Editing Mickey Mouse (section)

===Film===
{{see also|Mickey Mouse (film series)|}}

====Debut (1928)====
[[File:Steamboat Willie (1928) by Walt Disney.webm|thumb|thumbtime=0:26|Mickey's debut in ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'' (1928)]]

Mickey was first seen in a test screening of the cartoon short ''[[Plane Crazy]]'', on May 15, 1928, but it failed to impress the audience and Walt could not find a distributor for it.<ref name="disneyshorts.org Plane Crazy">{{cite web|url=http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=94|title=1928: Plane Crazy|publisher=Disney Shorts|access-date=April 8, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301151952/http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=94|archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref> Walt went on to produce a second Mickey short, ''[[The Gallopin' Gaucho]]'', which was also not released for lack of a distributor.

''Steamboat Willie'' was first released on November 18, 1928, in New York.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney. Steamboat Willie. 1928 | website=The Museum of Modern Art | date=November 18, 1928 | url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/302797 | access-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-date=January 1, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101173917/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/302797 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Burke 2024 e186">{{cite web | last=Burke | first=Myles | title=Steamboat Willie: How Mickey Mouse's first appearance saved Walt Disney from ruin and changed cinema forever | website=BBC Home | date=January 2, 2024 | url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231117-steamboat-willie-how-walt-disney-came-back-from-ruin | access-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303174103/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231117-steamboat-willie-how-walt-disney-came-back-from-ruin | url-status=live }}</ref> It was {{nowrap|co-directed}} by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks again served as the head animator,<ref name="Smith_2010">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Dave |title=Library of Congress - National Film Preservation Board Essays: Steamboat Willie |date=October 2010 |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215161143/https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=Loc.gov}}</ref> assisted by [[Les Clark]],<ref name="Widmar 2021 j754">{{cite web | last=Widmar | first=Aaron | title=5 Facts About Disney Legend Les Clark | website=WDW Magazine | date=November 17, 2021 | url=https://www.wdw-magazine.com/5-facts-about-disney-legend-les-clark/ | access-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303174104/https://www.wdw-magazine.com/5-facts-about-disney-legend-les-clark/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Johnny Cannon,  Wilfred Jackson and [[Dick Lundy (animator)|Dick Lundy]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} This short was a nod to [[Buster Keaton]]'s ''[[Steamboat Bill,&nbsp;Jr.]]'',<ref name="Smith_2010" /><ref name="The International Buster Keaton Society 2022 n369">{{cite web | title=Film: STEAMBOAT WILLIE by Walt Disney | website=The International Buster Keaton Society | date=September 1, 2022 | url=https://busterkeaton.org/2022/09/film-steamboat-willie-by-walt-disney/ | access-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-date=March 3, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303174103/https://busterkeaton.org/2022/09/film-steamboat-willie-by-walt-disney/ | url-status=live }}</ref> released earlier that year. Although it was the third Mickey cartoon produced, it was the first to find a distributor, and thus is considered by The Disney Company as Mickey's debut. It also featured some design refinements, and included the use of a bouncing ball on the film print to allow conductors and musicians to match the tempo of their music with the film.<ref name="Burke 2024 e186" /><ref name="Smith_2010" />

The cartoon was not the first cartoon to feature a soundtrack connected to the action. [[Fleischer Studios]], headed by brothers [[Dave Fleischer|Dave]] and [[Max Fleischer]], had already released a number of sound cartoons using the [[Phonofilm|DeForest]] system in the mid-1920s. However, these cartoons did not keep the sound synchronized throughout the film. For ''Willie'', Disney had the sound recorded with a [[click track]] that kept the musicians on the beat. This precise timing is apparent during the "Turkey in the Straw" sequence when Mickey's actions exactly match the accompanying instruments. Animation historians have long debated who had served as the composer for the film's original music. This role has been variously attributed to Wilfred Jackson, Carl Stalling and Bert Lewis, but identification remains uncertain. Walt Disney himself was voice actor for both Mickey and Minnie and would remain the source of Mickey's voice through 1946 for theatrical cartoons. [[Jimmy MacDonald (sound effects artist)|Jimmy MacDonald]] took over the role in 1946, but Walt provided Mickey's voice again from 1955 to 1959 for ''[[The Mickey Mouse Club]]'' television series on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

