Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves.
For other uses, see Mickey Mouse (disambiguation).Mickey Mouse
Steamboat Willie (1928)
Walt Disney
Ub Iwerks (original, 1928 design)
Fred Moore (1938 redesign)
Walt Disney (1928–1947, 1955–1962)
Carl W. Stalling (1929)
Jimmy MacDonald (1947–1978)
Wayne Allwine (1977–2009)[1]
Bret Iwan (2009–present)
Chris Diamantopoulos (2013–present)
(see voice actors)
Mouse
Male
Mickey Mouse family
Pluto (dog)
Mickey was created as a replacement for a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The character was originally to be named "Mortimer Mouse", until Walt Disney's wife, Lillian, suggested "Mickey". Mickey first appeared in two 1928 shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho (which were not picked up for distribution) before his public debut in Steamboat Willie (1928). The character went on to appear in over 130 films, mostly shorts (also featuring characters such as his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, and friends Donald Duck and Goofy), as well as features such as Fantasia (1940). Since 1930, Mickey has been featured extensively in comic strips (including the Mickey Mouse comic strip, which ran for 45 years) and comic books (such as Mickey Mouse). The character has also been featured in television series such as The Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1996).
Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Walt Disney. Though originally characterized as a cheeky lovable rogue, Mickey was rebranded over time as a nice guy, usually seen as a spirited, yet impulsive hero.
Mickey also appears in media such as video games as well as merchandising and is a meetable character at the Disney parks. He is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters. Ten of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, one of which, Lend a Paw, won the award in 1941. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Social impact
Use in protest votes
In the United States, protest votes are often made in order to indicate dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates presented on a particular ballot or to highlight the inadequacies of a particular voting procedure. Since most states' electoral systems do not provide for blank balloting or a choice of "None of the Above", most protest votes take the form of a clearly non-serious candidate's name entered as a write-in vote. Mickey Mouse is often selected for this purpose.[109][110] As an election supervisor in Georgia observed, "If Mickey Mouse doesn't get votes in our election, it's a bad election."[111] The earliest known mention of Mickey Mouse as a write-in candidate dates back to the 1932 New York City mayoral elections.[112]
Mickey Mouse's name has also been known to appear fraudulently on voter registration lists, such as in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[113][114]
Pejorative use of Mickey's name
"Mickey Mouse" is a slang expression meaning small-time, amateurish or trivial. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it also means poor quality or counterfeit.[115] In Poland the phrase "mały Miki", which translates to "small Mickey", means something very simple and trivial – usually used in the comparison between two things.[116] However, in parts of Australia it can mean excellent or very good (rhyming slang for "grouse").[117] Examples of the negative usages include the following: