Mickey Mouse

Mick

Uncle Mickey

Runt

Mickey the Mouse

Squeaky

### Relatives

Unnamed Mother (Mentioned)Felicity Fieldmouse (older sister)Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse (nephews)Madeline Mouse (cousin)Maxwell Mouse (uncle)Maximilian Mouse (great-uncle)Albemarle Mouse (great-grandfather)

### Occupation

ActorAjax employee

Co-owner of the House of Mouse

Detective (comics)

Others vary by role

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Walt Disney (1928-1962, Get a Horse!)
Jimmy MacDonald (1947-1977)

Wayne Allwine (1977-2009)

Bret Iwan (2009-present)

### Appears in

House of Mouse (TV Series)
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (TV Series)

Mickey Mouse Funhouse (TV Series)

### Debut

Steamboat Willie (1928)

**Mickey Mouse** is an animated cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. A cheerful and plucky anthropomorphic mouse, Mickey made his first public appearance in *Steamboat Willie*, on November 18, 1928.

## Appearance

Mickey is a mouse with two round ears and a long tail. He is traditionally depicted as wearing a pair of red shorts with two white buttons on the front. A bright yellow pair of shoes and two white gloves.

## Personality

Mickey is cheerful in spirit, yet roughish in complexion. He ignored the commands of his overbearing boss for the sake of gallivanting around the steamboat. His mentality mirrored that of a rebellious child, as he mocked his superiors and threw a tantrum when others rebuked his merriment. Though impishly self-serving, he showed empathy and chivalry by forgoing protocol to aid Minnie during her time of need. With an air of valiance in spite of his diminutive stature and put-upon background, Mickey is an underdog with a heart of gold. By the high society denizens seen in *Society Dog Show*, Mickey is regarded as riff raff. In *The Klondike Kid*, Mickey describes himself as “a nobody”. Pete often refers to Mickey as “Runt”, a derogative term meaning an undersized or weak person. Regardless, Mickey remains jovial. His rebellious and independent mien allows him to take his downtrodden lot in life in stride with a smile and laugh.

Even with his foibles, Mickey retains a can-do spirit that allows him to smile in the face of danger and move pass his mistakes. He gets by through optimism and has a positive outlook on the world and himself, often displayed by his jovial demeanor. Mickey’s optimism is a double-edged sword, however, as while it pushes him to pursue his goals, it also causes him to underestimate trouble under the belief that he can do anything. In ”Mickey's Piano Lesson”, in fact, he justified his insolence by arrogantly proclaiming, “I’m Mickey Mouse!”. Mickey is quick to share his positivity with others, to keep their spirits high during low times. At times, Mickey’s buoyancy can be invasive. In such cartoons as “The Adorable Couple”, he attempts to force his positive demeanor onto Donald and Daisy, to disastrous results.

For all his juvenile mischief, Mickey is a reliable leader. When put in charge of a production, for example (such as a stage show or the House of Mouse nightclub theater) he is professional and composed, even when inconveniences get in the way. In addition to being a strong leader, Mickey is a devoted friend. He has, on numerous occasions, risked his life for the safety of others while never expecting recompense. This is most prominently seen with Minnie, for whom Mickey has often felt inclined to sacrifice his own happiness as seen in *Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas*. He is charitable and selfless, looking out for the less fortunate despite often being in undesirable predicaments, himself. In *Mickey's Good Deed*, Mickey sold Pluto to a wealthy household and used the money to supply a poor family with food and Christmas gifts—despite being homeless and hungry, himself. In *Epic Mickey*, Mickey sacrificed his only chance of escaping the Wasteland to rescue Oswald and Gus from danger, both of whom he had just met. A hero at his core, Mickey takes charge without second thought when trouble arises. In such cartoons as *Gulliver Mickey* and *Runaway Brain*, he fearlessly fought against monsters to protect the people around him.