Audiences at the time of ''Steamboat Willie''{{'}}s release were reportedly impressed by the use of sound for comedic purposes. [[Sound film]]s or "talkies" were still considered innovative. Most other cartoon studios were still producing silent products and so were unable to effectively act as competition to Disney. As a result, Mickey would soon become the most prominent animated character of the time. Walt Disney soon worked on adding sound to both ''Plane Crazy'' and ''The Gallopin' Gaucho'' (which had originally been silent releases) and their new release added to Mickey's success and popularity. A fourth Mickey short, ''[[The Barn Dance]]'', was also put into production; however, Mickey does not actually speak until ''The Karnival Kid'' (1929). After ''Steamboat Willie'' was released, Mickey became a close competitor to Felix the Cat, and his popularity would grow as he was continuously featured in sound cartoons. By 1929, Felix would lose popularity among theater audiences, and Pat Sullivan decided to produce all future Felix cartoons in sound as a result.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toontracker.com/felix/felix.htm |title=Felix the Cat |publisher=Toontracker.com |access-date=April 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126060635/http://www.toontracker.com/felix/felix.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2012}}</ref> Audiences did not respond well to Felix's transition to sound and by 1930, Felix had faded from the screen.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100434|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090628135144/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100434|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 2009|work=St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture|title=Felix the Cat|first=Ian|last=Gordon|year=2002}}</ref>

====Black and white films (1929–1935)====
[[File:The Mad Doctor (1933) Poster.jpg|thumb|Poster of the 1933 short ''[[The Mad Doctor (1933 film)|The Mad Doctor]]'']]
In Mickey's early films he was often characterized not as a hero, but as an ineffective young suitor to Minnie Mouse. ''[[The Barn Dance]]'' (March 14, 1929) is the first time in which Mickey is turned down by Minnie in favor of [[Pete (Disney)|Pete]]. ''[[The Opry House]]'' (March 28, 1929) was the first time in which Mickey wore his white gloves. Mickey wears them in almost all of his subsequent appearances and many other characters followed suit. The three lines on the back of Mickey's gloves represent darts in the gloves' fabric extending from between the digits of the hand, typical of glove design of the era.

''[[When the Cat's Away (1929 film)|When the Cat's Away]]'' (April 18, 1929), essentially a remake of the ''[[Alice Comedies|Alice Comedy]]'', "Alice Rattled by Rats", was an unusual appearance for Mickey. Although Mickey and Minnie still maintained their anthropomorphic characteristics, they were depicted as the size of regular mice and living with a community of many other mice as pests in a home. Mickey and Minnie would later appear the size of regular humans in their own setting. In appearances with real humans, Mickey has been shown to be about two to three feet high.<ref>Mickey was first pictured with a real human in ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'' in silhouette. Later a famous statue of Mickey and Walt Disney at Disneyland would maintain Mickey's size.</ref> The next Mickey short was also unusual. ''[[The Barnyard Battle]]'' (April 25, 1929) was the only film to depict Mickey as a soldier and also the first to place him in combat. ''The Karnival Kid'' (1929) was the first time Mickey spoke. Before this he had only whistled, laughed, and grunted. His first words were "Hot dogs! Hot dogs!" said while trying to sell hot dogs at a carnival.{{sfn|Apgar|2015|p=105}} ''[[Mickey's Follies]]'' (1929) introduced the song "[[Minnie's Yoo-Hoo]]" which would become the theme song for ''Mickey Mouse'' films until 1935. The same song sequence was also later reused with different background animation as its own special short shown only at the commencement of 1930s theater-based Mickey Mouse Clubs.<ref name="club1">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=133|title=Disney Shorts: 1930: Minnie's Yoo Hoo|access-date=November 13, 2011|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402204042/http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=133|archive-date=April 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>Polsson, Ken (June 2, 2010). [http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/mmouse/mick1930.htm Chronology of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse (1930–1931)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205075800/http://islandnet.com/~kpolsson/mmouse/mick1930.htm |date=December 5, 2010 }} Ken Polsson personal page.</ref> Mickey's dog [[Pluto (Disney)|Pluto]] first appeared as Mickey's pet in ''[[The Moose Hunt]]'' (1931) after previously appearing as Minnie's dog "Rover" in ''[[The Picnic (1930 film)|The Picnic]]'' (1930).

