Walt Disney's first cartoon
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse came in 1928 courtesy of the Disney directed 'Steamboat Willie' which by the way, was the first cartoon with synchronized sound, But Disney's first character was born before he started the Disney company when he worked at Universal and his name was Oswald The Lucky Rabbit. Recently, the Walt Disney Archives found a series of drawings of Oswald that is probably the oldest known cartoon created by Walt Disney. Disney was an animator at Universal when he helped create one of Universal's first major successes in the form of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit.
There were 26 Oswald cartoons made in the 1920s and 1930s with Disney at the helm on the story board and you don't even have to look that close to see where Mickey Mouse came from. Oswald's characteristics obviously became the basis for Mickey and for good reason.
When Disney left Universal to form his own empire, he wanted to take Oswald with him and Universal said no. So, Disney created a similar charcter in the form of a mouse which became one of the most Iconic and recognizable figures in the world, Mickey Mouse, who also became the face of the Disney empire.
Disney died never having secured the rights to Oswald until sporstcaster Al Michaels' contract was up with ABC which is owned by Disney. Michaels wanted to return to NBC which is owned by Universal which gave Disney CEO Bob Iger the opening the company long sought. Iger said he would be glad to let Michaels return to NBC in exchange for the rights to Oswald The Lucky Rabbit and Universal said, DEAL!!
Mickey Mouse has been created as a replacement for a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey first appeared in the short Plane Crazy, debuting publicly in the short film Steamboat Willie (1928), one of the first sound cartoons. He went on to appear in over 130 films, including The Band Concert (1935), Brave Little Tailor (1938), and Fantasia (1940). Mickey appeared primarily in short films, but also occasionally in feature-length films. Ten of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, one of which, Lend a Paw, won the award in 1942. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A picture of Mickey Mouse
.
.