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[[File: Disneyland ; October 27, 1954|64px]]
“
"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."
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~ Walt Disney
Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , an earlier cartoon character created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios . [3] In the spring of 1928, with the series going strong, Disney asked Mintz for an increase in the budget. But Mintz instead demanded that Walt take a 20 percent budget cut, and as leverage, he reminded Disney that Universal owned the character, and revealed that he had already signed most of Disney's current employees to his new contract. Mintz owned Oswald and thought he had Disney over a barrel. Angrily, Disney refused the deal and returned to produce the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. Disney was dismayed at the betrayal by his staff, but determined to restart from scratch. The new Disney Studio initially consisted of animator Ub Iwerks and a loyal apprentice artist, Les Clark , who together with Wilfred Jackson were among the few who remained loyal to Walt. One lesson Disney learned from the experience was to thereafter always make sure that he owned all rights to the characters produced by his company.
In the spring of 1928, Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of various animals, such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were also rejected. They would later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar . (A male frog, also rejected, would later show up in Iwerks' own Flip the Frog series.) [1] Walt Disney got the inspiration for Mickey Mouse from his old pet mouse he used to have on his farm. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. These inspired Ub Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney. [1] " Mortimer Mouse " had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it, and ultimately Mickey Mouse came to be. [4] [5] Actor Mickey Rooney has claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist Walt Disney at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name Mickey Mouse after him. [6]
Design
Ub Iwerks designed Mickey's body out of circles in order to make the character simple to animate. Disney employees John Hench and Marc Davis believed that this design was part of Mickey's success – it made him more dynamic and appealing to audiences. Mickey's circular design is most noticeable in his ears, which in traditional animation, always appear circular no matter which way Mickey faces. This made Mickey easily recognizable to audiences and made his ears an unofficial personal trademark. Even today, the symbol 15px is often used by the Disney company to represent Mickey. (see Hidden Mickey ) This later created a dilemma for toy creators who had to recreate a three dimensional Mickey. In animation in the 1940s Mickey's ears were animated in perspective.
Animator Fred Moore would later redesign Mickey's body away from its circular design to a pear-shape design. Colleague Ward Kimball praised Moore for being the first animator to break from Mickey's "rubber hose, round circle" design. Although Moore himself was nervous at first about changing Mickey, Walt Disney liked the new design and told Moore "that's the way I want Mickey to be drawn from now on."
Each of Mickey's hands have only three fingers and a thumb. Disney said that this was both an artistic and financial decision, explaining "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." In the film The Opry House (1929), Mickey was given his white gloves which were a simple way of contrasting his naturally black hands against his black body.
Mickey's eyes, as drawn in Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho , were large and white and defined by black outlines. In Steamboat Willie the black outlines were removed, although the upper edges still contrasted with his head. Mickey's eyes were later re-imagined as only consisting of the small black dots which were his pupils, while what was the upper edges of his eyes became a hairline. This is evident only when Mickey blinks. Fred Moore later redesigned the eyes to be small white eyes with pupils and gave his face a caucasian skin tone instead of plain white. This new Mickey first appeared in 1938 on the cover of a party program, and in animation the following year with the release of The Pointer . [7] Mickey is sometimes given eyebrows as seen in The Simple Things (1953) and in the comic strip, although he does not have eyebrows in his most recent appearances.
Besides Mickey's gloves and shoes, he typically wears only a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front. Although the animated Mickey was seen only in black and white for over seven years, [8] print images confirmed that the shorts were red. When Mickey is not wearing his red shorts, he is often still wearing red clothing. This includes a red bandmaster coat ( The Band Concert , The Mickey Mouse Club ), red overalls ( Clock Cleaners , Boat Builders ), a red cloak ( Fantasia , Fun and Fancy Free ), a red coat ( Squatter's Rights , Mickey's Christmas Carol ), and a red shirt (Mickey Down Under, The Simple Things ).
