Mickey Mouse is 80

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I'm with George Carlin on this.

Mickey works best as a logo, a symbol. He's fun to look at. All those friendly round shapes, eh? I appreciate him from a visual point of view, same way I appreciate the logos of Coca-Cola or Star Trek. They don't have anniversaries of those symbols mentioned by your local newscaster (or do they? I haven't watched a nightly newscast since the millenium changed, at least).

Once they took his mischievous nature away he lost any merit as a character. But as a symbol, Mickey endures. Whenever they come out with new Disneyland logo shirts/hats/notebooks/whathaveyou featuring the Mouse, I still drool.

Happy Birthday, "Mickey". I miss my old hat.

[Isaac]

I prefer the pre-Fantasia version of Mickey.

1928 - 1939 Mickey Mouse was an outgoing, adventurous character. He would build his own airplane, climb mountains....but after Fantasia, he would just sit @ home w/ Pluto, read the newspaper and get dressed for a date w/ Minnie [yawn].

[innerSpaceman]

Yep, he was pussified. And that's kind of where the Disney characters were frozen. But so much time has passed since the days of any animated vehicles for the Mouse, I have no problem "freezing" him in my own mind in his Fantasia minus days.


In modern times, he's pretty much been a cypher kept alive only by his Disney Parks incarnation ... which has been pretty bland. But friendly. So I think he's been rehabilitated a bit as the emissary for Disneyland and Disney in general.


Still, he's a movie star, and more beloved to this day (even by me) than I realized. When he and Minnie waded into the thick crowd without handlers during snowfall after Holiday Believe last year, it was among the most magical things I'd ever seen at Disneyland ... and the crowd reacted with utmost love and affection for Mickey and his sweetheart.


He's still got it.

[BDBopper]

Of course since I haven't been to Disneyland in more than two decades I may be wrong but from what I hear during one of the band concerts on Main Street most days Alice and The Mad Hatter come out and do their Unbirthday bit. Needless to say yesterday a little something special was added. Being Disneyland someone was sure to get it on camera and put it up on Youtube in five parts (why so many I am not sure...it could have been condensed into one).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTvTl67gkFE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w5ZM1OBYKI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Cn2kYlOpU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqEHhBj6BC8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMeRSaVViKg

Makes me smile that they at least made some sort of effort to celebrate the day. Short but very sweet.