Mickey Mouse - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Mickey Mouse , symbol of the Walt Disney Company, is one of the most important characters of the Univers Disney. Ambassador of the mark, it is present in the majority of the branches of industry of the company, that it is animation, television, the amusement parks or the consumables. Mickey is used like a vector of communication and its qualities must respect the morals preached by “Disney”, that it is by Walt and the company itself. Mickey Mouse is known and recognized in the whole world, its famous profile formed of three circles having become indissociable Disney mark.

Mickey Mouse is in the beginning a character of Cartoon, created in 1928, after Walt Disney had to leave its first character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , with its producer. The first short films are mainly animated by Ub Iwerks, associated with Walt Disney within the studios Disney (then installed in the studio of Hyperion Avenue). He becomes later also a character of Cartoons, feature-length films, televised series and of a myriad of derivative products.

Mickey Mouse represents a anthropomorphic Souris . It, before the first diffusion, was initially named Mortimer Mouse; it is the woman of Disney which, finding this name little salesman, proposed Mickey. For Walt Disney Company, the mouse has like goes back official to birth the November 18th 1928, date of the first “public presentation” of Steamboat Willie .

The character is also famous for his voice of Fausset. It is Walt Disney itself which gave its original voice to the character of Mickey, of the first cartoon until in 1946, year during which Disney indicated Jim MacDonald to replace it, because of a problem of chronic cough due to the cigarette. Jim MacDonald is then replaced by Wayne Allwine, as from 1983.

Mickey is often accompanied by his/her friend Dingo and sound Chien Pluto. It ties also a idylle with Minnie, another mouse which is born at the same time as him. Mickey did not remain a long time only on the screens. It appears in the newspapers as a daily cartoon as of the January 13rd 1930. This publication is distributed by the King Features Syndicate , is scénarisée by Walt Disney and is drawn by Ub Iwerks.

To stress the importance of Mickey in the total adventure of the Disney universe, Walt Disney stated, in connection with its character: “All that I hope for, it is that one does not lose sight of the fact a thing: all started with a mouse. ”

History

The history of Mickey is very rich, mainly during the first years. Its appearance, right before the Years 1930, coincides with a multitude of technical developments in the cinema, intervened starting from the Années 1920. The birth of the character rises moreover from particular circumstances.

A substitute for Oswald

Mickey is created in 1928 to replace the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, lost by Walt against its liking. This rabbit, created with the beginning of the year 1927 pennies the pencil of Iwerks, was produced by the Disney studios under contract with Charles Mintz and was distributed by Universal Pictures. After almost a year of existence, Oswald is relatively popular and brings back money.

In February 1928, Walt Disney goes to New York to negotiate with Mintz a more important of income for each film. But it is deafened - Leonard Mosley precise: “ outraged perfidy, the heart broken by disloyalty ” - when the business man announces to him that not only it wishes to reduce his share, but that in more it take under contract the majority of his principal organizers. Mintz threatens Disney to create its own studio if it does not agree to reduce its production costs. Moreover, it is Universal, and not Disney, which holds, because of a contract signed a little quickly by Walt, the trade mark on Oswald the Rabbit, which means that it can do without him very well to make its films.

Disney refuses and loses the major part of its team of animation. He, Iwerks and some “faithful” (whose Clark) then start to work secretly on a new character to replace Oswald the Rabbit while the remainder of the team continues the production of Oswald. Among the organizers which will not leave, some are not put in the confidence of the birth of this new character like Johnny Canon. Walt will never forget this reverse and will in the future take care to make sure detention of the rights on each creation.

Birth of a mouse

The biographers of Disney are not really of agreement over the period of the creation of Mickey and several different dates circulate. Thierry Steff in Good Birthday, Mickey! was seen obliged to rebuild the possible diaries of the year 1928 according to the remarks made by several of the protagonists of the time, but without succeeding in defining a precise history.

For Leonard Mosley, Walt Disney carried out sketches and conceived a personality for a new character in a train which brought back it to California, precisely after the passage of Pasadena. As of its return, he asks Ub Iwerks to harness himself with the creation of a new character. A legend affirms that Walt Disney chooses a mouse owing to the fact that the studio where he worked at that time was invaded of these small rodents.

In interviews taken again by Pierre Lambert, Walt states to have directly designed a mouse in the train, dog, cat.

According to other sources, Walt Disney had a few years earlier, during the difficult period of the studios with Kansas City, a named tamed mouse Mortimer (from where the original name of Mickey). According to John Kenworthy, Iwerks takes as a starting point the old drawings carried out by Hugh Harman in 1925 around a photograph of Walt Disney: mice.

More prosaically, the cat already is taken by Otto Messmer with its famous Felix the cat and the other animalist characters cannot have the personality wanted by Walt - a character mischievous, crafty one and merry:

We had a presentiment of that the public, and particularly the children, appreciate the small and nice animals. I think that we took as a starting point Charlie Chaplin for the character. We wanted something of attracting and we thought of a short period of mouse which would have something of the melancholy of Chaplin - a small companion trying to do better than it can. |Walt Disney | Walt Disney Quotes - One mickey Foam

When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it is because it is so human; it is there that the secrecy of its popularity resides. |Walt Disney | Walt Disney Quotes - One mickey Foam

The other characters designed at that time will be used as supporting characters, such as Clarabelle and Horace.

The strong resemblance between Oswald, Mickey and, later, Flip the frog mark milks it pencil of Iwerks, rather near to that of Otto Messmer. Oswald the rabbit and Mickey Mouse have the same aspect at their beginnings. Iwerks created Mickey starting from three rounds for the head. Only the ears really differentiate them. This feature allows a fast drawing of the character and an easy animation thanks to the low number of elements and with their great simplicity: tubes for the legs, of the circles for the body. Mickey would be even simpler to draw thanks to its always circular ears in any circumstance (and nonpointed like Felix, or hanging like Oswald) and its made tail of a simple blow of pencil.

The graphics of Mickey Mouse does not remain fixed with that carried out by Ub Iwerks, as that will be detailed further.

1928: First cinematographic appearances

One often establishes the date of the November 18th 1928 like that of the birth of Mickey, dates from the exit of Steamboat Willie with the Colony Theater of New York, this film being often regarded as the first wired for sound cartoon (the very first one being actually an episode of the series “ Song Because-Tunes ”, produced by max Fleischer in May 1924).

But Mickey is born really in the cartoon Plane Crazy , carried out earlier in the year, but dumb and projected the May 15th 1928. It is inspired by the exploit of Charles Lindbergh but does not conquer the public. In spite of this failure, Walt launches another film, The Gallopin' Gaucho , which leaves at the end of the summer and is not either received. These problems are added to the fact that Walt Disney has evil to find a distributer. This problem is partly due to the rather important resemblance to its preceding productions.

