J On The Spectrum - Disney's 100th Anniversary - A Star Is Drawn

Disney's 100th anniversary is this year, and to celebrate, I'm going to tell the story of this legendary animation company over a yearlong period.

After losing Oswald, Walt needed to create a substitute character to replace Oswald. He devises a mouse, and gives him the name Mickey because his wife hated Mortimer for a mouse name. Work starts on the Mickey shorts, yet after screening a cartoon after The Jazz Singer, he decides he's gonna make 'em with sound. While the first 2 Mickey shorts were in production, the third, Steamboat Willie, would be the one with sound. Mickey would make his big public debut on November 18, 1928, in front of the feature Gang War. The audience loved the short. The success of Mickey led to Walt deciding that in order to stay afloat and not fall in the same situation he did with Oswald, he needed to diversify. The creation of the Silly Symphonies would lead to more experimentation to animation, with new techniques added to the medium and art form with each iteration.

Next week, Walt Disney conceives the first cartoon in true life color.