Mickey Mouse - The Ageless Icon

• Overview
• Product of The Genius
• History
• Trivia

Imagineering is what gave birth to arguably the most notable animated character of all time. He maybe 86 years old, but there’s no trace of gray hair on him. He looks almost the same as the Mickey Mouse back in the day when Walt Disney has not yet carved a billion-dollar name for himself. While he may not be seen in the big screen as often as the Marvel superheroes nowadays, Mickey Mouse remains as one of the most recognizable characters in the world.

The indie filmmaker Walt Disney carries mountain of ideas with light cash to produce cartoons back in the day. Little did he know that the birth of Mickey Mouse would put him in the map of superstardom and pop culture forever. He secured a deal with Columbia Pictures following warm audience reception of Mickey.

As Walt Disney kingdom rises to the top, Walt paid tribute to Mickey Mouse and said,

I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.

Walt Disney has lived up to his artistic sense and potential. His first cartoon strips in comics and newspapers depicted patriotic scenes of World War 1. He was attempted to join the Army, but was rejected and opted to join Red Cross instead. He was sent to France to drive an ambulance at the age of 16.

Before he died in 1966, he was regarded as business magnate, brilliant animator, director, voice actor and the one that forever changed the landscape of cartoons. During his lifetime, Walt won 22 awards, got 59 nominations and 4 honorary citations from no less than the Academy Awards.

Even after his death, The Walt Disney Company remains to be a profitable organization with that captured $45 billion in annual revenue last 2013.

To calculate Mickey Mouse’ overarching influence to pop culture is just mind-boggling. It was in 1928 when Mickey Mouse was conceived. From then on, the character has lorded and reigned over the entire Walt Disney Co. empire. It is second to none in the success ranking of all fictional characters created and introduced to the market. Even at old age, Mickey Mouse beats contemporary characters such as Spongebob, Pokemon and Spider Man in worldwide sales.

He was first seen in sound cartoon Steamboat Willie. The idea of Mickey Mouse was formed during a train ride from the Big Apple to Los Angeles. While it was Walt Disney who drew and gave birth to the character, Ub Iwerkes refurbished it to the image that people recognize today.

His original name was Mortimer and he was wearing this funny velvet pants. After a few years, Mickey Mouse appeared in more than 80 cartoon shows. Within the 40’s and 50’s period, his fellows including Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck joined him. It was in 1955 where Mickey started being the host of Disneyland.

The salt to Mickey’s sweet, Donald Duck was introduced in 1934, and the two became inseparable. When the studio hits rough spot in the 1940’s, the mouse’s expanse saved the day by way of merchandise sales. Mickey first tasted a makeover in 1935, care of a young animator named Fred Moore. This man gave the character its pear-shaped body, white gloves, shortened nose and essentially made him cuter.

1. Did you know what inspired the famous bejeweled gloves of the King of Pop? It is very interesting to note that the late Michael Jackson was smitten by the antics and was a big fan of Mickey Mouse.
2. Did you also know that Mickey has only three fingers and a thumb? If you are a keen observer, you may have noticed this. The reason behind this was five digits are too many for a mouse.

Mickey’s cheerful, pleasant and sunny demeanor is his best asset. After invading the silver screen (black and white and colored alike), he set sail and dominated the world of comics from Americas to Europe. Today, a visit to any of Disneyland peppered in this sphere of existence would never be complete without saying hi to Mickey Mouse and his gang.

Mickey Mouse - The Ageless Icon