Against any waiting, Walt Disney lets continue third film, Steamboat Willie , which is presented first once as a dumb man on July 29th. Disney then seeks a means of attracting the public. It observes that it misses something with its productions in order to differentiate them from those of its competitors and its preceding ones. The result of its observations is crystallized by the modification of the third episode Steamboat Willie . It misses the sound. Walt remakes film with a synchronized soundtrack. Steamboat Willie arises then with sound synchronized on November 18th.

The first two episodes are then remade with a soundtrack and are arisen later: The Gallopin' Gaucho arises the December 30th 1928 and Plane Crazy the March 17th 1929.

Below will be studied more in detail, under a different angle, these the first three films which are Plane Crazy , The Gallopin' Gaucho and Steamboat Willie .

First meeting with Minnie and Pat Hibulaire

Minnie appears as of first film of Mickey, Plane Crazy , left (without its) the May 15th 1928, inspired by the exploit of Charles Lindbergh. Mickey plays there the part of a pionner of the aviation which tries to arrange a plane with the objects at disposal in the barn of its farm. Minnie plays there been engaged of Mickey, to which it makes endure its passion for aviation. It manages to convince it to go up aboard plane for its first vol. It manages to take off its apparatus and carries out aerobaticss which prove to be true adventures. Minnie is even obliged to use its lower parts as parachute to slow down its fall of the plane arranged by Mickey.

Minnie appears then regularly in films under its name or sometimes under “pseudonyms”.

The character of Pat Hibulaire ( Pegleg Pete or Black Pete ) was born in 1925 in the series Alice Comedies and appears at the side of Mickey Mouse in the film The Gallopin' Gaucho (left, without its, the August 7th 1928). This cartoon is a parody of the film The Gaucho with Douglas Fairbanks, left the November 21st 1927.

Mickey plays there the part of a Gaúcho overlapping a nandou (bird close to the ostrich) in the Pampa Argentine. It makes a stop with the Cantina Argentina , a place being used at the same time of bar and restaurant. Mickey wishes to drink a blow and to smoke the cigar. The sought outlaw, Pegleg Pete (Stalemate Hibulaire), is present in the establishment and benefits from beer brought by the waitress Donna Minnie , dancer of Tango at his lost hours. Its service pokes covetousnesses of the assistance, which launches out in confrontations for the beautiful one. Pete kidnaps Minnie and tries to flee with horse. Mickey then continues it on its nandou and launches out in a duel to the sword. Mickey gains the duel and flees with Minnie.

Pat Hibulaire continues its role of malicious recurring but becomes sometimes a simple supporting character.

The arrival of speaking

Steamboat Willie is diffused in public for the first time the November 18th 1928. One finds with the direction Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, this last is also the stimulating chief, assisted of Johnny Canon, of Clark, Wilfred Jackson and Dick Lundy. The history is a parody of the film Cadet by fresh water ( Steamboat Bill Jr. ) with Buster Keaton and Ernest Torrence, left the May 12th 1928.

Steamboat Willie is neither the first cartoon of Mickey Mouse, nor the first film with a soundtrack synchronized for the music, the sound and the dialogs. This last distinction returns to Dinner Time (October 14th, 1928) on the series Aesop' S Fables produced by Paul Terry and using the process DeForest allowing a sound mono. It should be noted that other cartoons had already a soundtrack but the sound was not synchronized. The series of the Sound Because-Tunes (approximately 30 films) was produced between May 1924 and September 1926 by the Fleischer Studios - studios directed by Dave and max Fleischer.

Steamboat Willie is however the film used like dates official from the birth of Mickey Mouse and very often like first cartoon film with sound. These elements are especially due to the important recognition of the public. The historians of animation lengthily discussed on the type-setter of the original music of film. This role was allotted to Wilfred Jackson, Carl Stalling and Bert Lewis but nothing affirms it clearly. Leonard Mosley and Christopher Finch report that only Jackson knew played of an instrument, Harmonica. In the version of work, the remainder of the soundtrack is primarily composed of sound sound effects carried out with the means of the edge, in a garage, while the “voices” of Mickey and Minnie are played by Walt Disney in person. For the final version, Leonard Mosley indicates that it is the leader Carl Edouarde which supervised the recording of the sound effects with the help of an important sum. The sound effects were placed on the tape of film thanks to the system Cinephone of Pat Powers.

Mickey is sailor on Steamboat Willie, under the orders of the Pete Captain, however one sees the ship's boy whistling with the bar at the beginning of film. Then, the captain arrives and takes again the orders by ordering in Mickey briquer the bridge. They stop with a pontoon to embark goods. Hardly left the port, their only passenger arrives on the pontoon. It is momentary, Minnie, which arrives late for the loading. Mickey uses a crane to catch Minnie on the edge of bank and to hoist it on board. Minnie loses accidentally its partition of the popular song Turkey in the straw and the sheet of paper is eaten by a goat, one of the embarked animals. Mickey and Minnie then use the tail of the animal like crank and the goat becomes a Phonographe. Mickey continues by using the objects and animals of the edge like musical instruments. The Pete captain is quickly obstructed by din and returns Mickey to work: it is condemned to peel potatoes for the remainder of the voyage. A parrot tries to amuse it but, aggravated, Mickey launches a potato to him, which makes fall the bird in the river. This scene is the final scene.

According to the newspapers, the public at the time of the exit of Steamboat Willie is very impressed by the use of the sound with a comic aim. The talking films are then regarded as innovating and the first film with sequences of words, the Singer of jazz (1927) with in the high-speed motorboat Al Jolson, left only the October 6th 1927, that is to say less than 60 weeks before. During the year which was passed, the majority of the American places of projection were equipped with sound systems. Walt Disney wanted to benefit from this new tendency and arrives obviously to its ends. Thanks to this sound advantage, Mickey Mouse becomes the animated character most important of the moment and, with arisen from two preceding films with a soundtrack, the success and the popularity of the mouse is growing.

The fourth film of Mickey, The Barn Dance , leaves the March 14th 1929. It is the first of a series of twelve short films left the same year. With this film, Disney is in position to propose not less than four films in spring 1929, whereas many studios do not hesitate yet to make talking films. The “speaking” term is exaggerated a little because it is only with The Karnival Kid (May 23rd 1929) that the mouse pronounces its first comprehensible words with the words “Hot dogs, Hot dogs! ”.

A graphic evolution: the first pair of gloves

Am always asked to me why we always wear these white gloves? |Several characters (with minor variations)

A distinctive sign, become essential of the behavior of Mickey, resides in its gloves. Mickey starts to carry Gant S white only starting from the film The Opry House , left the March 28th 1929. It is the second film of the year 1929 and the mouse then almost always carries of the white gloves. One of the probable reasons is that, in films in black and white starting from The Opry House - the first color film of Mickey is the Brass band in 1935 -, it is necessary that the public can distinguish the hands from the character when they pass in front of his body of black color. Precisely, in this film, Mickey is pianist, he is inconceivable not then not to see its hands. The three black lines on the top of the glove represent the folds piqués envisaged in the manufacture of the gloves in the prolongation of the fingers, typical of the gloves of children of the time.

