Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks as a replacement for Disney’s earlier character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Mickey first appeared in the short ''Plane Crazy'', which was not initially distributed; his public debut came later that year in ''Steamboat Willie''.

The iconic mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse inspired by silent film stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. Traditionally portrayed as a sympathetic underdog who relies on ingenuity and determination, he was originally characterized as a mischievous troublemaker. His small stature and falsetto voice, originally provided by Disney, help define his persona, making him one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world.

Mickey’s longtime girlfriend is Minnie Mouse. His notable rivals include the cats Pete and Kat Nipp. His friends include Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Patricia Pigg, and many more. He also has animal companions who include a dog named Rover, Wienie the Dachshund, a Rhea, and more.

In ''Steamboat Willie'', Mickey is mocked by a Parrot, which he knocks into the river by throwing a half-peeled potato, prompting the bird to cry, “Help! Help! Man overboard!” Mickey laughs triumphantly as the short concludes. Throughout the film, he mischievously interacts with other animals such as a cow, goat, and duck, using them as improvised musical instruments.

In ''The Opry House'', Mickey wore his signature white gloves for the first time in animation. The gloves later became a permanent and defining part of his appearance.

He has two rambunctious nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, the children of Mrs. Fieldmouse.

The strip opens with a young, imaginative Mickey living on a farm and dreaming of becoming an aviator like his hero, Charles Lindbergh. Inspired by ''Plane Crazy'', Mickey builds a homemade airplane and takes Minnie on a flight. When Minnie falls from the plane, Mickey is blown off course by a storm and crash-lands on a remote island, where he must escape hostile natives intent on capturing him.

This extended adventure follows Mickey and Minnie as they race against crooked lawyer Sylvester Shyster and his partner Peg-Leg Pete, who kidnap Minnie to obtain a map to her Uncle Mortimer’s hidden gold mine. Set in the American West, the story features classic melodrama—horse chases, gunfights, a gruff sheriff, false accusations, and Minnie jailed—establishing Mickey as a capable action hero in a high-stakes narrative.

In this darker storyline, Mickey mistakenly believes Minnie has left him for a rival. Despondent, he repeatedly attempts—and fails—to end his life before realizing he has overreacted and abandoning the idea. The arc highlights early comic strips’ willingness to explore extreme emotional situations before settling back into humor and adventure.

All works published featuring Mickey Mouse before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US; with the exception of sound recordings and live performances.

Additionally some post-)-(95)}} works featuring the character are also in the public domain in the United States as they were published before January 1st 1964 and weren't renewed 28 years after publication. Others were published without a proper copyright notice prior to January 1st, 1978, or prior to March 1st, 1989 and weren't registered within 5 years; thus entering the public domain upon publication.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

{|
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* Plane Crazy (1928)
* Steamboat Willie (1928)
* The Galloping Gaucho (1928)
* The Barn Dance (1929)
* The Opry House (1929)
* When the Cat's Away (1929)
* The Barnyard Battle (1929)
* The Plowboy (1929)
* The Karnival Kid (1929)
* Mickey's Follies (1929)
* Mickey's Choo-Choo (1929)
* The Jazz Fool (1929)
* Jungle Rhythm (1929)
* The Haunted House (1929)
|style="vertical-align: top;"|
* Wild Waves (1929)
* Fiddlin' Around (1930)
* The Barnyard Concert (1930)
* The Cactus Kid (1930)
* The Fire Fighters (1930)
* The Shindig (1930)
* The Chain Gang (1930)
* The Gorilla Mystery (1930)
* The Picnic (1930)
* Pioneer Days (1930)
* Minnie's Yoo Hoo (1930)
* The Mad Doctor (1933)
* All Together (1942)
* Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Firing Line (1942)
|}

* Toybox Series #3: Picture Book 1936 (1934)
* Uncle Walt (1964)
* Short Subject/Mickey Mouse in Vietnam (1969)
* Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown (1986)

* Nash commercials (1955)
* Disney Channel Satellite Bumper (1983)
* B94 FM Walt Disney World 15th Birthday Party Sweepstakes commercial (1986)
* Coca Cola "Can't Beat the Feeling" commercials (1988)

* The Disney Channel Countdown (1983)

* “Minnie’s Yoo‐hoo” (song), by Walt Disney and Carl Stalling (1929)
* “Mickey Mouse (You Cute Little Feller)” (song), by Irving Bibo and Henry Cohen (1930)

* Mickey Mouse Comic Strip (January 1930 - 1935)

* Black Cat 32 (Mystery) (1951): Advertisement on back cover with mail-in coupon for four sets of eight Walt Disney comic books not sold in stores.

