of Mickey Mouse.
But through this experience, Walt Disney learned a major lesson, always to make sure he owned
all rights to the animated characters produced by his company.
15.
The First Silent and Sound Cartoon- The first cartoon Mickey appeared in was Plane Crazy,
which released in 1929.
Walt Disney first wrote the script while traveling on a train from the windy city to Los Angeles.It
was originally a silent cartoon, and it was given a screen test to a theater audience
fourteen months prior.
However, it was unable to catch the attention of a distributor.
Then in 1929, Disney released its first Mickey sound cartoon called Steamboat Willie which
garnered a huge success and is the first cartoon of us are familiar with today.
After Steamboat Willie, Plane Crazy was released as a sound picture shortly after.
Other Mickey shorts and animated films have paid homage to the two pictures throughout
the years.
For example, Plane Crazy plays in an endless loop at the Main Street Cinema at Disneyland
next to Steamboat Willie and cartoons like The Nifty Nineties (1941) and Mickey’s Airplane
Kit (1999) reference Plane Crazy.
14.
What’s in a name?
Mickey Mouse is synonymous with the Walt Disney Company.
But did you know the beloved mouse originally had a different name?
He first presented as Mortimer Mouse, but Walt’s wife, Lillian intervened.
She convinced him that Mickey was a more marketable name and we’re sure glad that he listened!
It just wouldn’t seem right if his name weren't Mickey.
Mortimer went on to later become Mickey’s rival in several animated cartoons, including
vying for Minnie Mouse’s affection.
13.
Pricey Memorabilia- If you love Disney collectibles, especially Mickey Mouse relics, then get your
checkbook ready!
However, you might want to take another look at your bank account as these prized possessions
don’t come cheap.
Rare Mickey Mouse keepsakes are already for auction and are expected to reach prices as
high as $50,000.
Several original drawings like Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie are estimated between
$4,000 to $6,000.
Additionally, Mickey and Minnie Old King Cole figurines are going for $60,000.
Some of these items date back to 1928 and have never even been seen by the public.
12.
Mickey Gets Political- In America, protest votes are created to express dissatisfaction
with the current candidates in which Mickey Mouse has been written as a write-in vote
on several occasions An election supervisor from Georgia even said if Mickey Mouse doesn’t
get any votes in our election, then it’s a bad one.
The earliest known recognition of the character as a write-in candidate can be traced all
the way back to the New York City mayoral elections in 1932.
Additionally, Mickey Mouse has met every United States President since Harry Truman except
with the disbarment of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Former President Barack Obama also jokingly referred to Mickey as a world leader who had
bigger ears than him.
11.
Behind the Voices-Mostly known for his talent as an animator and producer and director,
creator Walt Disney was also the first original voice for Mickey.
From 1928 to 1947, Walt provided the voice for the mouse before allowing English voice
actor Jimmy MacDonald to take over from 1947 to 1977 until his retirement.
But that didn’t stop Walt from lending his voice time and time again.
Walt briefly returned to the studio to voice Mickey in 1955 for The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
short.
Then Wayne Anthony Allwine, a sound effects editor, foley artist and voice actor for the
Walt Disney Company became Mickey’s voice for 32 years from 1977 until his death in
2009.
Allwine was the longest voice actor for Mickey, 32 years to date while MacDonald previously
held the title for 30 years.
Bret Iwan is the current for Mickey, he is an illustrator as well, and he has recorded
for Mickey toys, theme parks, video games and Disney on Ice: Celebrations!
10.
First Mickey Mouse Strip- The first Mickey Mouse comic strip came out almost 90 years
ago in 1930.
Coincidentally, the comic’s plot followed a close similarity to the first Mickey animated
short, Plane Crazy.
Ub Iwerks was responsible for sketching the first 24 strips until artist Floyd Gottfredson
took over and became the series permanent artist for 45 years until he retired.
By the summer of 1930, the Mickey Mouse comic strip appeared in over 35 newspapers across
two dozen countries which contributed to establishing the famous mouse and helped rank him as a
worldwide cultural symbol of the Disney Company.
9.
Banned?- In earlier years, several Mickey Mouse cartoons were prohibited.
In 1929, a short called The Barnyard Battle was banned in Germany because an army of cats
was wearing a pickelhauben which are pointed helmets worn by the German military in the
early 19th and 20th centuries.
They stated this was offensive to national dignity.
With movies being shown on a ten-foot screen in Romania, this concept was relatively new,
and the country decided to prohibit Mickey Mouse; concerned that children would be frightened
by a huge rodent.
Then in 1937, a Mickey Mouse adventure skit paralleled real life events in Yugoslavia
that it was forbidden in the country.
