80 years old, and still a rodent

Today is the 80th birthday of Mickey Mouse. On November 18th, 1928, Disney Studios released Steamboat Willie. It was the first starring role of Mr. Mouse released to the public (previously, Mickey was seen in a couple other short films). It was also the first synchronous-sound animated film created by the Disney brand.

For those interested, I have embedded Steamboat Willie below:

 

Mickey Mouse was originally conceptualized by Walt Disney and artist Ub Iwerks after a previously created character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which was owned by Universal Studios, was forced into budget and staff cuts. Frustrated with the way he was being treated, Mr. Disney left Universal to start his own company, ingeniously named Disney Studios. After many potential "stars" for the new endeavor were drawn up by Iwerks, from cows to horses to many other farm animals, Disney began thinking of his childhood pet mouse. Originally named Mortimer, Disney's wife convinced him to change the character's name to the friendlier-sounding Mickey.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Just think, the seven minutes contained in Steamboat Willie launched one of the biggest entertainment empires in the world.

So, happy birthday Mickey, you crazy old rodent! 80 years and you still haven't put on a shirt!