1929: A character with the many roles

The films of year 1929 give to the character of Mickey a broad panel of roles of which here are some. This great succession of roles seems to have justified Walt Disney to imply into 1933 that Mickey Mouse is an actor engaged by the Disney studios and not a character living all the stories concoctées by the organizers and scenario writers.

Mickey in love

In The Barn Dance , left the March 14th 1929, Mickey is gotten rid of by Minnie with the profit of Stalemate Hibulaire. This last, in its favor, is presented in this film like a gentleman manner and not like malicious threatening. Mickey in is presented more not as hero but in a simple claiming young person unlucky person. In its sadness and its sorrow in love one gotten rid of, it unusually appears emotive and vulnerable. Some critical simply saw in this film an additional means for Disney to add a little more to the empathy of the public towards the character.

A simple mouse

In When the Cat' S Away , left the April 18th 1929, Mickey appears in a remake of an episode of the Alice Comedies entitled Alice Rattled by Rats (1925). In this film, a cat named Kat Nipp lives in a residence where it passes most of its time to drink alcohol. Its presence prevents the mice of the house from living. Kat Nipp goes away to go to drive out with the outside. An army of mouse benefits from this absence to invade the house in the search of food. Among the mice, Mickey and Minnie try to transform the regrouping into a fête.
The cat Kat Nipp appeared already before in The Opry House and is indicated under the term Tom Cat (the cat of Tom) what should not be confused with the Tom cat, covedette of the series created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Tom and Jerry.
This short film describes in an unusual way Mickey and Minnie like simple mice. Moreover two characters see themselves given a size close to that of the real mice. The preceding episodes and following their rather allot a size close to human, and even a little more petite.
This film moreover was carried out during the Prohibition and alcohol presented would be alcohol of smuggling.

Mickey soldier

In The Barnyard Battle , left the April 25th 1929. Mickey is presented like a soldier and take share with the engagements. Mickey is a young recruit of the war between the mice and the cats. Its unit is opposed to that directed by Pat Hibulaire. The short film describes a fictitious war but allots to each camp remarkable elements. Thus the cats have spiked helmets used by the army of the German Empire during the First World War (1914-1918) while the mice sing anthems of the States confederated of America at the time of the American Civil War (1861-1865). These two events are still recent in the spirits of American in 1929.

Exploring Mickey during the Great Depression

One of the last short films of the year 1929, Jungle Rhythm left the November 15th 1929 presents Mickey as an explorer in a Safari some share in Africa.
Mickey assembles an elephant and holds a weapon in this forwarding. But it is found wedged between a lion and a bear. It tries to alleviate them while playing of the music. The continuation of film is a succession of music making it possible to make dance animals of the jungle. The airs go from the Yankee Doodle and the Turkey in the Straw to the Auld Lang Syne , Beau the Danube blue and '' Aloha `Oe ''.

This film evokes the British of the beginning of the 20th century traversing the world and exploring its richnesses. However the successions of animals seem to evoke the daily difficulties of American in this beginning of Grande Depression following the Black Thursday .

1930: Beginnings on several supports

The year 1930 especially marks an evolution of the character on several points for the supports of presentation of the character. Walt Disney does not confine its character with only cartoon films. This widening of the supports generates evolutions at the graphic level and also of the personality of Mickey.

First appearance as cartoons and headstock

At the time when the 15th short film leaves, the character of Mickey has a recognition on behalf of the public and a certain success. Walt Disney is then approached by the King Features Syndicate, a trade union of producer-editors, which offers to him a contract for the use of Mickey and his friends in a Comic strip.
Walt accepts and Mickey appears for the first time in a newspaper Monday January 13rd 1930. It is a strip of four boxes which takes again at the beginning the scenario Plane Crazy but which quickly is transformed into another history integrating that of Jungle Rhythm . The first bands are spread out of January 13rd with the March 31st 1931 and were then gathered as a baptized history Mickey in the mysterious island ( Lost one has Desert Island ).

This history integrates the character of Minnie Mouse (because of its presence in Plane Crazy) but it appears only at the beginning and the end of the history. This history is scénarisée by Walt Disney, is drawn by Ub Iwerks and is encrée by Win Smith.

It is in January 1930, which Charlotte Clark, a young dressmaker of Burbank carries out a headstock of Mickey Mouse and which it shows with her entourage. She is noticed by Walt Disney which finds it succeeded. Walt engages it then and asks him to produce the headstock in series. It is presented to each promotional event, becoming thus the first Disney derivative product.

One little book named Mickey Mouse Book will be published this same year 1930 by Bibo-Lang , it is the first publication of Mickey in another form which strips.

Mickey and classical music

After a spectacle solo in The Opry House in 1929, Mickey continues its musical career in 1930. With the beginning of the year 1930, two short films of Mickey dealing with the Classical music are carried out and leave to less than 15 days interval. The Barnyard Concert , left the March 3rd 1930, presents Mickey to the head of an orchestra made up of animals of farm. The only recognizable characters are Clarabelle in Flûtiste and Horace in Percussionniste. The interpretation of the opening of Poet and Paysan of Franz von Suppé is very funny but like pointed out some critical, several gags are resumptions of preceding films.

The second film initially left the March 14th 1930 under the name of Fiddlin' Around then republished under the title Just Mickey . The two titles allow a good comprehension of the subject evoked: Mickey is a violin soloist which interprets several titles. The pieces are the opening of Guillaume Tell of Rossini, the Rêverie of Robert Schumann, and the Hungarian Rhapsodies n°2 of Franz Liszt.

These cartoons cause a few years later (1934) the edition by RCA Victor of discs containing of the orchestrated versions of the musics of the short films. They are the first film original soundtracks of phonographic industry. The majority of these discs are recordings of Frank Luther and its orchestra gone back to November 1933.

Departure of Iwerks and consequences

It is in the month of March 1930, that Ub Iwerks decides to leave to found its own studio after having had problems with Walt Disney but especially after the proposal of financial carried out by Pat Powers (old distributer of Disney recently replaced by Columbia Pictures) to cofinance the creation of its studio. It first of all withdraws production of the cartoons as of at the end of March and seems to have finished the realization of the short film in progress The Cactus Kid . Mickey loses its (Co) creative, only person in charge of its original and directing drawing of its animation since its birth.

Walt Disney decides to replace Iwerks by other organizer-draftsmen. For the cartoon, Walt names “temporarily” Floyd Gottfredson, a young recruit of the service animation. Its station is officialized the May 5th 1930. For the short films, the substitute is David Hand which works on Mickey Mouse until the end of the year 1932.

