Words From Walt
Page 9 of 20
December 14
I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse. |
Though the Walt Disney Company would get its start five years before the debut of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, it wasn't until this historic cartoon's release that the company we think of today was born. Not only did Walt Disney lose the rights to Oswald the Rabbit in 1928 but he also lost all of his staff except Ub Iwerks. It truly was a rebirth at the studios, one that would change forever the fortunes of the Disney Brothers' Studio and the landscape of the entertainment world.
The birth of the mouse is one shrouded in legend and hyperbole. As the story goes, Walt began thinking about a new character to replace the loss of the rabbit on the train trip back from his meeting with Charles Mintz in New York. A mouse would pop out on the notepad he was doodling on and Walt dubbed him Mortimer. Lillian, who was at Walt's side during the trip, thought that was a horrible name for a mouse and suggested Mickey. The mouse was born! Ub, the only one of Walt's animators to not defect to Mintz's studio, single-handedly animated the first Mickey cartoon, Plane Crazy. Not being able to find a distributor, Walt decided that the series needed a hook and he would settle on the addition of a fully synchronized soundtrack as that hook. Steamboat Willie, complete with music and sound effects, would open at the Colony Theater in New York on November 18, 1928. The rest, as they say, is history.
Some would say that Walt was Mickey and Mickey was Walt. There is certainly a connection between the two. Besides providing Mickey's voice, Walt provided Mickey with heart and soul. His character would become more important than the artistry involved in bringing Mickey to life. Mickey Mouse cartoons would become entertainment events and Walt Disney would become a star. "What? No Mickey Mouse?" would become a saying of moviegoers who bemoaned the lack of a Mickey cartoon before the main feature.
The more Mickey's popularity grew, the less that Walt found he could do with him. In the beginning Mickey was a mischievous scoundrel but he grew into a charming, childlike friend. Stories for Mickey became limiting, as the mouse couldn't do certain "naughty" things as he had in the early years. He would soon become more of a foil for characters like Donald Duck and Pluto, who weren't as constrained. As the 1930s moved on, Mickey would lose some of his popularity to other characters.
Walt decided to try to revive Mickey's sagging career by casting him as the Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia. It was suggested that the popular dwarf Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs be used in the role but Walt insisted that it go to his old pal Mickey. This role was filled with magic and Mickey was an inspired choice for the part. In later years, when Mickey became more of a corporate icon for the company, Sorcerer Mickey would be the perfect representation for the company's magic side. After all, can anyone imagine Sorcerer Dopey leading the charge in Fantasmic?
Walt would continue to come back to Mickey Mouse throughout the years, never forgetting his contribution to the company and it's true beginnings. Mickey would come into children's living rooms daily through the Mickey Mouse Club. Mickey would be the host and ambassador of Disneyland. Walt stood by his friend and never allowed his limiting personality become a permanent handicap.
A mouse may not have actually started the company but it might as well have. Mickey was the beginning to Walt's good fortunes and future success. For these contributions, Walt continued to remember his old friend. Though Walt was often looking ahead to the next best thing, he continued to have a fondness for the nostalgic. Walt remained nostalgic for Mickey Mouse and remembered him fondly. And few today can forget the little guy who came from humble beginnings to help spawn a corporate empire.
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-- Matthew Walker
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