Mickey Mouse History Essay Example

Have you ever seen Mickey Mouse and wondered how this famous character was created? Ub Iwerks is responsible for the beginning of what would become the most loved character of all time. Mickey Mouse became a household name that changed the cartoon industry forever. 

Mickey's narrative, on the other hand, begins with a bunny. When Walt Disney developed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927, the Disney Brothers Studio was merely another gear in Universal Pictures' animation machine. The smiling Oswald was an instant sensation with his round, white face, huge button nose, and floppy black ears, and Universal ordered a series of cartoons. The rabbit was still riding high when Disney met with executives in 1928 to negotiate a new contract, and the animator felt he had the upper hand. Instead, the studio informed him that it had recruited all of his employees while keeping Oswald's rights. Disney was given a lesser pay if he would accept it, but he declined. He and Ub Iwerks, Disney's lone remaining animator, went back to work and undertook a series of hair-pulling, late-night brainstorming sessions to find Oswald's replacement. They turned the rabbit into a mouse by shortening the ears and adding more padding around the midsection. Mortimer was his name. The moniker didn't stick around for long; there are many legends seeking to explain how and why. But soon he was ready for his debut as Mickey.

The first two Mickey shorts received little notice, but then Steamboat Willie, the first animation with synchronized music and sound effects, appeared on the screen. On Nov. 18, 1928, the picture opened in New York and became an instant smash. Within months, a slew of Mickey Mouse shorts debuted, including Plane Crazy, a prequel to Steamboat Willie in which Mickey portrays a rodent Charles Lindbergh. By the end of the year, the mouse had become a national craze, and it wasn't long before Walt Disney's true brilliance emerged: marketing. Walt soon launched a Mickey merchandising line, and the Mickey Mouse Club, a children's fan club, was up and running within two years.

Mickey Mouse has been licensed by Disney to appear on a variety of products since his early years. Mickey has appeared on everything from T-shirts to lunchboxes, and has been made into soft toys and sculptures. Kay Kamen, Disney's chief of merchandise and licensing from 1932 until his death in 1949, was largely responsible for early Disney merchandising. He was known as a "stickler for excellence." The Walt Disney Company honored Kamen as a Disney Legend in 1998 for his contributions to Mickey's ascent to fame. Mickey Mouse was named one of the world's most recognizable characters by Time magazine in 2008, as he celebrated his 80th birthday. Even in comparison to Santa Claus. According to Disney, 98 percent of youngsters aged 3 to 11 throughout the world are familiar with the character.

Mickey Mouse's worldwide popularity has made him a symbol of both The Walt Disney Company and the United States. As a result, Mickey has regularly appeared in anti-American satire, including the iconic underground cartoon "Mickey Mouse in Vietnam." There have been several parodies of Mickey Mouse, such as Will Elder's two-page spoof "Mickey Rodent," in which the mouse is unshaven and imprisons Donald Duck due to his greater fame. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth invented the hideous Rat Fink caricature out of his disdain for Mickey Mouse. In The Simpsons Movie, Bart Simpson imitates Mickey Mouse by wearing a black bra and saying: "I'm the mascot of an evil corporation!" Mickey is portrayed as the nasty, selfish, foul-mouthed head of The Walt Disney Company, solely concerned in money, in the Comedy Central series South Park. In the Italian artist Massimo Mattioli's comic Squeak the Mouse, he appears briefly with Donald Duck. While imprisoned in the Gurs internment camp during WWII, Horst Rosenthal made a comic book, Mickey au Camp de Gurs, which he signed "Publié Sans Autorisation de Walt Disney" on the front cover.

Protest votes are sometimes cast in the United States to express unhappiness with the slate of candidates on a specific ballot or to draw attention to the flaws in a particular voting method. Because most states' election systems do not allow for blank balloting or a "None of the Above" option, most protest votes are cast as write-in votes for an obviously non-serious candidate. Mickey Mouse is a popular choice for this. "If Mickey Mouse doesn't receive votes in our election, it's a horrible election," a Georgia election official noted. Mickey Mouse was first mentioned as a write-in candidate in New York City in 1932.

In conclusion, Mickey Mouse is the most popular character ever created. He is seen everywhere from television to lunchboxes. While he was created so long ago he is still considered the most popular character in the disney universe.

Suddath, Claire. “A BRIEF HISTORY OF Mickey Mouse.” Time, Time Inc., 18 Nov. 2008, http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1859935,00.html.