SDCC 2019: D23 Celebrates History of Mickey Mouse Music at San Diego Comic-Con

There was certainly a lot going on at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 over this past weekend, but D23 – The Official Disney Fan Club wasn’t about to be left out of all the excitement! On Saturday morning, the Disney-owned organization put on a very fun and informative panel called “Mickey On Vinyl: D23 Celebrates the Mouse, the Music, & the Movement,” which featured a look back at the history of Mickey Mouse music and a tribute to the ever-popular Mickey Mouse Disco record on its 40th anniversary. Plus, all attendees received a nifty commemorative disco ball.

Panelists included moderator Bret Iwan (AKA the official voice of Mickey Mouse), music and television producer Bambi Moé (The Little Mermaid, Mousercise), The Walt Disney Company’s Mickey brand overseer Alyssa Tron, Disneyland Resort costume designer Trevor Rush, and D23’s Justin Arthur, as the group chronicled the annals of Disney music released on vinyl through the decades.

The panel started with a review of Mickey Mouse’s relationship with music over the past ninety years, beginning with the classic Walt Disney Studios short Steamboat Willie (1928) and working their way through Fantasia (1940), The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), Mickey Mouse Disco (1979), Mousercise (1982), Mickey Mouse Splashdance (1983), and Totally Minnie (1988), in addition to other lesser-known vinyl and sheet-music releases.

We then learned more about Mickey Mouse Disco and the new Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse outfits it inspired for two recent D23 disco events in Los Angeles and during Comic-Con in San Diego. Then, the audience was treated to a special surprise as Mickey and Minnie themselves came out to boogie down!

The previous night, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse joined DJ Questlove at House of Blues San Diego for Mickey’s Disco Party, where D23 members got funky with everyone’s favorite mouse couple in further celebration of Mickey Mouse Disco’s 40th anniversary.

For more information on D23 – The Official Disney Fan Club, be sure to visit its official website.

Mike Celestino
Mike serves as Laughing Place's lead Southern California reporter, Editorial Director for Star Wars content, and host of the weekly "Who's the Bossk?" Star Wars podcast. He's been fascinated by Disney theme parks and storytelling in general all his life and resides in Burbank, California with his beloved wife and cats.