What makes Mickey Mouse such an iconic figure? Is it that he is the alter ego of his presumably beloved creator Walt Disney? Is it that he is as a cartoon character a cunning alignment of spheres? Is it because he represents the child within all of us? These are the concerns of “Mickey: The Story of a Mouse,” a film directed by Jeff Malmberg, the maker of the disturbing 2010 release “Marwencol.”
“Mickey: The Story of a Mouse” begins with the refrain, “It was all started by a mouse,” which Walt Disney says in reference to Mickey, a character created after an animated rabbit he created was stolen from him. In response, Walt and his wife, Lilian, a briefly glimpsed creative partner, came up with a mouse character that Walt wanted to name Mortimer. The name was changed to Mickey, and the rest is, as they say, history. In the form of a pioneering 1928 black-and-white, animated short directed by Disney and Ub Iwerks called “Steamboat Willie,” one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, Mickey Mouse enchanted the world. We see toddlers running up to Mickey at Disneyland to hug him. Disney animator Eric Goldberg says, “He’s part of my DNA.” One of the pleasures of “Mickey: The Story of a Mouse” is seeing animators such as Goldberg and Mark Henn at work, bringing stories to life with their hand-drawn creations, even if most Disney animated films are CG at this point.
In his youth, Mickey was compared to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks in terms of popularity. The actors were also both big fans. Once, 100 animators worked on the Disney lot in Burbank. Today, there are three, and they are at work on a hand-drawn cartoon, which will tells the story of Mickey in 60 seconds. Walt never forgot the people or the animals and the nearby trains he came to know growing up on a farm in Marceline, Missouri. As a boy, he would lie before a cottonwood tree and draw the animals and insects he saw around him. We see Mickey in his various roles: the lead in “Gulliver Mickey” (1934). a conductor in “The Band Concert” (1935), the title character in “The Brave Little Tailor” (1938), the eponymous student in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” part of Disney’s 1940 landmark feature film “Fantasia” and more.
Someone describes Mickey as “a quarter and two dimes.” Andy Warhol says Walt Disney is his favorite artist. We see Mickey images in nature. During the Depression, he gave people hope and made them smile. During World War II, Mickey became a patriot and a symbol of the enemy in countries where he had been embraced. Mickey became a cornerstone of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Walt embraces television and becomes a star of his own TV show. He builds Disneyland. Mickey is name-checked in “The Godfather.” Young Mickey fans express their love and admiration in clips. In a moment that is both surreal and mundane, soldiers in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam War film “Full Metal Jacket” break out into the Mickey Mouse Club song.
“Mickey is us.”
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'MICKEY: THE STORY OF A MOUSE'
MPAA rating: G
Where to watch: streaming on Disney+
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