''Wild Waves'' was the last Mickey Mouse cartoon to be animated by [[Ub Iwerks]].<ref name=Ryan>{{cite book|author=Ryan, Jeff|year=2018|title=A Mouse Divided: How Ub Iwerks Became Forgotten, and Walt Disney Became Uncle Walt|publisher=Post Hill Press|pages=181–183|isbn=978-1-68261-628-4}}</ref> Iwerks left to start his own studio, bankrolled by Disney's then-distributor [[Pat Powers (businessman)|Pat Powers]]. Powers and Disney had a falling out over money due Disney from the distribution deal. It was in response to losing the right to distribute Disney's cartoons that Powers made the deal with Iwerks, who had long harbored a desire to head his own studio. The departure is considered a turning point in Mickey's career, as well as that of Walt Disney. Walt lost the man who served as his closest colleague and confidant since 1919. Mickey lost the man responsible for his original design and for the direction or animation of several of the shorts released till this point. Advertising for the early Mickey Mouse cartoons credited them as "A Walt Disney Comic, drawn by Ub Iwerks". Later Disney Company reissues of the early cartoons tend to credit Walt Disney alone. ''Wild Waves'' was also composer [[Carl Stalling]]'s last film with the [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney Studio]]. Stalling joined Iwerks at his new studio.<ref name=movies>{{cite book |last1=Grob |first1=Gijs |title=Mickey's Movies: The Theatrical Films of Mickey Mouse |date=2018 |publisher=Theme Park Press |chapter=Wild Waves |isbn=978-1683901235}}</ref>

Disney and his remaining staff continued the production of the Mickey series, and he was able to eventually find a number of animators to replace Iwerks. As the [[Great Depression]] progressed and Felix the Cat faded from the movie screen, Mickey's popularity would rise, and by 1932 The Mickey Mouse Club would have one million members.<ref>Polsson, Ken (June 2, 2010). [http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/mmouse/mick1932.htm Chronology of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse (1932–1934)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419232408/http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/mmouse/mick1932.htm |date=April 19, 2022 }} Ken Polsson personal page.</ref> At the [[5th Academy Awards]] in 1932, Mickey received his first Academy Award nomination, received for ''[[Mickey's Orphans]]'' (1931). Walt Disney also received an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Despite being eclipsed by the ''[[Silly Symphony]]'' short the ''[[Three Little Pigs (film)|Three Little Pigs]]'' in 1933, Mickey still maintained great popularity among theater audiences too, until 1935, when polls showed that [[Popeye]] was more popular than Mickey.<ref>DeMille, William (November 1935). "Mickey vs. Popeye". The Forum.</ref><ref name="Koszarski">Koszarski, Richard (1976). [https://books.google.com/books?id=rR9CegFLYCAC&q=A+vote+was+taken+recently+among+schoolchildren+of+the+United Hollywood directors, 1914–1940, Volume 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420095535/https://books.google.com/books?id=rR9CegFLYCAC&q=A+vote+was+taken+recently+among+schoolchildren+of+the+United |date=April 20, 2023 }}. Oxford University Press. (Quotes ''DeMille. 1935'').</ref><ref>Calma, Gordan (May 17, 2005). [http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/showthread.php?t=2907 Popeye's Popularity – Article from 1935] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711104313/http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/showthread.php?t=2907 |date=July 11, 2011}} GAC Forums. (Quotes ''DeMille, 1935'').</ref> By 1934, Mickey merchandise had earned $600,000 a year.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Solomon|first1=Charles|title=The Golden Age of Mickey Mouse|url=http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousegoldenage/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301100751/http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousegoldenage/index.html|archive-date=March 1, 2007|access-date=August 27, 2015|publisher=Disney.com}}</ref> In 1935, Disney began to phase out the Mickey Mouse Clubs, due to administration problems.<ref>Polsson, Ken (June 2, 2010). [http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/disnehis/disn1935.htm Chronology of the Walt Disney Company (1935–1939)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115191141/http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/disnehis/disn1935.htm |date=January 15, 2023 }}. Ken Polsson personal page.</ref>

About this time, story artists at Disney were finding it increasingly difficult to write material for Mickey. As he had developed into a [[role model]] for children, they were limited in the types of gags they could present. This led to Mickey taking more of a secondary role in some of his next films, allowing for more emphasis on other characters. In ''[[Orphan's Benefit]]'' (1934), Mickey first appeared with [[Donald Duck]] who had been introduced earlier that year in the ''[[Silly Symphony]]'' series. The tempestuous duck would provide Disney with seemingly endless story ideas and would remain a recurring character in Mickey's cartoons.

