Magic Behind The Mouse
I'm pretty sure that by now, you can more or less tell I'm a bit of a Disney fan (well, I say bit...), and today (that's 18th November 2011) it is a very special someone's birthday. Someone who is the face and icon of Disney itself. That's right, today is the birthday of the one and only Mickey Mouse.
Today, Mickey turns 83 years old and to celebrate like any wannabe Imagineer (that is someone who works for Disney. Google it, you'll get me then) I'm revisiting the past of the ultimate Disney idol that is Mickey Mouse.
Now, I'm going to go back all the way to the very beginning. I bet you didn't know (if you did, you've just gained 10 points of respect from me, congratulations) that Mickey's story starts with a rabbit. That's right, you've read correctly. A rabbit. In 1927 Walt Disney created a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (you can see him in the computer game Epic Mickey). Oswald was an instant hit with Universal, where Disney Bothers' studio was just another cog there. When Disney met with executives to talk about another contract in 1928, Oswald was still very much loved and Walt thought he had the upper hand. But, the studio instead told him that it had hired away all of his employees and retained the rights to Oswald. Universal offered to keep Disney if he took a lower salary, but he refused this offer and then he and UB Iwerks - the only loyal animator who stuck with Disney Bros - returned to work to brainstorm for a replacement for Oswald.
With a bit of length taken from the ears and a little extra padding around the middle, they turned the rabbit into a mouse named Mortimer (sound familiar, Disney fans? If you've ever watched Disney's House of Mouse, you may recognise the name...) but there were many reasons as to why Mortimer was not a success - the main reason being that Disney's wife disliked the name and changed it. Soon, he was ready for his début as Mickey.
Mickey wasn't much of a success until Steamboat Willie, the first ever animation to feature synchronised music and sound effects, hit the screen. It premièred in New York on 18th November 1928 and became an instant hit. Within a matter of months, a series of Mickey Mouse shorts appeared. By the end of the year, Mickey was a national fad and then it wasn't long until the real genius of Walt Disney kicked in: marketing. Walt soon started up a line of Mickey merchandise and within two years, the Mickey Mouse Club, a fan club for children, was created.
In 1935, Mickey received his first makeover by young animator, Fred Moore, who gave him a pear shaped body, a shorter nose and pupils in order to make him cuter. Also during that year, Mickey appeared in colour for the first time ever in The Band Concert's use of technicolour. It was so innovative that critics today still consider it to be a masterpiece. By 1937, Disney Studios was producing roughly 12 Mickey shorts a year, with none other than Disney himself voicing the Mouse's high pitched voice.
Mickey became many things, from a football hero to a hunter and from a tailor to a symphony conductor. He also did a number of things, too, such as accidentally spraying himself with insecticide, rescuing Pluto from the dog catcher, crashing a car into a barn, falling behind on his rent, being enlisted in the army, having his house repossessed and losing Minnie to string of muscular bad boys (though, obviously, he always won her back in the end).
During the 1950s, Mickey had his first theme park, a newspaper comic strip and The Mickey Mouse Club - a hit TV show which launched the careers of teen stars from Annie Funicello to Justin Timberlake. Soon, Disney feature films such as Sleeping Beauty and Bambi took to the box office and the mouse faded into the background. Between his last cartoon short in 1953, The Simple Things, and the 1983 Christmas Special, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Mickey remained out of work for 30 years.
Despite his semi-retirement, Mickey's ears were still one of the most famous cultural icons of the 20th and 21st century. He's posed with every U.S president since Harry Truman. The mouse is now famous worldwide and Disney claims that Mickey had a 98% awareness rate between children of 3-11 worldwide. In 2002, he appeared in the PlayStation 2 game Kingdom Hearts and in 2006 he became 3D for the very first time. Mickey is an international superstar these days and you can now see him on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a show on Disney Junior designed for toddlers, or even visit Mickey in one of his Disney parks and come face to face with him yourself.
I cannot tell a lie, Mickey has played a very big part in my life and I am so thankful that Walt Disney created him all those years ago. Mickey's existence has always brought that extra touch of magic to my Disney visits and whenever I see his famous pair of ears, I cannot help but smile. So here's to Walt Disney for creating the success that is Mickey Mouse and a very happy birthday to Mickey, too.
I'd also like to thank Disney for providing me with this fascinating information through the Disney Parks I have been to.
7 Comments – Post a comment
CLICdan
Commented 6 months ago - 18th November 2011 - 16:48pm
Wow! Thanks for writing this - I feel my head has actually increased in size due to all the knowledge you've just poured in it. (I hope my top hat still fits for the CLIC Awards tomorrow)
In honour of Disney awesomeness, here is my favourite (evil) Disney song:
I think everyone should post theirs!
Ihavethecyrusvirusx
Commented 6 months ago - 18th November 2011 - 17:17pm
Great idea! Mine are:-
Best Disneyland Paris song:
Best Disney Princess song:
Best non animated film song:
Ultimate Disney Song:
I'll let others have a chance now. Also, lemme know your fave films, Disney parks, anything!
My fave films are:-
101 Dalmatians
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty
Pocahontas
Aristocats
Winnie the Pooh
Oliver & Company
Mickey's Christmas Carol
x
Ihavethecyrusvirusx
Commented 6 months ago - 18th November 2011 - 23:52pm
I've just been talking to a Disney Imagineer! He's giving me advice with higher education! x
ToWriteLoveOnHerArms
Commented 6 months ago - 19th November 2011 - 15:42pm
Wow! Fascinating article! Disney is awesome. This is Steamboat Willie, right?
I love the classics! My favorite Disney song is probably this
Or
I love Disneyland, Paris! I'd love to visit the other parks,too.
Well done again on the article!
Ihavethecyrusvirusx
Commented 6 months ago - 20th November 2011 - 00:19am
Yeah, that's it! And thank you! Good choice of songs and I've been to Paris 6 times and Florida twice but I'd love to go to them all xx
Snow..
Commented 6 months ago - 20th November 2011 - 13:17pm
Funnily enough on the way home from the Clic awards we were talking about Disney, but the topis was more innuendos than Mickey Mouse - we even discussed the article we could write :')
My favourite Disney film is Mulan (not just because Shang is probably the hottest cartoon ever!). I kind of looked up to Mulan when I was little lol, I saw myself as a bit of a tomboy, and who was a better idol than the girl who cuts her hair off and runs away with the chinese army?!
Although I do love Mulan, there is a guilty pleasure for Snow White, simply because when I out red lipstick on we could be twins (apparently) and I kind of like the idea of looking like a princess lol :D
Great article and well done last - Clicer of the year 2011 GO JAZ, WHOO!
Ihavethecyrusvirusx
Commented 6 months ago - 21st November 2011 - 12:02pm
Haha, thanks Jess! I do love Snow White & Mulan! I think 101 Dalmatians will always be my favorite. My mother bought all the Disney videos during her pregnancy and we watched them all through the first year I was born (that sounded weird the way I worded that but oh well) and when she put 101 Dalmatians on, I adored it and have done ever since. On the part where one of the pups shout "LUCKY LUCKY! GET DOWN!" I literally couldn't stop laughing so my mother played it over and over and phoned everyone. It was the first ever time I properly laughed :')
And thank you :D x