* Air Pirates Funnies #1-2 (1971)

* [https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/disney-walt/mickey-mouse-book-hello-everybody/119194.aspx?srsltid=AfmBOoqF6NXxrPXXXdMxK_QvRv9CF9Mao3YrgnjYtpf6keQpXQuCls-9 Mickey Mouse Book (Bibo Lang) (1930)]

* “Miraculous Mickey,” by Creighton Peet (23 July 1930) – article in The Outlook and Independent
* “Mickey Mouse’s Miraculous Movie Monkey‐shines” (9 Aug. 1930) – article in The Literary Digest

* Mickey Mouse Journey - a Mickey Mouse board game designed to be cut out from pp. 7-10 of the 1930 book; the game board and pieces were printed on thicker card stock.

File:Mickey mirror.jpeg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in ''Plane Crazy''
File:Il fullxfull.1524889817 f9x2.jpg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in Steamboat Willie
File:Galloping gaucho mickey mouse.webp|Mickey Mouse as he appears in ''The Galloping Gaucho''
File:TheMadDoctor Poster.jpg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in the poster for ''The Mad Doctor''
File:Alltogether MickeyMouse.jpg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in ''All Together''
File:Mickey OOTFPAITF.jpg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in ''Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Firing Line''
File:MickeyMouseNashCommercialRedesign.jpeg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in the Nash Rambler commercials (1955)
File:Mickey goes to Vietnam.jpg|Mickey's appearance in the unauthorized 1969 film ''Short Subject'', also known as ''Mickey Mouse in Vietnam''.
File:MickeyMouseWritingPads1930.jpg|Mickey Mouse as he appears in 1930's Writing Pad, earliest piece of merchandise.
File:Mickey-tablet1930.webp|ditto
File:Mickey in Air Pirates -1.webp

* As of 2026, only Mickey's earliest authorized animated appearances pre-1931 and two later shorts are in the public domain - the latter two shorts' copyrights expired in the 1959 and 1962, as copyright terms at that time required manual renewals of intellectual property.
* ''Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Firing Line'' and ''All Together'' were WWII propaganda films that fell in the public domain due to being a wartime film made for the US government and National Film Board of Canada.
* Despite ''All Together'', and ''Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Firing Line'' being in the public domain, the specific character designs featured (the more recognizable roundness of the appearances), will remain under copyright until 2029, and 2035 respectively.
* "Mickey Mouse" is still held as a trademark by the Walt Disney Company. This means that although Mickey can legally be used within a work of fiction, it cannot be advertised in a way that makes it appear as if it's a Disney-endorsed product.
* It is a common misconception that the early iteration of Mickey Mouse as a character is named "Steamboat Willie" - this is untrue, as Mickey's name is featured in the titlecard of ''Steamboat Willie'', however the rumor is not completely without merit, according to official Disney historian Dave Smith, it is the name of the character he plays in the short as an animated actor, as opposed to the boat itself as some may believe.
* Mickey is often seen as a symbol of the 1976 and 1998 copyright extension acts, as Disney was among the entities lobbying for them, and they all occurred less than a decade before ''Steamboat Willie'' was primed to enter the public domain. However, it's often forgotten that a deciding factor was the desire to conform to the copyright terms "standardized" by the European Union.
* Warner Bros' Foxy has design similarities to Mickey.
* Milton and Rita Mouse from the Aesop's Fables cartoons both got redesigned in 1929 to bear a striking resemblance to Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which led to them getting a lawsuit from Walt Disney.
* The film Steamboat Bill, Jr. likely inspired the title of Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928), which was released six months later. In it, Mickey whistles the song 'Steamboat Bill" (1910), which is also used in that film's opening title.

*Disney Wiki
*Wikipedia
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/mickey-mouse/4005-39413/ ComicVine]

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