Mickey: The Story of a Mouse | |
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Directed by | Jeff Malmberg |
Produced by |
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Cinematography | Antonio Cisneros |
Edited by |
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Music by | Daniel Wohl |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Disney+ |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Mickey: The Story of a Mouse is a documentary film directed by Jeff Malmberg. The documentary had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 19, 2022, and had its worldwide release on November 18 of the same year, on Disney+, on the same day as Mickey Mouse's 94th birthday. [2]
The documentary follows the history and filmography of Mickey Mouse. [3] Mickey Mouse is presented as a worldwide symbol of joy and the innocence of childhood. He became an overnight sensation after starring in the 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie . Over the decades that followed, versions of the character evolved that reflect both the career of their creator and the changes in the country Mickey came to symbolize.
By October 2019, the documentary was in production, with Jeff Malmberg as director. [4]
The documentary had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 19, 2022, [5] before its debut on Disney+ on November 18 in the same year. [3] [2] The documentary is accompanied by the short film Mickey in a Minute, animated by Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn, and Randy Haycock. [6] The short follows Mickey Mouse, voiced by Bret Iwan, as he tours the halls of the Disney Animation building, ends up sucked into one of his old cartoon posters and takes a "whirlwind" trip through his past performances. [7] The short appears near the end of the documentary. [7]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 89% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. [1] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [8]
Fran Hoepfner, of TheWrap , gave a positive review, saying it is an "interesting exploration of a global phenomenon that goes out of its way to let Disney (the man and the company) off the hook". [6] Daniel Fienberg, of The Hollywood Reporter , also gave a positive review, saying: "Offering 93 minutes of radiant rodent hagiography, Mickey: The Story of a Mouse is maybe the most polished of Disney+'s recent documercials". [9] Stephen Silver of Tilt gave 4 stars out of 5. He considered the documentary to be "a blatant act of self-mythologizing by Disney", but also called it "a fascinating examination of Disney history and a must-watch for anyone who's a big Mickey fan". [10] Ross Bonaime, of Collider , gave a mixed review, saying the documentary is "an intriguing look at the century-long history of Mickey that can't help but try to avoid the biggest questions of Mickey and Walt Disney's past". [11]
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves. Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Disney. Mickey is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters.
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie. The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and introduced Mickey Mouse, who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon.
Ubbe Ert Iwerks, known as Ub Iwerks, was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician, known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in general, and for having worked on the development of the design of the character of Mickey Mouse, among others. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious relationship with his father, who abandoned him as a child. Iwerks met fellow artist Walt Disney while working at a Kansas City art studio in 1919.
Plane Crazy is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first appearance of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, and an executive from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer saw the film, but failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success; Plane Crazy was officially released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be given a wide release after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho and The Barn Dance (1929).
Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue polka-dotted dress, white bloomers and low-heeled shoes occasionally with ribbons on them. The Mickey Mouse comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse, although this is seldom used.
Disney Channel is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company.
Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on November 18, 1988, by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. In the film, Oliver is a homeless kitten who joins a gang of dogs to survive in the streets. Among other changes, the setting of the film was relocated from 19th century London to 1980s New York City, Fagin's gang is made up of dogs, and Sykes is a loan shark.
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene from its first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie (1928). Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney, it is the oldest-running animation studio in the world. It is currently organized as a division of Walt Disney Studios and is headquartered at the Roy E. Disney Animation Building at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. Since its foundation, the studio has produced 62 feature films, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Wish (2023), and hundreds of short films.
Eric Allen Goldberg is an American animator, voice actor, film director, and producer known for his work at both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Warner Bros. Animation.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is an American animated interactive television series for preschoolers. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway. The series originally aired 125 episodes from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016, on the Disney Channel. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
Brave Little Tailor is a 1938 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures, being shown in theaters with Fugitives for a Night. It is an adaptation of the fairy tale The Valiant Little Tailor with Mickey Mouse in the title role. It was directed by Bill Roberts and Burt Gillett and features original music by Albert Hay Malotte. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey, and Eddie Holden as the Giant. It was the 103rd short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the fifth for that year.
Short Subject is a 1969 16 mm anti-war underground animated short film. The director was Whitney Lee Savage and the producer and head designer was Milton Glaser, who produced it independently with a total running time of one minute. The short was not endorsed by The Walt Disney Company.
Mickey's Delayed Date is a 1947 short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and released on October 3, 1947. The film was directed by Charles Nichols and was animated by Jerry Hathcock, George Kreisl, George Nicholas, Harry Holt, Bob Youngquist, Marvin Woodward, and Max Cox with effects animation by Jack Boyd and Andy Engman. It was the 120th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released and the only one produced that year.
Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, although both characters appeared several months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy. Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but it was the first to be distributed, because Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to produce one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.
Mark Alan Henn is an American animator and film director. His work includes animated characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios films, most notably leading or titular characters and heroines. He served as the lead animator for Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), young Simba in The Lion King (1994), the title character in Mulan (1998), and Tiana in The Princess and the Frog (2009). He directed the short film John Henry (2000). Henn spent a total of 43 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, from 1980 until his retirement in 2023.
Blue Rhythm is a 1931 American animated short film directed by Burt Gillett, produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was the 31st short to star Mickey Mouse, the 7th of that year. The plot focuses on a multifaceted performance of W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues." The film features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey and Marcellite Garner as Minnie Mouse.
Mickey's Rival is a 1936 Mickey Mouse short film. It was directed by Wilfred Jackson and produced by Walt Disney. It introduces the character of Mortimer Mouse. It was the 84th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, the fifth of that year.
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation for Disney+. The series is a continuation and revival of the Emmy Award-winning 2013 Mickey Mouse shorts, uses the same style, and has many of the same cast and crew, with the exception of the late Russi Taylor, who was replaced by Kaitlyn Robrock in the role of Minnie Mouse. The series premiered on November 18, 2020 to coincide with Mickey's 92nd birthday. The animation is provided by Mercury Filmworks.