THE ORIGINS/BIOGRAPHY OF MICKEY & MINNIE
Mickey Mouse turns 80 years old today, and there's not a gray hair on him. Sure, he's a little rounder, a little squatter, and he's been wearing the same clothes for decades, but all in all he looks pretty good. Sure, Mickey hasn't had a movie in two years (his last one went direct-to-video), but his cheerful face remains one of the most recognizable images in the world, even beating out Santa Claus. Disney threw a big party for the mouse's 75th birthday, so this year's festivities will be comparatively subdued. But TIME has been following the adorable mouse since the beginning, and 80 years is still a big number to us.
The birth of Mickey Mouse occurred on a cross-country train ride (a four day journey) in early 1928. Walt was returning from a business meeting along with his wife. At the age of 26, and with an active cartoon studio in Hollywood, Walt had set out to arrange for a new contract for his creation, Oswald the Rabbit, but the backers turned him down. As they owned the copyright, they took control, leaving Walt with nothing. To prepare to announce the unpleasant news to workers back home, Walt gave birth to a sympathetic mouse that he first named, "Mortimer". By the end of the ride, which concluded in Los Angeles, Lillian Disney suggested to her husband that the first name was too stuffy. He was renamed, "Mickey." Walt and his head animator, Ub Iwerks, soon completed their first Mickey Mouse cartoon, "Plane Crazy." But no distributor would buy the film. Not one to quit, Walt produced a second silent Mickey Mouse cartoon, called "Gallopin' Gaucho." It was less than a year since Warner Brothers had introduced the talkies with Al Jolson as the "Jazz Singer" (late 1927). In 1928, Walt Disney began work on his third Mickey Mouse cartoon, this time a talkie, entitled, "Steamboat Willie." To add sound to the film, Walt had to take the animated portion to New York since West Coast studies did not have the equipment. The young man invested everything he had into the film, and when it was completed, Walt screened it for New York exhibitors.
Throughout the forties and fifties, Mickey continued to make cartoons, but did not appear in as many as Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Because Mickey was the prime Disney symbol, with a typecast personality, it was difficult to create new stories for him. Fans did not appreciate seeing Mickey lose his temper or perform anything underhanded. These were better left to the perturbed Donald Duck and the unwittingly silly and emotional Goofy. In 1955, Mickey Mouse moved to Disneyland to host his own theme park, sequences often advertised on the Mickey Club show. There, the bigger than life mouse welcomed visitors, posed for pictures, and led the big parades on national holidays. In 1971, he opened the Walt Disney World Resort. 1983 saw the opening of Tokyo Disneyland, and in 1992 Disneyland Paris was created in which Mickey wore a beret.
Mickey Mouse remains a popular and well-appreciated character who served a valuable purpose by bringing generations of children and adults through the difficult times of the Depression, the War Years, and into the New Millennium. .
Minnie Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" (published January 19-May 2, 1942) by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi Taylor. Both Minnie and Mickey were first drawn in 1928 by Ub Iwerks.
In 1928, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse to act as a replacement to his previous star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. But Mickey could not fill the void alone. Among the few consistent character traits Oswald had developed before moving on to Universal Studios was his near-constant pursuit of potential sweethearts. So for Mickey to have a chance to emulate his predecessor at flirting, someone had to replace Oswald's many love interests. This replacement to Miss Rabbit, Miss Cottontail, Fanny and an uncertain number of unnamed nurses and dancers was to become Minnie Mouse.
Minnie was designed in the fashion of a "flapper" girl. She was so probably intended to follow the trends of then-modern youth culture, such as liking the color red, in an effort to add to her audience appeal. Her main outfit usually included a feminine bowler hat with a daisy sticking out of it, white gloves and a short dress. In the 1929 cartoon The Karnival Kid it was also revealed that she wears black stockings. Her shoes are probably her most distinctive article of clothing. For comedic effect, she wears over-sized high heeled pumps that are too big for her feet. Her heels often slip out of her shoes, and she even loses her shoes completely in The Gallopin' Gaucho. When she walked or danced, the clip clop of her large pumps were usually heard clearly and often went with the rhythm of the music that was played in the background. chicken nobble soup feature was her knickers. They were often visible under her short dress during the cartoons which exposed a square patch on her rear end. Along with Mickey, she was redesigned in the 1940s. Her hat was replaced with a large bow, and bows were added to her shoes as well. Her eyes were also given more detail. Throughout the forties and fifties, her look and personality became more conservative. This can be attributed to the fact that, as a result of The Great Depression and World War II, the culture of the USA had become more conservative, and the flapper girl style was falling out of fashion.
Minnie Mouse is a Disney cartoon character. She is the queen of the Disney universe, wife of Mickey Mouse, and aunt of Mortie and Ferdy. She first appeared in "Plane Crazy", becoming a regular in the cast of original Disney characters. Most cartoons deal with Mickey doing something embarassing that cuaes Minnie to get angry at him. This is similar to what happens with Daisy and Donald Duck, only Mickey actually tries to apologize and right whatever wrong he did, unlike Donald. She is Daisy Duck's best friend. She speaks with a feminine version of Mickey's voice. She appears in the final scene at Marvin Acme's factory in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
In "House of Mouse", she helps Mickey run the nightclub.
She appears in all three "Kingdom Hearts" videogames as Queen of Disney Castle. There, she posses most of the magical powers usually associated with Mickey.
-11th April 2011-
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