Animation history
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Disney had Ub Iwerks secretly begin animating a new cartoon while still under contract with Universal. The cartoon was co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks was the main animator for the short, and reportedly spent six weeks working on it. In fact, Iwerks was the main animator for every Disney short released in 1928 and 1929. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising also assisted Disney during those years. They had already signed their contracts with Charles Mintz, but he was still in the process of forming his new studio and so for the time being they were still employed by Disney. This short would be the last they animated under this somewhat awkward situation. [9]
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 to add insult to injury, Walt could not find a distributor. Though understandably disappointed, 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. It was co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks again served as the head animator, assisted by Johnny Cannon, Les Clark , Wilfred Jackson and Dick Lundy . This short was intended as a parody of Buster Keaton 's Steamboat Bill Jr. , first released on May 12 of the same 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. Willie featured changes to Mickey's appearance (in particular, simplifying his eyes to large dots) that established his look for later cartoons and in numerous Walt Disney films.
The cartoon was not the first cartoon to feature a soundtrack connected to the action. Fleischer Studios , headed by brothers Dave and Max Fleischer , had already released a number of sound cartoons using the 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 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 ABC.
The script had Mickey serving aboard Steamboat Willie under Captain Pete. At first he is seen piloting the steamboat while whistling . Then Pete arrives to take over piloting and angrily throws him out of the boat's bridge. They soon have to stop for cargo to be transferred on board. Almost as soon as they leave, Minnie arrives. She was apparently supposed to be their only passenger but was late to board. Mickey manages to pick her up from the river shore. Minnie accidentally drops her sheet music for the popular folk song " Turkey in the Straw ". A goat which was among the animals transported on the steamboat proceeds to eat the sheet music. Consequently Mickey and Minnie use its tail to turn it into a phonograph which is playing the tune. Through the rest of the short, Mickey uses various other animals as musical instruments . Captain Pete is eventually disturbed by all this noise and places Mickey back to work. Mickey is reduced to peeling potatoes for the rest of the trip. A parrot attempts to make fun of him but is then thrown to the river by Mickey. This served as the final scene of this short.
Audiences at the time of Steamboat Willie's release were reportedly impressed by the use of sound for comedic purposes. Sound films or "talkies" were still considered innovative. The first feature-length movie with dialogue sequences, The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson , was released on October 6, 1927. Within a year of its success, most United States movie theaters had installed sound film equipment. Walt Disney apparently intended to take advantage of this new trend and, arguably, managed to succeed. 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 in 1929 when his first spoken words were "Hot dogs, Hot dogs!" 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. [10] Unfortunately, audiences did not respond well to Felix's transition to sound and by 1930, Felix had faded from the screen. [11]
Black and white films (1929-1935)
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In the 1950s, Mickey became more known for his appearances on television, particularly with the Mickey Mouse Club . Many of his theatrical cartoon shorts were rereleased on television series such as Ink & Paint Club, various forms of the Walt Disney anthology television series , and on home video. Mickey returned to theatrical animation in 1982 with Mickey's Christmas Carol , an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in which Mickey played Bob Cratchit . This was followed up in 1990 with The Prince and the Pauper.
Throughout the decades, Mickey Mouse competed with Time Warner ' Bugs Bunny for animated popularity. But in 1988, in a historical moment in motion picture history, the two rivals finally shared screen time in the Robert Zemeckis NBC / Sid and Marty Krofft film Who Framed Roger Rabbit . Disney and Warner signed an agreement stating that each character had exactly the same amount of screen time, right down to the micro-second.
Mickey appeared on several animated logos for Walt Disney Home Entertainment , starting with the "Neon Mickey" logo and then to the "Sorcerer Mickey" logos used for regular and Classics release titles.
His most recent theatrical cartoon short was 1995's short Runaway Brain , while in 1999–2004, he appeared in made-for-video features, like Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas ; Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers ; and the computer-animated Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas .
Many television programs have centered around Mickey, such as the recent ABC shows Mickey Mouse Works (1999—2005), and the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–present). Prior to all these, Mickey was also featured as an unseen character in the Bonkers episode "You Oughta Be In Tunes".
