Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Finding the hidden Mickey
MICKEY Mouse is arguably the most famous of the Disney cartoon characters. Making his debut in "Steamboat Willie" at the Colony Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1928, Mickey went on to star in over 120 different cartoons. He also starred in "The Mickey Mouse Club" television show of the 1950s.
Mickey Mouse's original drawings used circles for his head, body and ears. 1939's "The Pointer" saw a bold, new design for Mickey as his body became more pear-shaped and pupils were added to his eyes to increase his range of expression. Later on, animators of the 1940s would add a perspective aspect to his ears, giving them a three-dimensional effect. This change, however, was short-lived. The Mickey Mouse of today appears much as he did in the early days with the exception of a costume change here and there.
Originally, Mickey was voiced by Walt Disney himself. Later, those duties were assumed by Jim Macdonald and today Wayne Allwine provides Mickey's distinctive voice.
Mickey Mouse has appeared on thousands of merchandise items, and currently holds the esteemed title of Chief Greeter at the Disney theme parks.
First things first
Steamboat Willie" was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released, and the first cartoon with synchronized sound. Mickey was born out of necessity when Walt discovered he had lost the rights to his previous character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Refusing to work with the Oswald character for less money, he instead teamed up with Ub Iwerks to create Mickey Mouse. In "Steamboat Willie," Mickey plays a mischievous deckhand on a riverboat, who, to Minnie's delight, plays "Turkey in the Straw" utilizing an animal menagerie as his instruments. The tyrannical Captain Pete, however, is not amused, and Mickey ends up peeling potatoes in the galley.
Directed by Walt Disney. After unsuccessfully trying to make a deal to record through RCA or Western Electric, Walt contracted with the bootleg Powers Cinephone process and, after an initial disastrous recording session, finally recorded the soundtrack with a 15-piece band and his own squeaks for Mickey. Released at the Colony Theater in New York on November 18, 1928, the date used for the birth of Mickey Mouse.
Comic strips
The Mickey Mouse comic strip, distributed by King Features Syndicate, made its debut on January 13, 1930. The original artist was Ub Iwerks. He drew the strip for a month and then was followed for three months by Win Smith. When Smith left, Floyd Gottfredson was asked to take over the strip for a few weeks until they could find a replacement. But Gottfredson continued to draw the strip for 45 years, until the day he retired.
The Mickey Mouse Sunday page began on January 10, 1932, and was drawn by Manuel Gonzales for over 30 years.
Getting an Oscar
In 1932 a special Academy Award(r) was given to Walt Disney for the creation of Mickey Mouse.
Watch Mickey
The original Mickey Mouse watch was manufactured by Ingersoll in 1933 and sold for $3.25 (later lowered to $2.95). They also made a pocket watch at the same time, selling for $1.50. The original wristwatch had a round dial and featured three tiny Mickeys on a disc that indicated the seconds. These early watches have become some of the most sought-after types of Disneyana collectibles. The Mickey Mouse watch has been made continuously since 1933, though there was a period in the 1960s when only the words "Mickey Mouse" appeared on the dial.
Ingersoll became U.S. Time, which became Timex. One of the more interesting watches was a backwards Goofy watch. The numbers were placed in backwards order and Goofy's hands moved backwards as well. It took some effort to learn how to tell time backwards, but the watches became popular collectibles after their 1972 manufacture by Helbros. They originally cost $19.95, and within two decades were up to about $700 on the collectors' market. In their recent program of reproducing some of the classic Disney watches, The Disney Store selected the backwards Goofy watch as the first in their series of reproductions. In 1972, Bradley, a division of Elgin National Industries, Inc., took over the manufacture of Disney watches, and in 1987 the contract went to Lorus. Today a number of different companies make Disney watches.
