$85,000 paid for Mickey Mouse Movie Poster
Was Walt Disney Afraid Of Mice?
And who was Mortimer Mouse?
Walt Disney was indeed afraid of mice. However, he did not let that fear stop him from creating the most famous and lovable cartoon character of all time.
He had the genius to depict mice as sympathetic creatures with human characteristics that would appeal to everyone, especially children.
The rest is history.
But Walt was not very good at names. Initially he named his little furry creation — wait for it — Mortimer. His wife Lillian, unimpressed with Mortimer, suggested the name Mickey. And, as usual, wives are always right!
However, American actor Mickey Rooney maintained they named the cartoon character after him following a meeting with Walt Disney when he was a child in the 1920s.
My brother could mimic Mickey’s voice, much to the delight of his children. It became his party trick for years — sadly. Walt Disney himself provided the original voices for Mickey and Minnie Mouse from 1929 to 1946. Since then, only two other professional actors have had the honour; Jim MacDonald (1946 to 1983) and Wayne Allwine (1977–2009).
Needless to say, my dear brother would have gladly obliged if they had asked him, but we must all suffer the memory of lost opportunities!!
Interestingly, Mickey was the first cartoon character to speak on film when he uttered the words “Hot dogs.” And the first song to feature in any Disney film was “Minnie’s Yoo Hoo” in the short feature “Mickey’s Follies.”
It wasn’t long before the film industry recognised the originality and creativity of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. But the only Mickey Mouse short cartoon to win an Academy Award was “Lend a Paw” in 1941. Ironically, Mickey Mouse wasn’t the lead role, the major star being Pluto, the lovable daffy hound.
Despite that, Walt Disney had already received an Oscar in 1932 for the creation of the Mickey Mouse character. Throughout his career, Walt Disney amassed twenty-two Academy Award trophies — more than any other individual in cinematic history.
Interestingly, during World War II, when the Allied forces invaded Normandy on D-Day in 1944, “Mickey Mouse” became the secret password between intelligence officers.
Because of commitments with other film projects, Walt Disney stopped making Mickey Mouse shorts in 1953 with “The Simple Things.” This would prove to be his final Mickey Mouse cartoon before his untimely death from cancer in 1966.
Mickey Mouse wouldn’t appear in another cartoon feature until 1983 with the release of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” Then, fans would have to wait until 1995 for his next appearance in “Runaway Brain.”
Collectors of Mickey Mouse memorabilia have seen their collections increase dramatically in value as the popularity of the little mouse remains as strong as ever.
A 1928 movie poster of Mickey Mouse, thought to be the earliest surviving poster of the Walt Disney character, fetched $85,000 (£56,000) at an auction in Dallas, Texas, in 2012.
Owned for three decades by a Californian collector, the 2ft 3in x 3ft 5in (68cm x 1.04m) full-colour, one-sheet poster was described by the vendor’s daughter as “the crowning jewel” of her father’s collection.
Celebrity Pictures distributed the first twelve Mickey cartoons in 1928 and 1929, a very low budget distributor. The rare item sold was the only Mickey Mouse poster created until 1930 when Disney cartoons were then distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Undoubtedly, Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney will remain inseparable in the marvellous world of cartoon creation for as long as cinema exists.
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