The Walt Disney Company
In 1928, to recover from the loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney came up with the idea of a mouse character named Mortimer while on a train headed to California, drawing up a few simple drawings. The mouse was later renamed Mickey Mouse (Disney's wife, Lillian, disliked the sound of 'Mortimer Mouse') and starred in several Disney produced films. Ub Iwerks refined Disney's initial design of Mickey Mouse. Disney's first sound film "Steamboat Willie", a cartoon starring Mickey, was released on November 18, 1928 through Pat Powers' distribution company. It was the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon released, but the third to be created, behind "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho". "Steamboat Willie" was an immediate smash hit, and its initial success was attributed not just to Mickey's appeal as a character, but to the fact that it was the first cartoon to feature synchronized sound. Disney used Pat Powers' Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee de Forest's Phonofilm system. "Steamboat Willie" premiered at B. S. Moss's Colony Theater in New York City, now The Broadway Theatre. Disney's "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho" were then retrofitted with synchronized sound tracks and re-released successfully in 1929.
Mickey's Surprise Party
Mickey's Surprise Party is a 1939 American animated short film directed by Hamilton Luske, produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Nabisco. The 105th short to feature Mickey Mouse, "Mickey's Surprise Party" is the first cartoon with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their current designs. This is notable for being the first Disney commercial short sponsored by a company, and one of a few Disney cartoons to be in the public domain. Walt Disney hated the idea of public commercials, and swore he would not do one until then. The cartoon was shown at the 1939 New York World's Fair. This cartoon was included in the VHS release "The Spirit of Mickey", with all the Nabisco packaging replaced by generic products, and all of Mickey and Minnie's lines referencing the names of the products overdubbed by Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor. However, most DVD versions of the short contain the original uncut version, replete with the Nabisco references. Milk Bone Dog Biscuits, referenced in the original version of the film, made by Nabisco at the time of the short's production, have since been acquired by Del Monte's pet food division.This cartoon was included in the VHS release "The Spirit of Mickey", with all the Nabisco packaging replaced by generic products, and all of Mickey and Minnie's lines referencing the names of the products overdubbed by Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor. However, most DVD versions of the short contain the original uncut version, replete with the Nabisco references. Milk Bone Dog Biscuits, referenced in the original version of the film, made by Nabisco at the time of the short's production, have since been acquired by Del Monte's pet food division.