Mickey Mouse Impact
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Ever heard of Mickey Mouse? The name probably sounds familiar. This cartoon character with his cheerful face and high pitch voice helps him to remain one of the most recognizable characters in the world. Mickey Mouse is even more recognizable than Santa Clause himself. Mickey has helped and inspired people to all get along and bring smiles and happiness into lives. Mickey Mouse has starred in a little over 120 films from between 1928-1998, and had a comic book strip that ran throughout 45 years. The man behind this master piece was Walt Disney (“Suddath”).
Walt Disney Originally worked at Universal Pictures. He was the creator of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit which was an instant major hit within the United States. Oswald was created there at Universal Pictures. When Oswald the lucky rabbit cartoon was at its peak the studio felt powerful and started to let many workers go. They offered to keep Disney, but only for a lower salary then he already had. Disney then refused the fewer wage and left the company. When Disney left he then created his own company which then led to the creation of Mickey Mouse. Mickey was created when Disney and his wife were returning by train from a meeting where Disney tried to re-gain the rights to Oswald and was unable to do so. Then Disney started to make another image similar to Oswald but in the image of a mouse which was originally named Mortimer. Later the name was changed to Mickey (“Suddath”).
Cartoons before Mickey at this time were all in black and white with no color. Having sound for film animations hadnt been used yet, so all films were silent. Most to all of the cartoons purpose and the time was just to simply entertain people. They rarely ever contained a message or a point of emphasis to get across to the audience. They also never discussed things about events that were happening in the United States and globally. They mostly just contained a pie that was being tossed into someones face or that contained silly dancing plants and flowers.
Mickey Mouses first ever film he appeared in was Plane Crazy which was followed by his second film Galloping Gaucho, which had cost Walt Disneys studio $2,500 for each film. However, Mickey Mouse didnt make his big debut on the big screen until his third movie Steamboat Willie on November 18th,1928. Thats 83 years ago! Disney screened the film for some New York exhibitors and the manager at the Colony Theatre. The Colony Theatre was one of the very few places to take a chance with the film after the major film companies all turned away the idea of Mickey Mouse (History of Mickey).
The First two Mickey films caused little to no reaction from the public. Soon after the public premiere of Steamboat Willie Mickey became an instant hit and was a national fad by the end of the year. Disney and other sources claim that Mickey had a 98% awareness rate among children between the ages of 3-11 worldwide (“Suddath”).
The Quality of films and cartoons changed majorly with the creation of Mickey Mouse. Disney instantly added sound to his first two cartoons, with the voice of Mickey done by Disney himself. Steamboat Willie was the first ever animation to feature synchronized music and sound effects. This was major in the animation industry. Many animations started to be produced with these special effects. Years before its time, Fantasia introduced classical music to younger audiences with matching animation, all presented in the innovative stereophonic sound. Fantasia left theatre visitors of the tie silent with open-mouth astonishment (“Holdridge”).
Mickey Mouse also had an impact outside of film during a time when America needed a friendly face. Mickeys popularity continued throughout the stock market crash in 1929 and through the Great Depression. Mickey Mouse was still played