When: Annually, November 18.
Every year, we celebrate the “birth” of Mickey Mouse on 18 November with Mickey Mouse Day. A tribute to the world’s most famous mouse. Actually, it is also immediately a tribute to the 1928 film “Steamboat Willie.”
Steamboat Willie
Who could have imagined that that mouse that starred in a short film of less than eight minutes would form the basis for an empire we now know as The Walt Disney Company or simply Disney? Yet that company existed before this movie came out, as the company was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney. Not under the name as we know it today. The original name until 1926 was the Disney Brothers Studio. Later, they would continue under the name Walt Disney Studio (1926 – 1929) and again later under the name Walt Disney Productions (1929 – 1986).
Icon
The mouse became a mascot. An icon. Not only that, it became a symbol linked to products made by others. With a licence to make those products. The symbol was also linked to the theme parks that opened (and some of which closed).
Oswald
Vandaar dat we vandaag, op 18 november, stilstaan bij Mickey Mouse. Hij werd trouwens uit nood geboren en daarmee is meteen ook de vraag beantwoord wat de broers Disney in de periode deden tussen het ontstaan van het bedrijf en de introductie van Mickey Mouse. Ze hielden zich onder andere bezig met Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Een konijn die verdacht veel op een mens lijkt.
Only Oswald did not appear until 1927, and thanks to an argument between Walt Disney and Charles Mintz of Universal Pictures over who was now in charge of the budget, the rights eventually ended up in Mintz’s hands. The series came to an end in 1928 and, together with Ubi Iwerks, a solution was devised: Mickey Mouse. A golden move, because who remembers that rabbit?
Minnie Mouse
Incidentally, it was also immediately the introduction of yet another person. Hence, today is also Minnie Mouse’s day. She too was featured in Steamboat Willie. So that’s why today is also Minnie Mouse Day. If you want to do it right, it’s Minerva Mouse Day, by the way, because Minerva is her full name.
Derived from a photo of:Evan Fitzer./Unsplash.
Related
Related Events
