Editing Mickey Mouse (section)

==Creation==
[[File:Mickey Mouse concept art (clear version).webp|thumb|upright=1.45|The earliest known [[concept art]] of Mickey and [[Minnie Mouse]] from early 1928, largely attributed to [[Ub&nbsp;Iwerks]], but speculated to include work from [[Walt Disney]] or [[Les&nbsp;Clark]];{{sfn|Apgar|2015|pp=77-78}} [[The Walt Disney Family Museum]] collection]]

Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]], an earlier cartoon character that was created by the Disney studio but owned at the time by [[Universal Pictures]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Michael|last=Barrier|title=The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney|publisher=University of California Press|year=2008|page=56|isbn=978-0-520-25619-4}}</ref> [[Charles Mintz]] served as a middleman producer between Disney and Universal through his company, Winkler Pictures, for the series of cartoons starring Oswald. In a February 1928 meeting with Mintz to renew the Oswald contract, Disney was met by a disappointing budget cut proposal, along with Mintz's revelation that several of the most important Disney animators were coming over to his studio.{{sfn|Apgar|2015|p=39}} Among the few who stayed at the Disney studio were animator [[Ub&nbsp;Iwerks]], apprentice artist [[Les Clark]], and [[Wilfred Jackson]].

A new character was workshopped out of necessity and in relative secret. Various myths exist of Walt Disney's inspiration for Mickey (including some which were likely [[wikt:ghostwritten|ghostwritten]]), such as that the [[starving artist]] drew inspiration from a tame mouse (or pair of mice) at his desk at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], or that he undertook a romantic search for inspiration on the train ride home from his disappointing meeting with Mintz.{{sfn|Apgar|2015|pp=53-56, 60–61}}<ref>Walt Disney: Conversations (Conversations With Comic Artists Series) by Kathy Merlock Jackson with Walt Disney " {{ISBN|1-57806-713-8}} p. 120.</ref> At Disney's behest, Iwerks sketched new character ideas based on various animals such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were rejected, as was a male frog.{{efn|These were later repurposed as [[Clarabelle Cow]], [[Horace Horsecollar]], and Iwerks' [[Flip the Frog]].<ref name="Kenworthy" />}} In 1925, [[Hugh Harman]] drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney, reputedly based on Disney's own designs (similar to those he included on family birthday cards).{{sfn|Apgar|2015|pp=76–77}} These inspired Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney.<ref name="Kenworthy">{{cite book|last=Kenworthy|first=John|title=The Hand Behind the Mouse|publisher=Disney|location=New York|year=2001|pages=53–54}}</ref>

{{anchor|Name}}
"Mortimer Mouse" had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, [[Lillian Disney|Lillian]], convinced him to change it.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mickey Mouse's Magic- Tweentimes|work=The Times of India|url=http://tweens.indiatimes.com/articleshow/51990.cms|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040113130826/http://tweens.indiatimes.com/articleshow/51990.cms|archive-date=January 13, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uselessknowledge.co.za/interesting-facts/mickey-mouse-was-going-to-be-mortimer-mo/|title=Mickey Mouse was going to be Mortimer Mo|publisher=Uselessknowledge.co.za|access-date=April 8, 2012|date=May 8, 2010|archive-date=April 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417164306/http://www.uselessknowledge.co.za/interesting-facts/mickey-mouse-was-going-to-be-mortimer-mo/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Over the years, the name 'Mortimer Mouse' was eventually given to several different characters in the [[Mickey Mouse universe]]: [[Minnie Mouse]]'s uncle, who appears in several comics stories, one of Mickey's antagonists who competes for Minnie's affections in various works, and one of Mickey's nephews, Morty.}} It has been speculated that Disney saw the name on a similarly named [[Performo Toy Company|Performo toy]].{{sfn|Apgar|2015|p=45}} Additionally, actor [[Mickey Rooney]] claimed that during his time performing as the title character of the ''[[Mickey McGuire (film series)|Mickey McGuire]]'' film series (1927–1934), he met Walt Disney at the [[Warner Bros.]] studio, inspiring Disney to name the character after him;<ref>{{cite web|last=Albin|first=Kira|url=http://www.grandtimes.com/rooney.html|title=Mickey Rooney: Hollywood, Religion and His Latest Show|work=GrandTimes.com|publisher=Senior Magazine|year=1995|access-date=December 15, 2013|archive-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318044544/http://www.grandtimes.com/rooney.html|url-status=live}}</ref> however, Disney Studios was located on Hyperion Avenue at the time, with Disney conducting no business at Warner Bros.<ref>{{cite web|last=Korkis|first=Jim|title=The Mickey Rooney-Mickey Mouse Myth|publisher=Mouse Planet|date=April 13, 2011|url=http://www.mouseplanet.com/9587/The_Mickey_RooneyMickey_Mouse_Myth|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140409113857/http://www.mouseplanet.com/9587/The_Mickey_RooneyMickey_Mouse_Myth|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 9, 2014|access-date=April 9, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Korkis|2012|pages=157–161}}</ref>{{efn|Mickey Rooney voiced the post-Disney Oswald the Rabbit in a couple of 1931 films.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia : 1931 |url=http://www.intanibase.com/gac/lantz/1931.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222112701/https://www.intanibase.com/gac/lantz/1931.aspx |archive-date=2024-02-22 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=The Internet Animation Database}}</ref>}}

