Today in History: Mickey Mouse was born

The iconic cartoon mouse that would become one of the most recognized symbols in the world was introduced to the public in the form of the first widespread cartoon that also featured synchronized sound. While not the first cartoon with sound, it was on a completely different level of quality compared the very few that came before. The film was called Steamboat Willie and it was a massive success.

The Year was 1928

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The success of the release of Steamboat Willie in New York marked a dramatic turn in the Disney name, which after a string of failures was facing bankruptcy. It was an immediate success and the demand for it was so great that it soon went from being played in small theaters to what was then the largest theater in the world called The Roxy in Manhattan to massive crowds and fanfare.

Due to the fact that Disney was facing the possible end of the company and banked a lot of this one film to turn things around - Walt was obviously quite thrilled. From this point forward Disney would continue to grow into the absolutely massive company that it is today.

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The short film begins with Mickey at the helm of a river boat of sorts and appears to be the captain, we are quickly introduced to the actual captain "Pete" who seems to abuse Mickey and is actually pretty terrifying for a cartoon character. We are also introduced to who might be the 2nd most famous cartoon mouse of all time in this feature.

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Considering the technology that was being used at the time the animation is actually really good and if you can put yourself in the shoes of someone living in the 20's and imagine that automobiles and widespread electricity were still relatively new concepts at the time, perhaps you can understand how amazed the general public must have been by this.

Work had begun on the film some months before with the massive budget of just under $5 thousand - which would probably get you about half of the bouncing lamp intro on one of today's Pixar films.

Obviously everything was hand drawn and while there are no word spoken, there is dialogue in the sense that certain aspects of the sound effects had to have the timing matched up exactly with things happening on screen. This would prove to be a very tricky procedure as there was virtually no technology available at the time to assist in this.

It's only a few minutes long so if you haven't seen it you really should. I dare you to not end up with the "Mickey whistle-tune" stuck in your head

Walt Disney experienced a great many failures leading up to Steamboat Willie and as I mentioned before had this short cartoon not been the hit that it ended up becoming, the entire notion of Disney owning almost everything entertainment-oriented may have never happened. Imagine there not being Disneyworld? Well, if the reception had happened differently on this day in 1928 we might be faced with precisely that.

Soon after this film, and Mickey, became wildly famous, Walt's true skill came into play shortly thereafter in that he was an excellent businessman, primarily in regards to marketing. He quickly formed "The Mickey Mouse Club" which would be one of the most popular programming sensations and it came compete with merchandising - especially of the mouse hats, which people still buy today.

While it is certainly conceivable that cartoons with sound definitely would have happened with or wither Walt Disney involved in it, imagine the difference in famous stories that we might be subjected to in an alternate history. Imagine no Mickey, no Minnie, no Pluto, no Donald Duck, no Goofy, no Bambi, and no Dumbo.

It all could have crashed and burned if not for the triumphant success of Steamboat Willie. Walt himself acknowledged the importance of this day and long ago declared that November 18th as "Mickey Mouse's Birthday" ... which makes the world's most famous mouse and the cartoon that launched him to fame, 91 years old.

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