Mickey has recently been announced to star in two films. One is being based on the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort , while the other is a film idea pitched by Walt Disney Animation Studios veteran Burny Mattinson centering around Mickey, Donald and Goofy. [24] If greenlit, the latter will probably be the 53rd or 54th full-length theatrical animated feature in the canon , and the third starring Mickey and his friends, after Fantasia and Fun and Fancy Free. Template:Clear
Voices
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A large part of Mickey's screen persona is his famously shy, falsetto voice. From his first speaking role in The Karnival Kid onward, Mickey was voiced by Walt Disney himself, a task in which Disney took great personal pride. (Carl Stalling and Clarence Nash allegedly did some uncredited ADR for Mickey in a few early shorts as well.) However, by 1946, Disney was becoming too busy with running the studio to do regular voice work which means he could not do Mickey's voice anymore (and as it is speculated his cigarette habit had damaged his voice over the years), and during the recording of the Mickey and the Beanstalk section of Fun and Fancy Free , Mickey's voice was handed over to veteran Disney musician and actor Jimmy MacDonald . (Both Disney's and MacDonald's voices can be heard on the final soundtrack.) MacDonald voiced Mickey in the remainder of the theatrical shorts, and for various television and publicity projects up until his retirement in the mid-1970s, although Walt voiced Mickey again for the introductions of the original 1950—1969 The Mickey Mouse Club TV series and the "Fourth Anniversary Show" episode of the Disneyland TV series aired on September 11, 1958.
1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol marked the theatrical debut of the late Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, who was the voice of Mickey until his death in 2009. [25] Allwine once recounted something MacDonald had told him about voicing Mickey: "The main piece of advice that Jim gave me about Mickey helped me keep things in perspective. He said, 'Just remember kid, you’re only filling in for the boss.' And that’s the way he treated doing Mickey for years and years. From Walt, and now from Jimmy." [26] Allwine was, incidentally, married to Russi Taylor , the current voice of Minnie Mouse . Les Perkins did the voice of Mickey in the TV special Down and Out with Donald Duck released in 1987.
Bret Iwan , a former Hallmark greeting card artist, is the current voice of Mickey. His early recordings in 2009 included work for the Disney Cruise Line , Mickey toys, Theme Parks, and also the Disney on Ice: Celebrations! ice show. [27] His first video game voice-over of Mickey Mouse can be found on Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep , a video game for PlayStation Portable. He has also voiced the character in the next games for the Kingdom Hearts series . Bret also does the vocal effects of Mickey in Epic Mickey .
Mickey in comics
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Since his early years Mickey Mouse has been licensed by Disney to appear on many different kinds of merchandise. Mickey was produced as plush toys and figurines, and Mickey's image has graced almost everything from t-shirts to lunch boxes. Largely responsible for Disney merchandising in the 1930s was Kay Kamen (d. 1949) who was called a "stickler for quality." Kamen was recognized by The Walt Disney Company as having a significant part in Mickey's rise to stardom and was named a Disney Legend in 1998. [30]
Mickey was most famously featured on wrist watches and alarm clocks, typically utilizing his hands as the actual hands on the face of the clock. The first Mickey Mouse watches were manufactured in 1933 by the Ingersoll Watch Company . The seconds were indicated by a turning disk below Mickey. The first Mickey watch was sold at the Century of Progress in Chicago, 1933 for $3.75. Mickey Mouse watches have been sold by other companies and designers throughout the years, including Timex , Elgin, Helbros, Bradley, Lorus, and Gérald Genta [31] The fictional character Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's novels was said to wear a Mickey Mouse watch as a reminder "to stay young at heart." [32]
In 1989, Milton Bradley released the electronic-talking game titled Mickey Says, with three modes featuring Mickey Mouse as its host. Mickey also appeared in other toys and games, including the Worlds of Wonder -released Talking Mickey Mouse .