Occasionally, Mickey can be *too* caring towards others, which can drive him to disregard his own needs. At times, his empathetic heart blinds his better judgment, resulting in Mickey being taken advantage of by malicious forces. There have also been instances where Mickey’s desire to help can be excessive to the point of being intrusive, thus causing even more trouble in the long run.

Mickey's temper can be rather explosive after being pushed to a certain limit. When faced with his two most frequent adversaries, Pete and Mortimer Mouse for example, Mickey tends to act irritable and churlish. He is also relentless when it comes to getting back at his foes for their harassment. In some cases, instead of outright giving his enemies satisfaction by losing his temper, Mickey would resort to sly pranks and trickery to best his foes—this being a way to one-up them, while also getting in a few laughs at the same time. Because of his laid-back nature, however, Mickey is usually remorseful after letting his anger get the best of him, and does all that he can to remedy affected feelings, if any.

Mickey evidently struggles with insecurity to some extent. In "Goofy for a Day", he panicked at the prospect of losing his hosting job at the House of Mouse, believing "show business" is the only profession that he's actually good at. His popularity seems to act as a double-edged sword. While he typically enjoys the attention, Mickey also feels a sense of pressure from the public to always be at his very best. This is most notably seen when Mickey is tasked with hosting live entertainment in front of a large audience. In which, he becomes short-fused and anxious. His insecurities are also apparent in his relationship with Minnie, as Mickey has repeatedly gone to great lengths to impress her—typically out of fear of losing her, as seen in “Mickey's Rival Returns” and "Mickey Tries to Cook". Some cartoons suggest that Mickey has commitment issues. In “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, Mickey exclaims, “I just had the scariest dream!” after waking from a dream in which he married Minnie. The cartoon *Mickey's Nightmare* highlighted Mickey’s apprehensions regarding parenthood.

In spite of being an anthropomorphic mouse, Mickey has the tendencies to act with his animal nature, including the fact that being a mouse, he loves cheese. In the television series *House of Mouse*, Mickey, being a mouse, is made fun of when he is shown to exercise on a hamster wheel and drink from a rodent drinking bottle (like the ones found in a hamster cage). These particular facts seem to only exist in the *House of Mouse* and haven't been shown again, proving to have been used for brief gags only.

