The Very First Mickey Mouse Cartoons

The Very First Mickey Mouse Cartoons In April 1928, cartoonist/animator Walt Disney had just had his heart broken when his distributor stole his popular character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, from him. On the long, depressing train ride home from getting this news, Disney drew a new character- a mouse with round ears and a big smile. A few months later, the new, talking Mickey Mouse was first shown to the world in the cartoon Steamboat Willie. Since that first appearance, Mickey Mouse has become the most recognizable cartoon character in the world. It All Started With an Unlucky Rabbit During the silent film era of the 1920s, Charles Mintz, Walt Disney’s cartoon distributor, asked Disney to come up with a cartoon that would rival the popular Felix the Cat cartoon series that played before silent motion pictures in movie theaters. Mintz came up with the name â€Å"Oswald the Lucky Rabbit† and Disney created the mischievous black and white character with straight, long ears. Disney and his artist employee Ubbe Iwerks made 26 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons in 1927. With the series now a hit, costs rose increasingly higher as Disney wanted to make the cartoons better. Disney and his wife, Lillian, took a train trip to New York in 1928 to renegotiate a higher budget from Mintz. Mintz, however, informed Disney that he owned the character and that he had lured most of Disney’s animators to come draw for him. Learning a depressing lesson, Disney boarded the train back to California. On the long trip home, Disney sketched a black and white mouse character with big round ears and a long skinny tail and named him Mortimer Mouse. Lillian suggested the livelier name of Mickey Mouse. As soon as he reached Los Angeles, Disney immediately copyrighted Mickey Mouse (as he would all the characters he would later create). Disney and his loyal artist employee, Ubbe Iwerks, created new cartoons with Mickey Mouse as the adventurous star, including Plane Crazy (1928) and The Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928). But Disney had trouble finding a distributor. First Sound Cartoon When sound became the latest in film technology in 1928, Walt Disney researched several New York film companies in the hopes of recording his cartoons with sound to make them stand out. He struck a deal with Pat Powers of Powers Cinephone System, a company that offered the novelty of sound with film. While Powers added sound effects and music to the cartoon, Walt Disney was the voice of Mickey Mouse. Pat Powers became Disney’s distributor and on November 18, 1928, Steamboat Willie (the world’s first sound cartoon) opened at the Colony Theater in New York. Disney himself did all the character voices in the seven-minute-long film. Receiving rave reviews, audiences everywhere adored Mickey Mouse along with his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, who also made her first appearance in Steamboat Willie. (By the way, November 18, 1928 is considered the official birthday of Mickey Mouse.) The first two cartoons, Plane Crazy (1928) and The Gallopin’Gaucho (1928), were then released with sound, with more cartoons on the way with additional characters, including Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. On January 13, 1930, the first Mickey Mouse comic strip appeared in newspapers around the country. Mickey Mouse Legacy While Mickey Mouse gained the popularity of fan clubs, toys, and worldwide fame, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit faded into obscurity after 1943. As the Walt Disney Company grew over the decades into a mega-entertainment empire, including feature-length motion pictures, television stations, resorts and theme parks, Mickey Mouse remains the icon of the company as well as the most recognizable trademark in the world. In 2006, the Walt Disney Company acquired the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Great Britain Geography, History, and Economy Facts

Great Britain Geography, History, and Economy Facts Great Britain is an island located within the British Isles and it is the ninth largest island in the world and the largest in Europe. It is located to the northwest of continental Europe and it is home to the United Kingdom which includes Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland (not actually on the island of Great Britain). Great Britain has a total area of 88,745 square miles (229,848 sq km) and a population of about 65 million people (2016 estimate). The island of Great Britain is known for the global city of London, England as well as smaller cities like Edinburgh, Scotland. In addition, Great Britain is known for its history, historic architecture and natural environment. Over 500,000 Years of History The island of Great Britain has been inhabited by early humans for at least 500,000 years. It is believed that these humans crossed a land bridge from continental Europe at that time. Modern humans have been in Great Britain for about 30,000 years and until the about 12,000 years ago archeological evidence shows that they moved back and forth between the island and continental Europe via a land bridge. This land bridge closed and Great Britain became an island at the end of the last glaciation. A History of Invasions Throughout its modern human history, Great Britain was invaded several times. For example in 55 B.C.E., the Romans invaded the region and it became a part of the Roman Empire. The island was also controlled by various tribes and was invaded several times. In 1066 the island was a part of the Norman Conquest and this began the cultural and political development of the area. Throughout the decades following the Norman Conquest, Great Britain was ruled by several different kings and queens and it was also a part of several different treaties between the countries on the island. About the Name Britain The use of the name Britain dates back to the time of Aristotle, however, the term Great Britain was not officially used until 1474 when a marriage proposal between Edward IV of Englands daughter, Cecily, and James IV of Scotland was written. Today the term is used to specifically refer to the largest island within the United Kingdom or to the unit of England, Scotland, and Wales. What Great Britain Encapsulates Today Today in terms of its politics the name Great Britain refers to England, Scotland and Wales because they are on the United Kingdoms largest island. In addition, Great Britain also includes the outlying areas of Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides and the remote island groups of Orkney and Shetland. These outlying areas are considered a part of Great Britain because they are parts of England, Scotland or Wales. Where Is Great Britain on a Map? Great Britain is located to the northwest of continental Europe and east of Ireland. The North Sea and the English Channel separate it from Europe, however, the Channel Tunnel, the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world, connects it with continental Europe. The topography of Great Britain consists mainly of low gently rolling hills in the eastern and southern portions of the island and hills and low mountains in the western and northern regions. The Regions Climate The climate of Great Britain is temperate and it is moderated by the Gulf Stream. The region is known for being cool and cloudy during the winter and the western parts of the island are windy and rainy because they are more influenced by the ocean. The eastern parts are drier and less windy. London, the largest city on the island, has an average January low temperature of 36 F (2.4 C) and a July average temperature of 73 F (23 C). Fauna and Animal Species Despite its large size, the island of Great Britain has a small amount of fauna. This is because it has been rapidly industrialized in recent decades and this has caused habitat destruction across the island. As a result, there are very few large mammal species in Great Britain and rodents like squirrels, mice and beaver make up 40% of the mammal species there. In terms of Great Britains flora, there is a large variety of trees and 1,500 species of wildflower. Population and Ethnic Groups Great Britain has a population of about 60 million people (2009 estimate) and a population density of 717 persons per square mile (277 persons per square kilometer). The main ethnic group of Great Britain is British - particularly those who are Cornish, English, Scottish or Welsh. The Main Cities There are several large cities on the island of Great Britain but the largest is London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. Other large cities include Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. About the Economy Great Britains United Kingdom has the third largest economy in Europe. The majority of the UKs and Great Britains economy is within the service and industrial sectors but there is also ​a  small amount of agriculture. The main industries are machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper products, food processing, textiles, and clothing. Agricultural products include are cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables cattle, sheep, poultry, and fish.