The following short film is The Fire Fighters which Mickey mets with the catch with incidents. The second history as a cartoon, Mickey in the infernal valley takes as then bases film of Cactus Kid in finalization and introduces the other characters of cartoon films such as Pat Hibulaire, Horace, Clarabelle, the corrupted lawyer Maître Chicaneau and Mortimer Mouse, the uncle de Minnie. The history begins its publication on April 1st 1930. It continues until September 20th.

The following cartoon Mickey against Ratino: Minnie in danger! , which is spread out from September 22nd to December 26th, 1930, makes it possible Gottfredson to create several characters of which Ratino, Marcus Mouse and its wife, parents of Minnie Mouse.

A pet: Pluto

With the beginning of the year 1930, in The Chain Gang , Mickey meets a nonanthropomorphic and anonymous canine character. A similar dog appears then in The Picnic under the name of Rover but it is the dog of company of Minnie.

Some month later in 1931, the dog is famous Pluto in The Moose Hunt . Mickey leaves with him to drive out. It will consequently preserve its name and its Master. Minnie will have in replacement a cat named Figaro but only as from the years 1940.

Surprisingly, the best friend of Mickey, Nutcase appeared the following year, and its pet are representatives of the canine race, one anthropomorphic and the other not.

1931: The beginning of the recurring roles

In 1931, Mickey starts to take again certain roles which it already held. In The Cactus Kid , regarded as a remake with the Mexico of The Gallopin' Gaucho , Mickey leaves again to the continuation Minnie taken as an hostage by Pat Hibulaire.

This recurring role of knight saving the “Demoiselle unweaves” Minnie of it is included in The Klondike Kid (1932), in Mickey in Arabia (1932) and even parodied by the organizers of Disney in the false film Galloping Romance , included in Mickey' S Gala First (1933). In the same way, Mickey will again save Minnie of a gorilla in The Pet Blind (1933) after having done it in The Gorilla Mystery (1930).

Since 1930, the series of Mickey Mouse is not really any more the place for tests of animation, as with the music. It is rather the assigned role with the Silly Symphonies , series launched in 1929. Mickey Mouse became the fish pond of drive of the young organizers. The only innovation goes back to 1932 with a cartoon color but which will be constant only in 1935.

A first hard-bound book The Adventures off Mickey Mouse is published by David McKay. This book tells several stories around the animals of farm evolving/moving around Mickey.

Among the team of draftsmen one can note the presence of Al Taliaferro with inking starting from the February 26th 1931. It continues this daily work until November 1932, date on which it deals full-time with the weekly cartoons. This same year 1932, Disney authorizes an Italian newspaper to reproduce and translate the stories into Italy in magazines, named simply Topolino (the Italian name of Mickey) published by Mondadori

One can however note a treatment difference between the short films and the cartoons. The films are centered on the comedy while the cartoons and later the books include in more one great part of adventure. Mickey is often on paper an explorer, an adventurer left to research treasure or “glory” (rather of going beyond of oneself). This divergence will be accentuated even more at the end of the years 1930.

In 1932, Gottfredson gives to Mickey a family more packed a little with the appearance in Mickey' S Nephews of two nephews Morty and Ferdie which will be baptized Jojo and Michou in November 1935 in the Newspaper of Mickey. They appear with the cinema in 1934 in Mickey' S Steamroller .

1933-1937: A character (too much?) popular

The period 1933-1937 is marked for the cartoon in the United States by the trio Ted Osborne (scenario), Floyd Gottfredson (drawing) and Ted Thwaites (inking). Mickey then discovers new regions, treasures and many characters. Then Osborne is replaced by Merrill De Maris (until 1942).

In 1933, Mickey Mouse Magazine appears with the the United States imitated in France in 1934 by the Newspaper of Mickey . In 1934, Mickey is credited with a named niece Maisy in GULLIVER Mickey (1934), it will be its only appearance.

As proof of the internationalization of Mickey one can quote the following example. In 1934, the journalist corresponding to New York of the Daily Herald , Harold Butcher returns from a round the world tour, it declares that with each stage it was found in company of the mouse.

In 1936, a version Serbe named Mikijevo Carstvo is launched (publication until 1941) as well as Swedish named a Musse Pigg-tidningen . The latter are published by Åhlén & Åkerlund and 23 publications will leave until 1938.

For the cartoons, the stories are packed in 1934 with the arrival of Donald Duck. The trio Mickey, Donald, Dingo offers to the scenario writers many possibilities of gags like celebrates it Mickey fireman ( Mickey' S fire Brigade , August 3rd, 1935). The comic effects are increased by the use of the color starting from the beginning of the year 1935. The first short film colors is the Brass band ( The Band concert , February 23rd, 1935). The stories follow one another then the rate/rhythm of small ten per annum.

But the character of the character evolves/moves because of this universalization. Mickey becomes wise. It does not try any more to steal a kiss in Minnie as in Plane Crazy , any more its magic does not have which enabled him to model the objects or to make of a goat a gramophone in Steamboat Willie . He becomes well a “man under any report/ratio”.

Robert Heide and John Gilman indicate that while his popularity increases, that the derivative products are made more, the influence of Mickey is done more and more on the children and the parents, the request of the parents is done increasingly insistent so that the character complies with the rules of good behaviors, that their children will be able to imitate without problem. Mickey thus gradually gives up the roles with ill deeds with the profit of a role of master of ceremony or simple supporting role. Its last main roles with bétises which give place to gags are the Rival of Mickey and On other side of the mirror all two of 1936.

Television and the cartoon replace the cinema

After the Second world war, Mickey reappears with the cinema for some short films between 1946 and 1952. Then no new film is produced starting from 1953. However the character appears “in flesh and bone” at the same time on the TV screens in Le Monde Merveilleux from Disney (1954) then the The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) and in the park Disneyland. Mickey Mouse Club is based on the principle of a variety programme and a club, taking again that created with the cinema in the years 1930 and adapting it on television. The emission is diffused Saturday morning on ABC and presents a group of young people called Mouseketeers carrying out sequences of songs, plays and other activities allowing of the interludes enter the diffusion of televised series like Zorro , of “traditional” of Mickey and Donald, or the documentary ones. The latter are initially directed towards the promotion of the Disneyland park, whose emission was a financial counterpart. The young people will become them television and movie stars.

The character in the park evolved/moved of a simple costume, borrowed from Ice Capades, a spectacle of dance on ice, vaguely resembling towards a rounder character and with the proportion closer to that of the cartoons. David Koenig specifies that the character had to be reduced between his appearances of the years 1950 and those of 1970 and thus " jouer" by women of intermediate sizes.

With dimensions one of the cartoon, starting from 1955, King Features Syndicate decides to stop the cartoons in strip following and accepts nothing any more but strips of gags. The stories of Mickey thus continue only in books or reviews. Thus the Italian editor Mondadori is obliged to order stories with italiens.
authors This only production of press allows Gottfredson and a multitude mainly American, Italian, Danish organizers and French to conceive until today more than 20.000 stories all while redynamisant it.

