Mickey Mouse universe
In "Plane Crazy" (1929), the first produced Mickey Mouse story, Mickey is seen at a farm. In all of his early films Mickey is in a rural setting, but most commonly at a farm. This setting was succinctly presented in the first sentences of one of Mickey's first storybooks:
Steamboat Willie
According to Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney was inspired to create a sound cartoon after watching "The Jazz Singer" (1927). Disney had intended for Mickey Mouse to be the new star character to replace Oswald the Lucky Rabbit after he lost the rights to the character to Charles Mintz. However, the first two "Mickey Mouse" films produced, silent versions of "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho", had failed to impress audiences and gain a distributor. Disney believed that adding sound to a cartoon would greatly increase its appeal. One theatre owner said to Walt, "Your stupid brain and your stupid mouse character can get out of my theatre."