====Color films (1935–1953)====
[[File:Mickey - The Band Concert.png|thumb|left|Mickey in ''[[The Band Concert]]'' (1935)]]

Mickey first appeared animated in color in ''[[Parade of the Award Nominees]]'' in 1932; however, the film strip was created for the [[5th Academy Awards]] ceremony and was not released to the public. Mickey's official first color film came in 1935 with ''[[The Band Concert]]''. The [[Technicolor]] film process was used in the film production. Here Mickey conducted the ''[[William Tell Overture]]'', but the band is swept up by a tornado. It is said that conductor [[Arturo Toscanini]] so loved this short that, upon first seeing it, he asked the projectionist to run it again. In 1994, ''The Band Concert'' was voted the third-greatest cartoon of all time in a poll of animation professionals. By colorizing and partially redesigning Mickey, Walt put Mickey back on top once again. Mickey reach new heights of popularity.<ref name="solomon1">{{cite web|url=http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousegoldenage/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611022804/http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousegoldenage/index.html|archive-date=June 11, 2008|title=The Golden Age of Mickey Mouse|author=Solomon, Charles|publisher=Disney.com guest services}}</ref> Also in 1935, Walt would receive a special award from the [[League of Nations]] for creating Mickey.

The second half of the 1930s saw the character [[Goofy]] reintroduced as a series regular. Together, Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy would go on several adventures together. Several of the films by the comic trio are some of Mickey's most critically acclaimed films, including ''[[Mickey's Fire Brigade]]'' (1935), ''[[Moose Hunters]]'' (1937), ''[[Clock Cleaners]]'' (1937), ''[[Lonesome Ghosts]]'' (1937), ''[[Boat Builders (film)|Boat Builders]]'' (1938), and ''[[Mickey's Trailer]]'' (1938). Also during this era, Mickey was the star in ''[[Brave Little Tailor]]'' (1938), an adaptation of ''[[The Valiant Little Tailor]]'', which was nominated for an Academy Award.

[[File:Fantasia poster, 1940 (Style B).jpg|thumb|Mickey's appearance was redesigned in ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'' (1940) to show white eyes with pupils.]]
In 1939, Mickey appeared in ''[[Mickey's Surprise Party]]'', along with Minnie, with a new design, which included [[pupils]]. Later on, in 1940, the character appeared in his first feature-length film, ''Fantasia''. The film used the redesigned version of Mickey with the pupils.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Culhane |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/waltdisneysfanta00culh/page/80/mode/2up |title=Walt Disney's Fantasia |publisher=Harry N. Abrams Inc. |year=1983 |isbn=978-3-8228-0393-6 |pages=80–84 |url-access=registration}}</ref> His screen role as [[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]], set to the [[symphonic poem]] of the same name by [[Paul Dukas]], is perhaps the most famous segment of the film and one of Mickey's most iconic roles. The [[apprentice]] (Mickey), not willing to do his chores, puts on the sorcerer's magic hat after the sorcerer goes to bed and casts a spell on a broom, which causes the broom to come to life and perform the most tiring chore—filling up a deep well using two buckets of water. When the well eventually overflows, Mickey finds himself unable to control the broom, leading to a near-flood. After the segment ends, Mickey is seen in silhouette shaking hands with conductor [[Leopold Stokowski]]. Mickey has often been pictured in the red robe and blue sorcerer's hat in merchandising. It was also featured into the climax of [[Fantasmic!]], an attraction at the Disney theme parks.

After 1940, Mickey's popularity declined until his 1955 re-emergence as a daily children's television personality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Solomon|first=Charles|title=Mickey in the Post-War Era|url=http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousepostwar/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615165949/http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousepostwar/index.html|archive-date=June 15, 2008|publisher=Disney.com guest services}}</ref> Despite this, the character continued to appear regularly in animated shorts until 1943 (winning his only competitive Academy Award—with canine companion Pluto—for the short subject ''Lend a Paw'') and again from 1946 to 1952. In these later cartoons, Mickey was often just a supporting character in his own shorts. Pluto was instead used as the main character.

The last regular installment of the ''Mickey Mouse'' film series came in 1953 with ''[[The Simple Things]]'' in which Mickey and Pluto go fishing and are pestered by a flock of [[seagulls]].