Recent history of Mickey

The recent history of Mickey probably begins in 1975, with the departure with the retirement of Gottfredson. But perhaps also with the arrival of Michael Eisner with the direction of The Walt Disney Company in 1984.

A particular fact of this intermediate period in the history of the Disney company is the handing-over of a star on the Hollywood Walk off Famed the November 18th 1978 with Mickey Mouse in the honor of sound 50e birthday. It is the first character animated to receive this distinction. The star is located at the level of the 6925 Hollywood Boulevard.

A date of rebirth could be 1983 with the exit of the film Christmas de Mickey who was also the occasion for a long time to introduce many characters absent to the screen and which coincides with the launching of Disney Channel and first video games of Mickey the Sorcerer's apprentice on Atari 2600.

The May 21st 1986, French Claude Marin draws the character of Mickey Mouse under the appearance of a baby in the series Bébés Disney whose publication began in the number 1769 from the Journal from Mickey .

In 1987, the chain of shops Disney Store is launched and in order to furnish the stalls, of many objects to the effigy of the mouse are published by Disney Consumer Products.

The true rebirth of Mickey is due to a “war” of studios started here several decades. She opposes Mickey Mouse from Disney to Bugs Bunny of Warner Bros. for the place of the most popular character of the animation. Is one historic moment of the cinema their presence in same film, celebrates it Which wants the skin of Roger Rabbit? realized by Robert Zemeckis and left in 1988. Warner and Disney signed a contract stipulating that each of the two characters was to appear the same duration and to have the same time speaking except for the microsecond. The scene of fall in the vacuum between the two heroes “trying” to help Eddie Valiant is with the final scene, one of the rare scenes with the two characters. In the war this battle is completed to some extent by a status quo .

In 1993, the character obtains a real place of life with a house built in Mickey' S Toontown with Disneyland, inspired by that of the cartoons. Around are found the houses of Minnie, Dingo, the tree of Tic and TAC and a boat pertaining to Donald.

The most recent exit with the cinema of Mickey Mouse remains the short film Mickey loses the head (1995) as well as a very short appearance in Fantasia 2000 where he thanks the two leaders, James Levine and Leopold Stokowski after the sequence of the Sorcerer's apprentice , taken again Fantasia of 1940 and although Disney announced the exit of a very new history. Meanwhile, Mickey appeared in video in 2004 in Mickey, Donald, Dingo the 3 Musketeers still in traditional animation and Mickey, he was twice Christmas in numerical animation.

From the end of the year 1990, several Televised series took Mickey like high-speed motorboat such as Mickey Mouse Works (1999-2000), Disney' S all out of box (2001-2003) and the House of Mickey (2006). Mickey is also present, like a nonvisible character, in the episode “You Oughta Be In Toons” of the series Bonkers (1993-1995).

Between 1999 and 2001, Mickey is the main character of a new magazine created in Italy, MISTERS Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine . It was adapted in English. This publication in 12 parts occurs in another city that Mickeyville and has a more adult narrative style. Graphically, it takes again the style of Gottfredson but can approach the American black comics such as Batman.

In 2002, Mickey appears in the video game Kingdom Hearts at the side of other characters of Disney but also of Squaresoft.

In 2003, Mickey becomes an interactive cuddly toy with Pal Mickey, which moreover interacts with certain elements of the American parks with topic of Disney (Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort).

Also since 2004, Mickey appears at the side of Minnie in the spectacle Disney Presents Pixar' S The Incredibles in has Magic Kingdom Adventure of Disney one Ice.

The day of the new year 2005, Mickey with the honor to be the " Large Marshal" Tournament off Pink with Pasadena. It is again present in the play Kingdom Hearts II .

One band-drawn published in 2006 in the Journal of Mickey gives him like Christian name Michael Theodore Mouse .

Works with Mickey Mouse

Catalog of films

From 1928 to 1953, Mickey Mouse appeared in 119 films (87 of them lasting the Thirties). Few actors and actresses of Hollywood can be praised to have made more than 20 films in their career, but our mouse can be proud more to have made 6 times of them. Since 1934, Mickey received more mail of its fans than any other star Hollywood!
30 years ago of interval between Mickey at the beach , carried out in 1953, and its return in Christmas de Mickey (1983). In 1988, in Which wants the skin of Roger Rabbit? , it made a short appearance at the sides of Bob Hoskins and the star of the studios Warner, Bugs Bunny.

Televised series

Mickey Mouse Works (1999-2000)
Disney' S all out of box (2001-2003)
the House of Mickey (2006)

Mickey is also present but in way except fields in an episode of the series Bonkers , “You Oughta Be In Toons”.

Cartoons

The history of Mickey Mouse as a cartoon begins in January 1930 with launching from a daily Comic strip under license of King Features Syndicate, drawn by Ub Iwerks and encrée by Win Smith. Floyd Gottfredson replaces as from Iwerks April, which has just left the studio. January 10th, 1932, Earl Duval lance a Sunday board of history of Mickey Mouse. The following week, Gottfredson takes again in hand this edition and will supervise both until its retirement.

Year 1932 continues with several disparate editions such as a Big Little Book dedicated to Mickey Mouse puiblié by Whitman Publishing, a promotional book of 48 pages accompanied by a film produced by United Artists and the first publication by Mickey Mouse Melodeon in November.

The year 1933 is revolving with the publication in Italy of a magazine, Topolino . Also in January, Kay Kamen launches him to it Mickey Mouse Magazine . New monthly publications then will be produced and distributed in the cinemas and department stores:

the United States:

Strips daily newspapers: 2564 stories
weekly Boards: 2368 American stories
Comic-books: 1856 stories
Stories Studio (years 1960-1980): 1420 stories
Gladstone/Another Rainbow: 85 stories
Disney Studio: 51 stories

Italy: Mondadori/Disney Italia: 6223 stories
Germany: Ehapa: 391 stories
Denmark: Gutenberghus/Egmont: 3876 stories
France: EDI-World/Disney Hachette Presses: 3755 stories
: Abril: 1552 stories
the United Kingdom: 668 stories
Netherlands Oberon/GP/VNU: 661 stories
various Productions (for example Argentinian, Belgium): 244 stories
Articles, films and material not Disney: 193 stories
special Stories: 30 stories
Disney Europe (Paris): 3 stories

Video games

There exists several video games based on or using the character of Mickey, including two important trilogies, Kingdom Hearts and Magical Quest . Except Kingdom Hearts, when Mickey appears in a video game, this one is, in general, bound for young people, such as for example Disney Party or Walt Disney World Magical Racing Tour .

Several of these plays have an air of already-considering with the adventures of Mario: Disney Golf / Mario Golf , Disney Party / Mario Party (that it is on Game Cubes or on Game Boy Advance), Walt Disney World Magical Racing Tour / Mario Kart like Magical Quest / Super Mario Bros .

