90 Years Old and Blinking: Happy Early Birthday, Mickey

Mickey Mouse apparently turned 90 yesterday, if you would believe the celebrations. He actually turns 90 on November 18, going by his cartoon Steamboat Willie. Like most of us, however, Disney didn’t celebrate Mickey’s birthday on the actual day. They decided to film an elaborate concert where Mickey shows that he can play the drums quite well, and that he and Minnie have quite a “love story” and find “Colors of the Wind” romantic. The updated Mickey suit means that the mouse can blink, and open his mouth.

Apparently this technology has been around since 2007, according to this forum thread on Mouse Planet. I definitely wasn’t at Disney around that time, so I wouldn’t have seen the updated cast members. When I go to Disney these days, my family avoids the cast members dressed up because we’ve all outgrown that and trying to reclaim that fun would feel ridiculous. (No, I don’t remember where my autograph book went and I’m sad about that.)

I’m not sure how I feel about Mickey being able to blink. As a kid, I enjoyed seeing Mickey in Disney World because at that age you can believe in magic, in cartoon characters coming to life. But I can say that the mouse can hit the drums. And he has been part of the Disney household.

Who is Mickey Mouse, and Who Did He Become?

Mickey Mouse when he made his cartoon debut was a mischievous miscreant. He’d turn live animals into musical instruments, and he’d shirk ship duties to play captain. His debut film Plane Crazy showed him trying to fly a plane without a license, and steal a kiss from Minnie.

Over the years, Mickey mellowed. Disney gave him a cast of quirkier characters so that he could play the straight man: we had Goofy, Donald, Clarabelle Cow, and Clara Cluck. Donald could rile up Mickey by messing with his conducting at concerts, which Donald did in two different shorts, and Goofy could mess things up just by walking into a room. Mickey would change from a hunter desperate to prove himself in the wilderness to a domestic bachelor building a doghouse for Pluto.

We can agree on the difficulty in making an everyman funny, when he has to play the straight guy to everyone else’s quirks. Goofy can carry an entire short alone just by walking, while Donald only needs to get into battle with another character. Goofy and Donald could also have modern adaptations add depth to their personality, like in the shows Goof Troop and Ducktales 2017 respectively; they could still carry the comedy. With Mickey it’s a lot harder, though some longer works such as Mickey & the Beanstalk as well as The Prince and the Pauper showed that his works could still carry weight. The 2013 approved shorts rectified this by showing Mickey’s personality still having a hint of mischief, and a good heart, and we later got the greenlight on Mickey and the Roadster Races.

Most of all, Mickey represents Disney, and how the company changed. Walt could afford to experiment in the beginning because he didn’t know what worked, and eventually his company settled into making a consistent character branding for Mickey. He’s a mouse that stole the show back in 1928, and continues to headline the company. Mickey gets to wear the sorcerer’s hat and cause floods, or go missing in a video-game and inspire his friends to travel worlds and mount a rescue. Part of the reason why I’m annoyed that fanwork creepypasta demonize the mouse is because it makes no sense canon-wise. He can be calm, angry, mischievous, a leader, a follower, and a comedy slapstick number.

Happy birthday, you ninety-year old mouse. I’m glad we have a world with you. And no matter what happens, we’re sure you’re centennial year will be quite a ride. Just don’t blink, please? It creeps me out a little.