Name: Mickey Mouse Age: 75 Nationality: Universal Claim to fame: The rodent who built a multi-billion dollar business empire turns 75
He is Walt Disney’s most famous round-eared creation and he is now 75. Mickey Mouse, the rodent whose face and silhouette are familiar to generations of children globally, was born in Walt Disney’s imagination early in 1928. Then a struggling 26-year-old entrepreneur, Walt along with his wife was travelling from New York to Los Angeles. There deep in his thought, he developed Mortiminer the Mouse. It was his wife, Lillian who suggested that Mickey sounded much better.
Mickey Mouse made his screen debut on November 18, 1928, as star of the first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie. Since then, he has become an icon of 20th century America and has come to symbolize one of the world’s largest entertainment empires that is sometimes simply referred to as the “Mouse House”. On January 13, 1930, Mickey Mouse even got his own comic strip.
Over the years, Mickey’s emblematic visage has appeared in more than 140 movies, in comic books and on a staggering range of merchandise, from watches and toys to pyjamas, which first began appearing in 1929. He has played everything, from fireman to giant killer, cowboy to inventor, detective to plumber.
Technically and artistically, Mickey Mouse cartoons were far superior to other contemporary cartoons and gave life to an entire family of animated characters: Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and many others. The artistic success of Disney and his animators was honoured in 1932 when an Oscar was presented to Walt Disney for the creation of Mickey Mouse.
To celebrate Mickey Mouse’s birthday, Walt Disney unveiled 75 Mickey statues on Tuesday last, at Florida’s Walt Disney World. They were designed or inspired by artists, actors and athletes including Andre Agassi, Janet Jackson, Michelle Kwan, Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks, Elton John and many more.
With changing times, the Disney people too are adapting their favourite mouse accordingly. Next year’s release of Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas will for the first time feature him in a three-dimensional computer-generated images.
Analysts believe that Mickey Mouse’s initial success was the product of the era he was born in: Depression had taken over America and it was left to the little guy who satirized people’s foibles to teach an out-of-work population to laugh. Most importantly, he was a character who dreamed big and his dreams were universal.
But to many critics, the rodent is also an icon of cultural commodification and corporate imperialism, representing the vast reach of American cultural power, symbolizing a company that has turned childhood into a function of consumerism as children feel obligated to purchase the latest Disney offering. Whatever may be the conclusion, let’s wish the little guy a very happy birthday!
He is Walt Disney’s most famous round-eared creation and he is now 75. Mickey Mouse, the rodent whose face and silhouette are familiar to generations of children globally, was born in Walt Disney’s imagination early in 1928. Then a struggling 26-year-old entrepreneur, Walt along with his wife was travelling from New York to Los Angeles. There deep in his thought, he developed Mortiminer the Mouse. It was his wife, Lillian who suggested that Mickey sounded much better.
