Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by
Walt Disney and
Ub Iwerks. It marks
Mickey Mouse and
Minnie Mouse's first appearance in a distributed film. Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, created by the Disney studio but owned at the time by
Universal Pictures, and when two silent films featuring Mickey failed to gain a distributor, Walt Disney decided instead to put him in a
sound cartoon – perhaps inspired by The Jazz Singer. With music arranged by
Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis, Steamboat Willie was one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound. The film received wide critical acclaim upon its release, and it has been preserved in the United States
National Film Registry for its significance. The film enters the
public domain under U.S. copyright law today (January 1, 2024), 95 years after its release in 1928.Film credit:
Walt Disney Studios
Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by
Walt Disney and
Ub Iwerks. It marks
Mickey Mouse and
Minnie Mouse's first appearance in a distributed film. Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, created by the Disney studio but owned at the time by
Universal Pictures, and when two silent films featuring Mickey failed to gain a distributor, Walt Disney decided instead to put him in a
sound cartoon – perhaps inspired by The Jazz Singer. With music arranged by
Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis, Steamboat Willie was one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound. The film received wide critical acclaim upon its release, and it has been preserved in the United States
National Film Registry for its significance. The film enters the
public domain under U.S. copyright law today (January 1, 2024), 95 years after its release in 1928.Film credit:
Walt Disney Studios