In his eighty-five years of existence, Mickey Mouse has gone through many changes. Who would believe that a small, thin, long-tailed, beady-eyed rodent would become a popular icon with the symbol of innocence, youth and happiness throughout the world? Mickey Mouse has had various meanings by the millions who've enjoyed his presence on and off the screen for decades. Last year the Disney Channel came out with a brand new Mickey Mouse who looks more like the Mickey of old rather than the one who hangs out in the Clubhouse on Disney Junior. To honor everyone's favorite mouse, we'll take a look at how Mickey has evolved over time.
The history of Mickey Mouse began on November 18, 1928 when Walt Disney came up with a rabbit as his first character. He had long ears and a tail and his name was Oswald. Oswald wasn't very popular, so Disney came up with something more exciting that every kid would like. One day when Walt Disney and his wife were coming back from a business trip, he came up with the name Mickey for the rabbit. Disney didn't own the rights for Oswald, and the company he worked for would not give him the budget needed, so he went on his own and created a hit called, "Steamboat Willie"," using a mouse instead of a rabbit. The cartoon was an instant success and launched the career of Mickey Mouse. The Mickey of today is not the same mouse that viewers initially came to love in his debut in the 1928 hit "Steamboat Willie ". When he first started out Mickey had a long tail (the tail was eventually dropped to save the cost of animation). His eyes were beady and his nose budged out from his face while his ears were placed closer to his head which gave Mickey an overall look of a happy-go-lucky explorer. He was drawn to be much smaller than the other characters who shared the screen with him at the time.