The first feature-length movie with dialogue sequences, ''[[The Jazz Singer (1927 film)|The Jazz Singer]]'' starring [[Al&nbsp;Jolson]], was released on October 6, 1927. Several additional talkies followed, and movie theaters began installing the necessary equipment. Walt Disney reputedly discussed making sound cartoons in late May 1928.{{sfn|Apgar|2015|pp=91–92}} After composer [[Carl W. Stalling]] initially voiced Mickey for the 1929 talkie shorts ''[[The Karnival Kid]]''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-04 |title=Mickey's first words |url=https://generalist.academy/2020/09/04/mickeys-first-words/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=The Generalist Academy |language=en}}</ref> and ''[[Wild Waves]]'', Disney himself provided the often-shy [[falsetto]] voice—a large part of the character's onscreen persona.{{sfn|Apgar|2015|p=12}}

=== Design ===
[[File:Walt Disney and his cartoon creation "Mickey Mouse" - National Board of Review Magazine.jpg|thumb|Walt Disney with a cutout of Mickey as he was drawn by the end of 1928]]

Mickey's original design strongly resembled Oswald the Rabbit, save for the ears, nose, and tail.<ref>{{cite news |last=Van Luling |first=Todd |date=December 10, 2015 |title=Here's One Thing You Didn't Know About Disney's Origin Story |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/disney-animal_5668a3ece4b0f290e521e19f |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101081630/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/disney-animal_5668a3ece4b0f290e521e19f |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |access-date=December 11, 2015 |newspaper=The Huffington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kindelan |first=Katie |author-link=Kindelan |date=November 29, 2011 |title=Lost Inspiration for Mickey Mouse Discovered in England Film Archive |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/11/lost-inspiration-for-mickey-mouse-discovered-in-england-film-archive/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206011916/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/11/lost-inspiration-for-mickey-mouse-discovered-in-england-film-archive |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |access-date=December 11, 2015 |newspaper=ABC News}}</ref><ref name="TIME" /> Ub Iwerks designed Mickey's body out of circles (distinctly, the ears) to make the character easy to animate.{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|pp=125-126}}{{Efn|Disney employees [[John Hench]] and [[Marc Davis (animator)|Marc Davis]] believed that this initial design was part of Mickey's success as it made him more dynamic and appealing.}}
Upon his creation, Mickey's features shared similarities to a number of his cartoon predecessors with large eyes and mouth on a black body{{efn|Prototypical Mickeys by Walt Disney are designed this way as well, sometimes with light gloves.{{sfn|Apgar|2015|p=77}} [[Frank Thomas (animator)|Frank Thomas]] and [[Ollie Johnston]] explain that Mickey's original eyes consist of a small pupil and goggle-like [[Sclera|whites]] (any 'hairline' defined by the eyes and lips).{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|p=447}}}} (e.g. Oswald and [[Felix the Cat]]). From early 1929,<ref>''[[The Opry House]]'' (1929)</ref> Mickey also wore white gloves{{efn|From 1927 to 1928, animators [[Robert McKimson|Robert]] and [[Tom McKimson]] drew a children's book titled ''Mouse Tales'', featuring mice strongly resembling Mickey. They wear white gloves, but have white bodies (while a gloved [[leprechaun]] has a dark upper body and 'exposed' white legs). The McKimson brothers then apprenticed as Disney animators {{circa|mid-1929}}, with the drawings subsequently spending six decades in storage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKimson Jr. |first=Robert |title="I Say, I Say ... Son!": A Tribute to Legendary Animators Bob, Chuck, and Tom McKimson |publisher=Santa Monica Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-59580-069-5|pages=18, 20–21, 23–24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Baxter |first=Devon |date=April 13, 2016 |title=Robert McKimson's 'Daffy Doodles' (1946) |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-daffy-doodles-1946/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=[[Cartoon Research]] |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205094919/https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-daffy-doodles-1946/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} (similar to those appearing on later characters, e.g. [[Bosko]] and [[Bimbo (Fleischer Studios)|Bimbo]]).{{efn|name=dandy|In minstrel shows, gloves are part of the costume of the stereotypical black "[[dandy]]", who imitates the lifestyle of well-to-do whites.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Grosvenor |first1=Edwin S. |last2=Toll |first2=Robert C. |date=2019 |title=Blackface: the Sad History of Minstrel Shows |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/blackface-sad-history-minstrel-shows |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]] |language=en}}</ref>}} Several sources state that this scheme evolved from [[blackface]] caricatures used in [[minstrel show]]s.<ref name=minstrel>Multiple sources:
* {{cite news |last=Caswell |first=Estelle |date=February 2, 2017 |title=Why cartoon characters wear gloves |url=https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/2/2/14483952/why-cartoon-characters-wear-gloves |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817210956/https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/2/2/14483952/why-cartoon-characters-wear-gloves |archive-date=August 17, 2019 |access-date=June 13, 2017 |work=Vox}}