Fisher-Price has recently produced a line of talking animatronic Mickey dolls including "Dance Star Mickey" (2010) [33] and "Rock Star Mickey" (2011). [34] Template:Clear
Mickey at the Disney parks
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As the official Walt Disney mascot, Mickey has played a central role in the Disney parks since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. As with other characters, Mickey is often portrayed by a non-speaking costumed actor. In this form he has participated in ceremonies and countless parades. A popular activity with guests is getting to meet and pose for photographs with the mouse. As of the presidency of George W. Bush , Mickey has met every U.S. President since Harry Truman , with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson . [35]
Mickey also features in several specific attractions at the Disney parks. Mickey's Toontown (Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland , Magic Kingdom as "Mickey's Toontown Fair") is a themed land which is a recreation of Mickey's neighborhood. Buildings are built in a cartoon style and guests can visit Mickey or Minnie's houses, Donald Duck's boat, or Goofy's garage. This is a common place to meet the characters. [36]
Mickey's PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland ) is a 4-D film which features Mickey in the familiar role of symphony conductor. At Main Street Cinema everal of Mickey's short films are shown on a rotating basis; the sixth film is always Steamboat Willie . Mickey plays a central role in Fantasmic! ( Disneyland Resort , Disney's Hollywood Studios ) a live nighttime show which famously features Mickey in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice . Mickey was also a central character in the now defunct Mickey Mouse Revue (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland) which was an indoor show featuring animatronic characters. Mickey's face currently graces the Mickey's Fun Wheel at Disney California Adventure Park
In addition to Mickey's overt presence in the parks, numerous images of him are also subtly included in sometimes unexpected places. This phenomenon is known as " Hidden Mickey ." Template:Clear
Mickey in video games
Like many popular characters, Mickey has starred in many video games , including Mickey Mousecapade on the Nintendo Entertainment System , Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse , Mickey's Ultimate Challenge , and Disney's Magical Quest on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse on the Mega Drive/Genesis , Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands on the Game Boy , and many others. In the 2000s, the Disney's Magical Quest series were ported to the Game Boy Advance , while Mickey made his sixth generation era debut in Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse , a Nintendo GameCube title aimed at younger audiences. Mickey plays a major role in the Kingdom Hearts series, as the king of Disney Castle and aide to the protagonist, Sora . King Mickey wields the Keyblade , a weapon in the form of a key that has the power to open any lock and combat darkness. Epic Mickey , featuring a darker version of the Disney universe, was released in 2010 for the Wii . The game is part of an effort by The Walt Disney Company to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character by moving away from his current squeaky clean image and reintroducing the mischievous side of his personality. [2] Template:Clear
Awards and honors
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Mickey Mouse has received nine nominations for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film . These are Mickey's Orphans (1931), Building a Building (1933), Brave Little Tailor (1938), The Pointer (1939), Lend a Paw (1941), Squatter's Rights (1946), Mickey and the Seal (1948), Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), and Runaway Brain (1995). Among these, Lend a Paw was the only film to actually win the award. Additionally, in 1932 Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation and popularity.
In 1994, four of Mickey's cartoons were included in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons which listed the greatest cartoons of all time as voted by members of the animation field. The films were The Band Concert (#3), Steamboat Willie (#13), Brave Little Tailor (#26), and Clock Cleaners (#27).
On November 18, 1978, in honor of his 50th anniversary, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The star is located on 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Melbourne (Australia) runs the annual Moomba festival street procession and appointed Mickey Mouse as their King of Moomba (1977). [37] Although immensely popular with children, there was controversy with the appointment: some Melburnians wanted a 'home-grown' choice, e.g. Blinky Bill ; when it was revealed that Patricia O'Carroll (from Disneyland's Disney on Parade show) was performing the mouse, Australian newspapers reported "Mickey Mouse is really a girl!" [38]
Mickey was the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 2005. He was the first cartoon character to received the honor, and only the second fictional character after Kermit the Frog in 1996.
Social impact
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In the United States, protest votes are often made in order to indicate dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates presented on a particular ballot, or to highlight the inadequacies of a particular voting procedure. Since most states' electoral systems do not provide for blank balloting or a choice of " None of the Above ", most protest votes take the form of a clearly non-serious candidate's name entered as a write-in vote . Mickey Mouse is often selected for this purpose. [39] [40]
Mickey Mouse's name has also been known to appear fraudulently on voter registration lists, most recently in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election . [41] [42]
Pejorative use of Mickey's name
"Mickey Mouse" is a slang expression meaning small-time, amateurish or trivial. In the UK and Ireland, it also means poor quality or counterfeit. However, in parts of Australia it can mean excellent or very good. [43]
In The Godfather Part II , Fredo 's justification of betraying Michael is that his orders in the family usually were "Send Fredo off to do this, send Fredo off to do that! Let Fredo take care of some Mickey Mouse night club somewhere!" as opposed to more meaningful tasks.
