Mickey Mouse Day

 Today is Mickey Mouse Day!

This day is considered the birthday of the iconic Disney character, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks's second creation (the first being Oswald the Lucky Rabbit). Why? Because on this day in 1928, Mickey made his debut in the iconic cartoon "Steamboat Willie"...well, it is considered the debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. They actually debuted in a test screening of the short "Plane Crazy". However, "Steamboat Willie" was the first short to be distributed, as Disney wanted to produce a cartoon with fully synchronized sound. "Willie" was one of the first cartoons with such a feature. Not a big deal now, but in 1928, it was mindblowing.

Indeed. "Steamboat Willie" was a massive hit. From there, Mickey would become one of the most iconic characters in all of American fiction, appearing in all kinds of media from cartoons, comics, video games, and books. Also, I want to give a shout out to Minnie, as "Steamboat Willie" was her debut as well. In 2024, the cartoon entered the public domain, so you can see it pretty much everywhere nowadays.

Generations of kids have grown up with Mickey. I was one of them. So, happy birthday Mickey! Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!