* {{cite web |last=Holt |first=Patricia |date=May 21, 1996 |title=The Minstrel Show Never Faded Away |url=http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/The-Minstrel-Show-Never-Faded-Away-2980658.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124020030/https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/The-Minstrel-Show-Never-Faded-Away-2980658.php |archive-date=November 24, 2022 |access-date=March 12, 2020 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=James C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SV74vIKPyBAC&pg=PA49 |title=Commerce in Color: Race, Consumer Culture, and American Literature, 1893–1933 |date=January 1, 2007 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=9780472069873 |via=Google Books}}
* {{cite book |last=Sammond |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVBmCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT161 |title=Birth of an Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation |date=August 17, 2015 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=9780822375784 |quote=Mickey Mouse isn't like a minstrel; he is a minstrel. |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="inge">{{cite book |last=Inge |first=M. Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgQbBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT378 |title=A Mickey Mouse Reader |date=September 30, 2014 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781626743601 |editor-last=Apgar |editor-first=Garry |pages=341–342 |access-date=February 2, 2017 |via=Google Books |archive-date=November 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129185546/https://books.google.com/books?id=RgQbBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT378#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Efn|The Mickey film ''[[The Jazz Fool]]'' (1929) is a parody of Jolson movies, the title alluding to ''The Jazz Singer'' and ''[[The Singing Fool]]'' (1928).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grob |first1=Gijs |title=Mickey's Movies: The Theatrical Films of Mickey Mouse |date=2018 |publisher=Theme Park Press |chapter=The Jazz Fool |isbn=978-1683901235}}</ref> Mickey and others take on a layer of lip-accentuating blackface in ''[[Mickey's Mellerdrammer]]'' (1933), parodying ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''.<ref>Reynolds, David S. (2011). ''Mightier than the Sword: Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Battle for America'', 243. W. W. Norton & Company.</ref>}}{{efn|[[M. Thomas Inge]] points out that although earlier minstrelesque cartoon characters lacked "the language or cultural mannerisms of black life&nbsp;... Mickey has sometimes been thought to retain some of the free-swinging style" associated with black culture.<ref name=inge/> White gloves appear on many later characters such as [[Jiminy Cricket]], [[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]], [[Bugs Bunny]], [[Woody Woodpecker]], [[Mighty Mouse]], [[Mario]], and&nbsp;[[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic the Hedgehog]].}}
Additionally, Mickey's original black hands could not be seen if they passed in front of his torso. This limitation encouraged animators to base their poses on [[silhouette]], much in the manner of [[Charlie Chaplin]] films.{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|p=56|ps=. "Mickey's body was black, his arms and his hands—all black. There was no way to stage an action except in silhouette.&nbsp;... A hand in front of a chest would simply disappear."}}<ref>{{cite AV media |title=[[Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Two#Mickey Mouse in Black & White|Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Two- ''Mickey Mouse in Black & White'']] (DVD), Disc 1, Bonus Features: ''Frank and Ollie... and Mickey'' featurette (2002) |date=2002 |medium=DVD |language=en |publisher=[[The Walt Disney Company]] |quote="There was an interesting bit of development there. They drew [Mickey Mouse] with black hands on the black arm against the black body and black feet. And if he said something in here (gestures in front of body), you couldn't see it and won't realize. Fairly early they had tried it on him, putting the white gloves on him here, and the white shoes, but it had to clear up." |people=[[Frank Thomas (animator)|Frank Thomas]]}}</ref>{{Efn|Although the design had been developed for earlier characters, Walt Disney playfully explained: "Artistically, five digits are too many for a mouse. His hand would look like a bunch of bananas. Financially, not having an extra finger in each of 45,000 drawings that make up a six and one-half minute short has saved the studio millions."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alice |first=Matthew |date=November 14, 1996 |title=Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Pluto — all have three fingers |url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1996/nov/14/straight-mickey-goofy-donald-have-three-fingers/ |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=[[San Diego Reader]] |language=en |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227081917/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1996/nov/14/straight-mickey-goofy-donald-have-three-fingers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Disney also stated that the gloves helped make Mickey appear more human.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bob |url=https://archive.org/details/disneysartofanim00thom/page/12/ |title=Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast |date=1991 |publisher=Hyperion |isbn=978-1-56282-997-1 |location=New York |pages=12}}</ref>}}

