PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: CELEBRATING 90 YEARS OF MICKEY MOUSE WITH D23 {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening celebrates the 90th "birthday" of beloved Disney character Mickey Mouse as highlighted by D23, the official Disney fan club.
After a series of clips featuring Mickey and his creator, Walt Disney, host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and welcomes Becky Cline (director, The Walt Disney Archives) and Justin Arthur (manager of Content Curation and Integration, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club).
The panelists touch upon such topics as: how the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was "taken" from Walt Disney in a legal dispute, led to the creation of Mickey; his first silent short "Plane Crazy" (1928), never shown to audiences; the addition of sound for the famous short "Steamboat Willie" (1928), animated by Ub Iwerks and screened at the Colony Theatre (now the Broadway Theatre) on Nov. 18, 1928, later declared the mouse's official "birthday"; the innovative use of storyboards for "Willie"; 1929's "The Karnival Kid," in which Mickey speaks for the first time; the various performers who have voiced Mickey, including Disney himself, Jimmy MacDonald, Wayne Allwine and currently Bret Iwan; Walt's strong protectiveness over the beloved character and his initial resistance to creating toys and other merchandise; the first handmade Mickey dolls and eventual mass production of identical stuffed animals; the many other forms of Mickey merchandise, including costumes, pocket knives and "creepy" masks; the first kids' club of the 1930s and the successful touring stage show; Mickey's journey into Technicolor and his changing appearance, which was more or less "finalized" in the feature film "Fantasia" (1940); the rising popularity of the more mischievous Donald Duck; the 1950 Christmas Day television special "One Hour in Wonderland"; the creation of a Sunday night program (under several titles) and "The Mickey Mouse Club" TV show in order to gain funding from ABC for the construction of Disneyland in Anaheim, California; the show's iconic mouse-ears hats, as worn by hosts Jimmie Dodd and Roy Williams and breakout star Annette Funicello; the opening of Disneyland in 1955; Dave Smith's founding of The Walt Disney Archives in 1970, four years after Walt's death; the 1983 special "Mickey's Christmas Carol"; the 1989 revival of "The All-New Mickey Mouse Club," which featured such stars as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling; the 1990 featurette "The Prince and the Pauper," featuring Mickey in a dual role; other shows and productions at the various Disney parks; the recent short "Get a Horse!", which screened before the 2013 film "Frozen"; Mickey's appearances in the "Kingdom Hearts" Disney video games; new attractions and member gifts for D23 participants; the archives' trips overseas and successful exhibitions in Asia; Mickey's anniversary portraits, first created by artist John Hench, then by Paul Felix and now by longtime Disney artist/animator Mark Henn; and previews and hints about "Mickey: The True Original Exhibition," soon to open in downtown New York City.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: Minnie Mouse's appearance in "Willie," thus granting her the same "birthday as; Mickey; Mickey and Minnie's respective family trees and relatives; the surprising story of how the Disney Company reclaimed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit after many decades; further details about the archives, including a display of Funicello's original sweater and mouse ears; Mickey's oft-forgotten 1994 hip-hop album, "Mickey Unrapped"; and Cline's unusual journey from a theater degree to running the Disney archives.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 4:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:46
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 135289
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Becky Cline … Panelist
- Justin Arthur … Panelist
- Wayne Allwine
- Walt Disney
- Jimmie Dodd
- Paul Felix
- Annette Funicello
- Ryan Gosling
- John Hench
- Mark Henn
- Ub Iwerks
- Bret Iwan
- Jimmy MacDonald
- Britney Spears
- Justin Timberlake
- Roy Williams