In an early episode of the 1978–82 sitcom Mork & Mindy , Mork stated that Pluto was "a Mickey Mouse planet," referring to the future dwarf planet having the same name as Mickey's pet dog Pluto . Actually, the planet was named shortly before the dog was.
In 1984, just after an ice hockey game in which Wayne Gretzky 's Edmonton Oilers beat the New Jersey Devils 13–4, Gretzky was quoted as saying to a reporter, "Well, it's time they got their act together, they're ruining the whole league. They had better stop running a Mickey Mouse organization and put somebody on the ice." [44] Reacting to Gretzky's comment, Devils fans wore Mickey Mouse apparel when the Oilers returned to New Jersey.
In the 1993 Warner Bros. film Demolition Man , as Sylvester Stallone 's character is fighting the malfunctioning AI of his out-of-control police car, he shouts for the system to "Brake! Brake! Brake, now, you Mickey Mouse piece of shit!" [45]
In the 1996 Warner Bros. film Space Jam , Bugs Bunny derogatorily referred to Daffy Duck 's idea for the name of their basketball team, asking, "What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would name a team 'The Ducks?'" (This also referenced the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim , a NHL team that was then owned by Disney. This was showing the Disney/Warner Bros. rivalry.)
In the United States armed forces, actions that produce good looks, but have little practical use (such as the specific manner of making beds in basic training or the polishing of brass fittings onboard ship) are commonly referred to as "Mickey Mouse work".
In schools a "Mickey Mouse course", "Mickey Mouse major", or " Mickey Mouse degree " is a class, college major, or degree where very little effort is necessary in order to attain a good grade (especially an A) and/or one where the subject matter of such a class is not of any importance in the labor market. [46]
Musicians often refer to a film score that directly follows each action on screen as Mickey Mousing (also mickey-mousing and mickeymousing). [47]
The software company Microsoft has been derogatorily called "Mickeysoft". [48]
During World War II , the Motor Minesweepers used by the British Royal Naval Patrol Service were unofficially known as "Mickey Mouses".
In the beginning of the 1980s, then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once called the European Parliament a "Mickey Mouse parliament", meaning a discussion club without influence. [49]
In the British sitcom Red Dwarf , in the episode "Quarantine" , after the team's substandard equipment nearly cost them their lives, Lister pointed out, "We're a real Mickey Mouse operation, aren't we?" The Cat replied, "Mickey Mouse? We ain't even Betty Boop !"
Parodies and criticism
Mickey Mouse's global fame has made him both a symbol of The Walt Disney Company and as of the United States itself. For this reason Mickey has been used frequently in anti-American satire , such as the infamous underground cartoon " Mickey Mouse in Vietnam ". There have been numerous parodies of Mickey Mouse, such as the Mad Magazine parody "Mickey Rodent" by Will Elder in which the mouse walks around unshaven and jails Donald Duck out of jealousy over the duck's larger popularity. [50] The grotesque Rat Fink character was created by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth over his hatred of Mickey Mouse. In The Simpsons Movie , Bart Simpson puts a black bra on his head to mimic Mickey Mouse and says: "I'm the mascot of an evil corporation !" [51] In the South Park episode " The Ring " Mickey Mouse is depicted as the sadistic, greedy boss of The Walt Disney Company , only interested in money.