[[Minnie Mouse]] was designed similarly to Mickey, with only superficial details being different.{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|pp=551-553}} In the 1930s, animator [[Fred Moore (animator)|Fred Moore]] tried giving Mickey's body more of a pear shape to increase his acting range; Walt Disney liked this adaptation and declared, "that's the way I want Mickey to be drawn from now on."{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|pp=125-126}}{{Efn|Colleague [[Ward Kimball]] praised Moore for being the first animator to break from Mickey's "rubber hose, round circle" design.}} Moore maintained that the character should always be drawn from a pleasing angle, ears included, as opposed to depicting Mickey as a realistic 3D character.{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|p=127}}

Mickey's eyes were originally large and white with black outlines, with the tops able to deform like eyebrows; the pupil was circular (with a triangle cut out in&nbsp;poster {{nowrap|close-ups}} to simulate reflected light).<ref name="cane">{{cite book |last=Canemaker |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgQbBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT303 |title=A Mickey Mouse Reader |date=September 30, 2014 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781626743601 |editor-last=Apgar |editor-first=Garry |pages=303 |access-date=April 16, 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Starting with ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'', the bottom portion of the black outlines was removed, often making the pupil placement look strange. The pupils began to be treated as stationary, dotlike eyes, requiring the entire head to be moved to make Mickey look around.{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|p=447}} During the production of [[Fantasia (1940 film)|''Fantasia'']] in the late 1930s, Fred Moore redesigned Mickey with small white pupilled eyes,<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Adler |first=Dick |date=September 23, 1990 |title=The Fantasy Of Disney's 'Fantasia' - 50 Years Later, It's Still A Classical Masterpiece |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-09-23-9003190603-story.html |access-date=April 15, 2024 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929024709/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-09-23-9003190603-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Efn|Animator [[Ward Kimball]] drew Mickey with such an eye style for a ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' (1937) wrap party.<ref name=cane/> Moore's redesign debuted in 1938 on a party program cover<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holliss|first1=Richard|first2=Brian|last2=Sibley|author2-link=Brian Sibley|title=Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: His Life and Times|url=https://archive.org/details/waltdisneysmicke00holl|url-access=registration|year=1986|publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Row]]|location=New York City|isbn=0-06-015619-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/waltdisneysmicke00holl/page/40 40–45]}}</ref> and then in short films in 1939, e.g. ''[[Mickey's Surprise Party]]'' and ''[[The Pointer]]''.}} with the redefined facial area being given a [[light skin]] color.<ref name="cane" />{{Efn|The original eye outlines were left, essentially forming a [[widow's peak]].}} Distinct, lined eyebrows were later added and are currently used occasionally.<ref>e.g., ''[[The Simple Things]]'' (1953)</ref>

Besides Mickey's gloves and shoes, he typically wears only a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front. Before Mickey was seen regularly in color animation, Mickey's shorts were either red or a dull blue-green. With the advent of Mickey's color films, they were always red. When Mickey is not wearing his shorts, he is often still wearing red clothing.{{efn|E.g. a bandmaster coat (''The Band Concert'', ''The Mickey Mouse Club''), overalls (''Clock Cleaners'', ''Boat Builders''), a cloak (''Fantasia'', ''[[Fun and Fancy Free]]''), a coat (''[[Squatter's Rights (film)|Squatter's Rights]]'', ''Mickey's Christmas Carol''), and a shirt (''Mickey Down Under'', ''The Simple Things'')}} Due to budgetary limits imposed by [[World War II]], Mickey temporarily lost his tail, e.g. in ''[[The Little Whirlwind]]'' (1941).<ref name="cane" />{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995}}