Mickey Mouse History

Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles in 1928. It was a little mouse in red velvet pants named "Mortimer". However, by the time the train reached the terminal station in Los Angeles, the new dream mouse had been rechristened by Walt's wife, Lillian, who thought the name "Mortimer" was too pompous and suggested "Mickey." A star was born!

Upon returning to his studio, Walt immediatly got to work on the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Plane Crazy. As no distributor wanted to buy the film, Walt decided to produce another silent Mickey Mouse cartoon, called Gallopin' Gaucho. However, late in 1927 Warner Brothers had ushered in the talkies, signaling the end of silent films. Walt then dropped everything to begin a third Mickey Mouse cartoon, this one in sound: Steamboat Willie.

When finally completed, Walt screened it for the New York exhibitors. The manager at the Colony Theatre liked the eager young producer and decided to take a chance on his film. Steamboat Willie had an overwhelming success, and Walt soon became the talk of the nation. Disney decided to add sound to the first two cartoons and offered exhibitors a package of three shorts. As with all of Mickey Mouse's pictures through World War II, Walt himself supplied the voice.

Mickey Mouse's skyrocket to fame didn't take long. His cartoons became so popular that people would first ask ticket takers if they were "running a Mickey" before they would purchase admission. Soon, theaters were displaying posters that read "Mickey Mouse playing today!" It was not uncommon for patrons to sit through a feature twice to see him again.

The thirties was Mickey Mouse's golden age; 87 cartoon shorts starring the multi-talented mouse were produced by Walt Disney during that decade. He played everything from fireman to giant killer, cowboy to inventor, detective to plumber. Disney's cartoons gave life to an entire family of animated characters: Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck, and many others.

Mickey Mouse moved to Disneyland in 1955 to become chief host of the theme park, welcoming millions of visitors annually, shaking hands, posing for pictures, and leading the big parades on national holidays.

After all these years, people are beginning to understand why the Mickey Mouse of the thirties was so popular. He was a little guy born out of the depression who taught people to laugh. Most importantly, he was a character who dreamed big, and his dreams were universal.

One of the finest tributes to Mickey Mouse was given by Walt Disney himself when, on his first television show as he surveyed Disneyland, Walt said, "I hope we never lose sight of one fact... that this was all started by a mouse."