*: Disney' S Magical Quest is a republication on GBA of The Magical Quest gone back to 1992, left on SNES

Derivative products

Mickey Mouse is, since the beginnings of Walt Disney Company, the object of a multitude of derivative products; it had a headstock with its image dice 1930! Thanks to the product sales initially derived via a single agent Kay Kamen, then by its own services (Disney To consume Products) the Disney company garnered important benefit which enabled him continuously to increase the quality of its productions.

Mickey became the symbol of the company which belongs to some universally known marks, at the sides of Coca-Cola, and of the powerful conglomerates controlling the totality of the media almost.

Mickey Mouse is proposed like effigy of a broad product range classable Disney Consumer Products in the various entities of this company. The character is affixed on clothing, objects of the daily life (linen of room, linen and accessories of kitchen,…), of decorations, of the articles of paper mills, the electricals appliance or electronic (of which computers) or simply of the toys.

One can however distinguish in this list in Prévert some articles:

the Mickey watches in 1932 which helped the company Ingersoll - Waterbury to leave the bankruptcy
the miniature trains Lionel into 1934 which them also was to save bankruptcy
the appearance of Mickey Mouse on the boxes of cereals Post Toasties of General Foods in 1934. Mickey is the first character to be appeared on a cereal box. General Food paid 1,5 million $ per one year of use.
Stake Mickey, an interactive cuddly toy produced by Walt Disney Parks and Springs
the collection Mickey Mouse of objects of interiors launched in 2004 with graphics of the years 1940 to 2000
the collection Vault 28 of objects of interiors launched in 2005 with graphics of the years 1920 to 1940
reader MP3 Mix Stick launched in 2005
the computer in form of Mickey of Disney Electronics launched in 2002

Analyzes of the character

A symbol of the beginnings of the cinema

Its appearance right before the years 1930 coincides with a multitude of technical developments in the cinema and animation. Mickey begins its career timidly, in black and white and without its, at the beginning of 1928. Before the end of the year he “speaks”. The technology of talking films begins and the public becomes very fond of delicacies about it. In a few months, several hundreds of cinemas through the United States invested in sound equipment which had to be made profitable. In March 1929, Walt Disney carries out its fourth Mickey Mouse what enabled him to have 4 talking films with its catalog whereas many competitors still hesitated to use this innovation. Stalemate Powers, the agent of Disney thanks to warm welcome of the public proposed films with many cinemas. In less than one year, Mickey becomes a known character of all United States but also with the international one.

Characters as Felix the cat are then eclipsed by this speaking mouse. Like it Nicole Bungener in her summary specifies on the Art of the cartoon inspired by the biography of Bob Thomas in the magic world of Walt Disney - the universe Inconnu , It is especially the fact that Mickey had a character which decided between it its competitors, the sound was nevertheless of a great help for the identification of the character. One can moderate this declaration a little because Felix had just stopped his production in August 1928, the films then in productions still leaving until 1931.

Graphic evolution

The character of Mickey Mouse evolved/moved since his creation in 1928. It is possible to define several periods but unequal durations. The first is the period of creation and definition of the character under the hand of Ub Iwerks. During this period milks it is not yet final. The mouse, just recognizable to its tail, its muzzle and its ears, moves away a little from the standards of mouse of the time all in their borrowing very many features. It is often indicated that Mickey goes down from Oswald because of their identical graphic father-originator. However Mickey is closer to Julius , a clone of Felix the cat present in the Alice Comedies while Oswald is inspired to him mice living in this same world by Alice.

Oswald has long and hanging ears, a lengthened face (pointed like the mice), of the long legs in three segments of which the flat and lengthened feet, five fingers. These elements are found on the mice drawn by Hugh Harman, of the oval eyes being detached on a black face, arms and flexible legs in “rubber pipe” and feet rounded. Mickey is not in the simplest apparatus (a fur) like Felix and carries shoes, breeches with two buttons (white with buttons black then with the use of the color, red with yellow button as from 1935) and as from March 1929, of a pair of glove (cf a graphic evolution: the first pair of gloves). The round and soft shape of these characters tenderizes the public which, according to Steff, is thorough to take the hero in his arms.

In 1941, in the Swirl , sudden Mickey of the minor evolutions but which will last only the time of the Second world war: its ears move henceforth in prospect thus forming sometimes ovals and its body becomes finer but its head, its hands and its feet become larger.

The other evolutions relate to especially the world around Mickey, that it is its guard wraps which grows rich or his/her new friends. Thus it adopts pants in 1943 thanks to Bill Walsh.

John Hench carries out portraits of Mickey to the aspect more sophisticated - even more “modern man” - for its birthdays following an in-house contest launched by Walt Disney in 1953 for the 25^e birthday of the mouse. It carried out these portraits while trying to point out Mickey not but the spirit of its creator, the father of the personality of Mickey, Walt Disney.

Starting from 1983, Mickey changes graphically but simply because it appears on a new support, the video game. It remains in 2D but with orée of the 21e century, the 3D makes that Mickey must be able to be seen of all with dimensions ones and to appear thick. The Disney company goes even further in 2006, where Mickey was seen transformed into a numerical character in three dimensions in the series the House of Mickey .

One of the constants of the drawing of Mickey is that, whatever the position of its head, its ears are always round. This point is due as for its tail, made of a simple feature of pencil, with a preoccupation with time-savings. The distinctive silhouette is taken again so much that it became a symbol universally recognized, plagiarized and diverted Disney company.

One can however note the appearance since the summer 2006, of a named product range Disney Cuties presenting Mickey Mouse under an aspect cute (Kawaii), graphic style inspired by the Manga and more particularly the characters of Hello Kitty and Pucca.

Mickey is also a voice

A big part of the personality of Mickey to the screen is due to its shy person voice of Fausset. The first short films did not include/understand words for Mickey but it was doubled by Walt Disney in person. Walt drew a certain pride from it. It was sometimes helped by Carl Stalling and Clarence Nash for certain difficult doublings but the latter is not credited. In 1946, Walt becomes too much overflowed by the management of its company to ensure the regular recording of the voice of Mickey, moreover it seems that its practice to smoke the cigarette deteriorated its voice (Leonard Mosley speaks even about chronic coughs and almost permanent whistle).

It names then Jim MacDonald, a former musician and actor working for a long time for the studio. Walt and Jim are audible in the original soundtrack of the film Coquin of spring. MacDonald carries out doublings for the short films and several projects televised and advertizing until its retirement in 1983. However one can note the exceptional participation of Walt for the introductions of Mickey Mouse Club of 1954 to 1959 and the episode of the Disneyland series of September 11th, 1958.

