Steamboat Willie (1928)

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Steamboat Willie

#13 on IMDb Top 250

Mickey Mouse, piloting a steamboat, delights his passenger, Minnie, by making musical instruments out of the menagerie on deck.



Director: Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney

Writer: Walt Disney

Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Genre: Animation

One of the first cartoons with fully synchronized sound. Steamboat Willie became the most popular cartoon of its day not just from the introduction of the charasmatic and hilarious Mickey Mouse, but from the fully realized sound effects and sountrack to accompany the cartoon. Walt Disney believed sound was the future of cartoons and film alike, and so invested heavily into those areas.

Additionally, the world of Mickey Mouse is goofy and entirely unique. Disney became the proprietor of an enjoyable theatrical experience that audiences wanted to continue to return to for new adventures again and again. Its just a really fun cartoon.

Thanks to Steamboat Willie, Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse became household names that have remained at the heart of American cinema for a hundred years.