The comic featured a Puritan-like revolt that threatened Peter II, who was only fourteen
at the time.
8.
Shining Star-The Hollywood walk of fame is perhaps one of the most famous tourist sites
in California, with over 2,600 brass stars, it is every celebrity’s dream to get a star.
In fact, Mickey Mouse was the first fictional character to receive such an honor.
On November 18, 1979, on his 50th anniversary, his star was unveiled to the public.
It is located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Throughout his film career, the beloved character remains the widest licensed figure in the
world, and is even more recognizable than Santa!
7.
Birthday Fun- Can you believe Mickey Mouse is almost 90 years old?!
His official birthday is November 18, 1929, which is also the date he made his first sound
appearance in New York.
Every year, Mickey’s birthday is celebrated in a particular way, but on his 50th anniversary,
both Disneyland and Disneyworld held a parade in his honor back in 1978.
The celebration was also televised and aired which was called Mickey’s 50.
Ten years later, his 60th birthday was celebrated in a bigger way when Mickey’s Birthdayland
unveiled at the Magic Kingdom in 1988.
With such an extravagant commemoration, we can only imagine how Mickey’s 100th birthday
will go!
I’m sure he’ll have fireworks and a fantastic show and a lot of celebrity appearances, and
we don’t expect anything less from our favorite mouse!
6.Banana Fingers?- If you watch carefully, you’ll notice that Mickey Mouse only has
four fingers.
It might be hard to see at first so you might want to slow it down a bit.
But why does Mickey only have four fingers?
Simply for economic reasons.
I know what you’re thinking, surely it shouldn’t cost that much to draw five fingers on a cartoon.
Well, think again.
For a short six and half minute video, there are about 45,000 drawings.
That’s a pretty big number and not having to draw an extra small finger on each hand
that many times saved the Disney company millions of dollars over the course of the character’s
life.
Aside from that, his creator Walt Disney also thought five fingers would make Mickey’s
hand look like a bunch of bananas, and he believed it wouldn’t look good anyway.
5.
First Words and Other Beginnings- Even though Mickey Mouse is shown as a sound cartoon,
the endeared mouse didn’t start speaking until Karnival Kid was released in 1929.
During his first eight appearances, he was only known to cry, laugh or whistle and said
his first words in this cartoon were “Hot dogs!”
“Hot dogs!”
In fact, Mickey’s first words may have influenced the “Hot Dog” song on Disney’s Mickey
Mouse Clubhouse.
Director Ub Iwerks also reused some elements of the plot and many running gags from this
cartoon in his 1932 short, Circus.
Other than Mickey, other character’s also make their first appearance, like Clarabell
the Cow.
4.
Awarding Cartoon- Over the years, Mickey Mouse has received many awards and honors throughout
the years which include, ten Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Short film spanning
from 1931 to 2013.
Four of Mickey’s cartoons from the 1994 book The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time
were voted by the members of the animation field.
In Melbourne Australia, the annual Moomba festival delegated Mickey as their king in
1997.
Although extremely favorable among children, the nomination received some controversy with
others who wanted an Australian native.
Mickey was also the first cartoon to be the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade
back in 2005 on New Year's Day.
3.
Mickey and Minnie Married Actor Conspiracy?!- Even though the two lovebirds have never shown
to be married or get married in any of animated cartoon appearances, Walt Disney has confirmed
the two are married in private personal life.
So what he’s saying that everything we see onscreen are actors on film.
It’s a bit of a head scratcher and host Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show even talked
about during a segment.
He backed up Disney’s statement saying, off camera Mickey and Minnie Mouse is a married
couple just working the business.
And when we see them on the big screen, they could just be acting like they're dating.
I know, mind blown!
2.
The Voice Actors of Mickey and Minnie were Married in Real Life- Wayne Allwine and Russi
Taylor are well known for providing the iconic character’s voices, and while Allwine was
Mickey’s voice for 32 years, Taylor has been Minnie’s third voice for the past 28
years.
For their work, they were both named Disney Legends in 2008.
Just as Mickey and Minnie fell in love, so did Allwine and Taylor.
The couple had been married for eighteen years since 1991, and their marriage only adds to
the Disney magic.
1.
Disney Partners- As a way to commemorate Walt Disney and his beloved creation, a bronze
statue of Walt Disney standing next to and holding Mickey Mouse’s hand was displayed
at Disneyland’s Main Street in 1993.
It first made its debut on Mickey’s 65th birthday after the opening of Steamboat Willie.
It was redecorated on Walt Disney’s 100th birthday on December 5, 2001.
The iconic statue has been replicated at all five Disney parks.
It stands six feet tall and symbolized the fun, imaginative and creative time where families
can come together and enjoy what Walt Disney created.