Character of the character

At the beginning, Mickey is a mischievous character and crafty one and even a little “magician”. It could thus transform a goat into gramophone (in Steamboat Willie ) or a basset hound in rubber band to launch its plane (in Plane Crazy ). It should be recalled that Walt Disney is then 26 years old. It has also an inextinguishable optimism and a perseverance without faille.
The character starts to speak only at the end of one year about existence. These stammerings of the beginning become initially simple remarks then more comprehensible but by keeping a laughter (one gloussement) become famous.

During the period of economic depression, that the United States in the years 1930 undergoes, these character traits make it possible the public to laugh. Mickey and its friends make it possible to American to slacken with their jokes right before the diffusion of the cinematographic information or the feature-length films.

The celebrity of Mickey very quickly grew and as of the February 16th 1931, the Time Magazine, devotes an important article to him. The journalist finishes his article with these words:

Large lover, student, soldier, sailor, singer, toreador, tycoon, jockey, boxer, racing driver, aviator, farmer. Mickey Mouse lives in a world in which space, the time and the laws of physics are null. It can be put in the mouth of a buffalo, withdraw its teeth and use them like castanets. It can direct a brass band or play of the violin solos; its ingeniousness is unbounded; it never loses. |Time Magazine | Regulated Grind

These many roles make it to the public possible to be identified with the hero.

Quickly the films of Mickey Mouse are announced by the cinemas like the feature-length films sometimes even like more important.

After the crisis, with the age and popularity, the character of Mickey became a symbol nationalaméricain. The scenarios of Walt Disney must then make so that Mickey behaves correctly in all circumstances.

Mickey becomes with a succession of roles increasingly human but less and less joker and mischievous so that the comic situations did not froissent anybody.

Mickey, an American and world icon

Between its appearance on the cinema displays at the end of the years 1920, and the middle of the years 1930, Mickey became a symbol for American. Mickey diverted them during the depression, then on television, in the amusement parks, the books, and the newspapers. However, the humanistic values, the morals, the optimism and the joy insufflated by the organizers touched generations of spectators. As we saw, Mickey is the first character of drawings animated equipped with a character and “speaking” about the cinema. It presents to the public an overflowing optimism whereas the United States is in full depression. Its success is also related to the appearance of the Mickey Mouse Club. It is at the beginning of the commercial events launched by directors of cinema, first on January 11th, 1930 with Los Angeles is created and has place with the Fox Dome Theater. These events consist of sessions of diffusions of episodes of Mickey intended for the children and are used a little place as guard children. The children receive a chart of members which their makes it possible to have reductions, gifts and other advantages. Moreover as we saw, the character has a graphics attaching and of the elements of fast identification. During the period of depressions all these elements make that the public sticks to Mickey and that he sees it like an human being and an example to be followed. Thus in 1933, Mickey only receives with him more than 800.000 letters of fans, manages to make fortune and to fall down on its feet each time thanks to its audacity and a constant innovation. This character trait is also allotted to Mickey and reinforces the concept of alter ego often stated to define the relation between the mouse and Walt.
These distinctions seem exaggerated a little for an old character of less than 10 years and especially that decreed by criticized the SDN. But they confirm that very quickly Mickey Mouse became a symbol.

Become a genuine “star American”, Mickey will change little by little form and of vestimentary look, to become a symbol of the economic power and cultural radiation of the the United States of America. In parallel, Mickey is exported in all the Europe. It appears in France, daily bands as of 1930 in Small Parisian the , then the October 21st 1934, in the first number of the weekly magazine the Journal of Mickey which also accommodates other characters of the world of Disney, such Donald and the uncle Picsou.

It is it should be noted that it does not have the same name everywhere in Europe, thus it is called:

Topolino in Italy
Micky with the Netherlands
Mikki (Hiiri) in Finland

Currently, for much of people, Mickey is omnipresent. He educates the children, equips them, the celandine the night, diverts them, and so on. When they grew, the children can see it on television, to read its stories, to eat and live with objects carrying its effigy. Mickey did not invade all the places of planet yet nor every moment. But for those which wish it, even the marriage can proceed under its blessing in the United States, in Japan and in China thanks to the Disney' S Fairy Tale Weddings .

The symbol of Walt Disney Company

Mickey became the symbol of the Walt Disney Company as can attest it opposite the logo and of many logos of subsidiary companies (cf : Category: Logo Disney). This position of symbol became for Mickey Mouse and the authors who harness a yoke there in which it is not really any more possible to innovate.

The Disney company uses its character like a real personality. Thus Mickey chairs the opening ceremonies of the parks. In France and China, distorsions with the American practices however were granted at the request of the respective governments: Mickey did not cut the cord, nor initialed the contract.

Mickey must not to tarnish the image of the company to have an irreproachable morals.

Legal considerations, a very protected work

Many people think wrongfully that the character of Mickey Mouse is only protected by the Royalty . In fact, the character is also a registered trademark, like many characters of Disney, of which the rights remain as much as the mark is used commercially by its owner. Consequently, that the first cartoons fall or not into the Public domain, the use of the character remains protected from possible illegal uses by the registered trademark.

However in the United States, a law was promulgated in 1998 in order to extend the royalties from 75 to 95 years after their creation. This law is called Loi of Protection of Mickey Mouse because of the strong lobbying of Walt Disney Company and the coincidence of the arrival in the term of the royalties on Mickey Mouse in 2003.

Walt Disney Company is known for enormously protecting its registered trademarks and especially the mark " Mickey Mouse". Several facts were reported by the press.

In 1989, Disney tackled in justice three pediatric health care centres of Hallandale in Florida for the illegal use Disney characters painted on the walls. After the judgment, the characters were withdrawn and were replaced “gracefully” by characters of Universal Pictures.

Mickey, re-used in many fields

Mickey is used apart from the universe Disney for various uses, sometimes unimaginable with the first access.

In painting

The character of Mickey was recovered by the artists of the Pop-Art like Bernard Rancillac in 1965. In 1978, Robert Combas takes again this figure of the cartoon, just as Peter Saul for the exposure “ Mickey in all its states ” in 2006 to Paris.

Andy Warhol devoted several of its works with Mickey Mouse, the majority carried out in 1981 such as

The Art off Mickey Mouse black and white Mickey, with only the language of red color, profile on a black bottom.
Mickey Mouse (Myth Series) (1981, sold nearly 2 million $ in 2004)
Double Mickey Mouse a double full-length portrait of Mickey
Mickey Mouse a quadruple portrait on bottom mauve-yellow-orange-blue (1981, sold more than 100.000 $ in 2002)

In music

The musical style of the cartoons of Mickey Mouse is particular in the direction where each event of film is underlined by the soundtrack. In homage and in a pejorative way, the films misusing of this system are classified in the tendency of the Mickeymousing .

Mickey Mouse also gave its name to a television program produced by Disney, “The Mickey Mouse Club” in which a whole generation began from young singers and singers such as Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. A reference to this emission appears at the end of the film Full Metal Jacket, when the soldiers start to sing the credits in chorus on the battle field, during the Guerre of Vietnam.