In an episode of "Full Frontal Nerdity," by Aaron Williams , Mickey is shown as desperately trying to unload Miramax . [52]
On September 20, 2008 Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajid claimed that the sharia considers mice to be harmful vermin and that characters like Mickey Mouse and Jerry from Tom and Jerry are to be blamed for making mice such lovable characters. He issued a fatwā against Mickey, which made international headline news and was the subject of much controversy and ridicule. Sheikh Muhammed Al-Munajid issued a statement afterwards in which he stated that he was misquoted and translated badly. [53]
Labor issues
In January 1936, Julius Herskowitz, a trade unionist trying to organize a plant that made Mickey Mouse dolls, was beaten by an unknown assailant and his skull was fractured. He had received threats from the owner of his factory. [54]
Legal issues
It is sometimes erroneously stated that the Mickey Mouse character is only copyrighted . In fact, the character, like all major Disney characters, is also trademarked , which lasts in perpetuity as long as it continues to be used commercially by its owner. So, whether or not a particular Disney cartoon goes into the public domain , the characters themselves may not be used as trademarks without authorization. However, within the United States, European Union and some other jurisdictions, the Copyright Term Extension Act (sometimes called the 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act' because of extensive lobbying by the Disney corporation) and similar legislation has ensured that works such as the early Mickey Mouse cartoons will remain under copyright until at least 2023. However, some copyright scholars argue that Disney's copyright on the earliest version of the character may be invalid due to ambiguity in the copyright notice for Steamboat Willie . [55]
The Walt Disney Company has become well known for protecting its trademark on the Mickey Mouse character, whose likeness is closely associated with the company, with particular zeal. In 1989, Disney threatened legal action against three daycare centers in Florida for having Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters painted on their walls. The characters were removed, and rival Universal Studios replaced them with Universal cartoon characters. [56]
Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates
In 1971, a group of underground cartoonists calling themselves the Air Pirates , after a group of villains from early Mickey Mouse films, produced a comic called Air Pirates Funnies. In the first issue, cartoonist Dan O'Neill depicted Mickey and Minnie Mouse engaging in explicit sexual behavior and consuming drugs. As O'Neill explained, "The air pirates were...some sort of bizarre concept to steal the air, pirate the air, steal the media...Since we were cartoonists, the logical thing was Disney." [57] Rather than change the appearance or name of the character, which O'Neill felt would dilute the parody, the mouse depicted in Air Pirates Funnies looks like and is named "Mickey Mouse". Disney sued for copyright infringement, and after a series of appeals, O'Neill eventually lost and was ordered to pay Disney $1.9 million. The outcome of the case remains controversial amongst free-speech advocates. New York Law School professor Edward Samuels said, "[The Air Pirates] set parody back twenty years." [58]
Censorship
In 1930, The German Board of Film Censors prohibited showing a Mickey Mouse film because they felt the kepi -wearing mouse negatively portrayed the Germans and would "reawaken the latest anti-German feeling existing abroad since the War". [59] A mid 1930s German newspaper article even stated:
"Mickey Mouse is the most miserable ideal ever revealed...Healthy emotions tell every independent young man and every honorable youth that the dirty and filth-covered vermin, the greatest bacteria carrier in the animal kingdom, cannot be the ideal type of animal...Away with Jewish brutalization of the people! Down with Mickey Mouse! Wear the Swastika Cross !" [60] [61] [62]
Art Spiegelman used this quote on the opening page of the second volume of his graphic novel Maus .
The 1935 Romanian authorities banned Mickey Mouse films from cinemas after they feared that children would be "scared to see a ten-foot mouse in the movie theatre". [63] In 1938, based on the Ministry of Popular Culture's recommendation that a reform was necessary "to raise children in the firm and imperialist spirit of the Fascist revolution," the Italian Government banned foreign children's literature [64] except Mickey; Disney characters were exempted from the decree for the "acknowledged artistic merit" of Disney's work. [65] Actually Mussolini's children were fond of Mickey Mouse, so they managed to delay his ban as long as possible. [66] In 1942, after Italy declared war on the USA, fascism forced the Italian publishers to suddenly stop printing any Disney stories. Mickey's stories were replaced by the adventures of Tuffolino, a new human character created by Federico Pedrocchi (script) and Pier Lorenzo De Vita (art). After the downfall of Italy's fascist government, the ban was removed.
Filmography
Main article: List of Mickey Mouse films and appearances
Mickey has been announced to star in two films. One is a live-action/CGI hybrid film based on the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort, [67] while the other is a film idea pitched by Walt Disney Animation Studios veteran Burny Mattinson centering around Mickey, Donald and Goofy. [24]
References