## Trivia

* Mickey Mouse has received ten nominations for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. These are *Mickey's Orphans* (1931), *Building a Building* (1933), *Brave Little Tailor* (1938), *The Pointer* (1939), *Lend a Paw* (1941), *Squatter's Rights* (1946), *Mickey and the Seal* (1948), *Mickey's Christmas Carol* (1983), *Runaway Brain* (1995), and *Get a Horse!* (2013). Among these, *Lend a Paw* was the only film to actually win the award. Additionally, in 1932, Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation and popularity.
* Mickey's ears are always round, no matter which direction he is facing.
* Mickey's size is somewhat inconsistent. The Walt Disney Company's official position is that he is roughly 2 feet and 3 inches tall, as mentioned in this article. However, he is also shown to be the same size as Donald Duck, who, per Carl Barks, is three feet tall. There have also been instances where Mickey is taller than Donald, as was the case in their first cartoon together, *Orphan's Benefit*.
* There are several recurring gags in Mickey’s early cartoons, particularly those of the black-and-white era. These include:
	+ Mickey whimpering at the camera when something unfortunate befalls him.
	+ Mickey timidly addressing a masculine authority figure with, “Yes, ma’am.”
	+ Mickey trying to shake Pluto’s paw, only for Pluto to pull his paw away in jest.
* A few of Mickey’s cartoons feature nods and allusions to the character’s real-life inspirations.
	+ Mickey’s role in *The Gallopin' Gaucho* is an homage to Douglas Fairbanks as the titular character of 1927’s *The Gaucho*.
	+ Both Charlie Chaplin and Harold Loyd made appearances in *Mickey's Gala Premier*.
	+ In *Mickey Plays Papa*, Mickey briefly caricatures himself as Charlie Chaplin.
	+ Mickey’s dance atop the giant top hat in *Thru the Mirror* was modeled after the talents of Fred Astaire, whose career was greatly defined by his signature dancing.
* During the 1930s, the Disney Studios had received numerous mail from fans asking to visit "where Mickey Mouse lived". This gave Walt the idea to build what was essentially described as Mickey's home—a small park across from the studio that would feature attractions and statues of Mickey and other Disney characters. The park was dubbed "Mickey Mouse Park". Though the original idea never came to be, the concept evolved into what would eventually become Disneyland.
* Also during the 1930s, according to Walt Disney, Mickey and Minnie Mouse have never been married on screen. But, in 1933, during an interview with Film Pictorial, Walt said, "In private life, Mickey is married to Minnie... What it really amounts to is that Minnie is, for screen purposes, his leading lady." As of right now, the couple is childless in official canon, although *Mickey's Nightmare* depicts them having 21 children in Mickey's dream. A short clip from their wedding is also in Mickey's dream as well.
* Hidden Mickeys are a common Easter Egg found in Disney films, shows and park attractions. They are silhouettes of Mickey's head, made up of three circles. One of the first Hidden Mickeys was three bubbles that made up Mickey's head in *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*.
* Although Mickey's full name was said to be **Michel Mouse** in the cartoons, according to the comic *La planète des cerveaux* ("The Brain Planet"), published in *Le Journal de Mickey* #2829, Mickey's full name is **Michael Theodore Mouse**. Michel is the French spelling of the name Michael.
* Mickey Mouse was listed #50 in Empire Magazine's The 50 Best Animated Movie Characters; a list for characters from animated features. The low listing was due to Mickey's lack of critically acclaimed theatrical feature films with the exception of *Fantasia*. However, the list refers to Mickey as "the world's most famous cartoon character of all time" to make up.
* As the company mascot, many variations of Mickey's silhouette have been used as logos for Disney properties, such as the Disney Channel, Toon Disney (although this channel wouldn’t have a logo similar to Mickey's silhouette logo until 2004), and Playhouse Disney.
* Wayne Allwine's final performance of Mickey Mouse before his death was in *Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days*. Because of this, there is a dedication to him in the credits of the English version of the game.
* Mickey is usually shown to have magic powers, mainly with the Sorcerer Hat of Yen Sid. It has also been shown that Mickey can control magic without aid—usually in the form of parlor tricks, as was the case in *Magician Mickey* and "Potatoland".
* In the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Mickey is often referred to by the Cast Members as "the boss" or "Mr. Mouse". This is to reflect the fact that Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse are essentially the same person.
* In the 2011 Disney•Pixar film *Cars 2*, two characters named Mama Topolino and Uncle Topolino are tributes to Mickey, as Topolino (meaning "little mouse") is Mickey's name in Italian.
* Most of the black-and-white Mickey Mouse cartoons were colorized three times:
	+ In the early 1970s, a print of *Mickey's Follies* mistakenly thought to be in the public domain was part of a package of redrawn cartoons produced by Radio & Television Packagers. This method of colorizing involved tracing almost every frame, coloring them in, shooting the frames over colorized copies of the backgrounds, and in some cases adding new music over a silent film print - making for a stiff, low-quality final product.
	+ In 1984, when contemplating a deal with CBS to air their cartoons on Saturday mornings, the Walt Disney Company sent more than ten shorts to Entercolor Technologies to get redrawn. Although this deal did not work out, clips of these versions would be shown elsewhere, like on some *DTV* music videos and the television special *Totally Minnie*.
	+ In 1990, American Film Technologies (under a deal with Disney) made computer-colorized versions of approximately 47 Mickey shorts, which preserved the original animation. These digitally-colorized Mickey shorts had aired on anthology shows such as *Mickey's Mouse Tracks*, *Mickey Mouse & Friends*, and *Donald's Quack Attack* on the Disney Channel (and later its sister channel Toon Disney).