In paleontology

In its work the inch of the panda (edition Delivers pocket chapter 9 p.109 to 122), the Paléontologue Stephen Jay Gould wrote a chapter entitled biological Hommage to Mickey in which he explains the process of the Néoténie by taking the example of the graphic evolution of the appearance of Mickey.

In policy

Mickey curiously was not used during the second world war at ends of propaganda. It is not the case of Donald Duck in famous the Der Fuehrer' S Face or of Minnie Mouse in Out off the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line (of the fryer to the frontline, recovery of oils for the realization of ammunition).

In the United States, the votes of protest are often the result of a great dissatisfaction on behalf of the voters with respect to the candidates. These votes are amplified at the time of the ballots or the votes without real stakes. The system running in many countries is to propose blank votes with a Quorum of invalidation of the vote if it is not reached. In order not to have blank votes, the majority of the American states set up a system of box to be filled is even where the voter with freedom to register the name of its choice. In the votes purely protesters, the characters of cartoons or cartoons are often used.

A study carried out in 2000 in a university of Wisconsin revealed that 17% of the students had voted several times and certain votes were in favor of characters of fiction. This practice makes of Mickey Mouse, inter alia, a candidate of opposition (whatever the party in power) recurring of the American elections.

A similar phenomenon seems to exist in Finland and Sweden but rather in favor of Donald Duck.

Pastiches and diversions in the media

Many pastiches of Mickey existed, among which:

Air Pirates , by Bobby London, an American cartoon underground of the beginning of the Years 1970, which was worth with its author an important lawsuit with Disney.
Farfour (See below), character of fiction of the emission pioneers of tomorrow on television Al Aqsa TV.
the data-processing company Microsoft was renamed “Mickeysoft” by Richard Forno because of his “hegemony” on the market of data processing comparable with that of Disney in several fields
In film of Cecil B Of Thousand, Under the big top of the world (1952, produced by Paramount), one sees Mickey in the shape of a dressed up man, similar to those of the Disney parks, which ravels at the time of the sequence of the large parade with other characters of Disney
a hiéroglyphe Mickey representative is present on the small pocket of the album Powerslave (1984) of Iron Maiden.
a character is disguised in Mickey in the carnival of San Theodoros of the album Tintin and Picaros (1976)

Thierry Steff devotes part of his book Bon Birthday, Mickey! with the copies, re-uses and other diversions of Mickey that they are in-house at Disney or outside. Here are some:

the Foxy fox of the Warner drawn by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising but also Friz Freleng, of old from Disney. Foxy has only one bulkier tail and of large pointed ears. It appears in several Merrie Melodies of the years 1930. In the film One More Time of 1933, a miniature mickey appears a great number of times without real reason, out of radiator of car, the face pencil, valve or animated ball… Walt Disney required the stop of the use of this character.
the cartoon film Yellow Submarine (1967) makes it possible to see a Prime Minister, max of Menie, affublé of ears of Mickey.
credits of the Return of the pink Panther (1975) watch the pink Panther to change, inter alia, in Mickey Mouse which leaves by a door.
In the series Simpsons the 6th episode of the 4th season entitled Itchy & Scratchy, the movie , presents a parody of Steamboat Willie to illustrate the beginnings of the duet Itchy and Scratchy.

Use as islamist tool of propaganda

In May 2007, a clone of Mickey Mouse named Farfour was used in the televised series the Pioneers of tomorrow , on the chain Al-Aqsa TV affiliated with the Hamas. This character is used for “education” of the children and preaches the ideology of Hamas. Very politicized remarks were thus uttered by the character: “We prepare with you the angular stone of for the control of the world under the Islamic domination. You must pay attention at the time of your prayers and go to the mosque for each of the five prayers until we can direct the world.” The minister Palestinian of information asking the representatives of Hamas to re-examine the program. The character later is beaten with died by a Israélien and replaced two weeks later by a new character, his cousin the bumblebee Nahoul .

the sharpest reaction does not come from the Disney company but from Diane Disney Miller, girl of Walt, which declared that Hamas was the holy terror by using the character of Mickey to inform Islamic radicalism with the children.

Slang expressions

“ Mickey Mouse ” is easy”, “commonplace” slang expression American meaning an “or “of amateur”. In the United Kingdom, the direction is derived from that of amateur and tends towards the direction of “poor quality” to see “counterfeit”.

In 1984, Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers declared with a journalist after having beaten the Devils of the New Jersey 13 to 4 that “Well, it is time that they work together, they ruined all the league. They would have better done to stop playing Mickey Mouse organization and putting someone else on the ice”

In film of the Warner Bros. Demolition Man (1993), when Sylvester Stallone is found with the catch with the damaged IA of its police vehicle out of control, it shouts with the machine and the invective: “Slows down! Slow down! Slow down, now, you, species of part of shit in Mickey Mouse”.

In film of the Warner Bros. Space Jam (1996), Bugs Bunny answer the proposal for a name as follows launched by Daffy Duck for their teams of Basket-ball: “Listen, that you of that for the new name of team think? Ducks. Stop! Which kind of organization in Mickey Mouse would call a team thus? ”. It should be recalled that “Ducks” or Mighty Ducks was at the time a property of Walt Disney Company.

Within the armies of the United States, the actions which lavish a beautiful appearance but which does not have any use practices are called “ work in Mickey Mouse ”. Among these actions one finds for example the manner of making well the beds in the basic drive or the polishing of brass decorations on board boats.

In the English schools, a “ race in Mickey Mouse ” in a class is a contest without value where few efforts are necessary to obtain a good performance. Of the same being a “ major in Mickey Mouse ” designates a pupil who succeeds without effort. This expression indicates also the matters or topics which do not have importance for the job market.

the musicians pejoratively qualify the music of the film bands which follow step by step the shown event to the image of Mickey Mousing' (or mickey-mousing or mickeymousing ) in reference to the cartoons of Mickey. It should be recalled that Disney emits its own currency, the Disney Dollar, valid only in the parks and places of stays Disney as well as the Disney Store.

With the beginning of the year 1980, the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher called the the European Parliament, the Parlement Mickey Mouse , by comparing it with the Mickey Mouse Club, a gathering of people who discuss but which does not have a notable influence.

See too

Internal bonds

Minnie Foams, the boyfriend of Mickey
Pluto, the dog of Mickey
Hidden Mickey a play launched by the personnel of the Disney company consisting in hiding the silhouette (or more) of Mickey in many achievements of the company (films, attractions,…)
Mickey Mouse Protection Act the nickname of an American law on the Royalty

External bonds

Disney' S Mickey Mouse character page
Toonopedia: Mickey Mouse
The Origin off Mickey Mouse: Mickey Mouse
The Encyclopedia off Disney Animated Shorts

Media

Mickey in Arabia - 1932 (duration: 06 min 32s), Cartoon resulting from Internet site Watchmovies

Sources

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