Mickey Mouse (film series)

Production

Disney began producing the first Mickey Mouse films while still under contract to finish Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons for Charles Mintz. The first two films, Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho, were previewed but failed to secure a distributor. For the third film, Disney added synchronized sound, then an emerging technology. Steamboat Willie debuted in New York in November 1928 and became an instant success, providing the studio with resources to produce new cartoons and sound versions of the first two.

Production slowed toward the end of the 1930s as the studio focused on other characters and feature-length films. The series was informally retired in 1953 with The Simple Things, revived in 1983 and 1990 with two featurettes, and returned to single-reel format with Runaway Brain in 1995.

The latest installment, Get a Horse! (2013), combines black-and-white style with color CGI animation. The cartoons were directed by 20 different people; the most credited directors include Burt Gillett (34), Wilfred Jackson (18), Walt Disney (16), David Hand (15), and Ben Sharpsteen (14).

Lauren MacMullan, director of Get a Horse!, was the first female director. Notable animators include Ub Iwerks, Norm Ferguson, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, and Fred Moore. Mickey's voice was mostly provided by Walt Disney, with additional work by Carl Stalling and Clarence Nash; Jimmy MacDonald took over by 1948, and Wayne Allwine voiced the character in the three films from 1983 to 1995.

List of films

The list of Mickey Mouse films uses shipping dates for early releases by Celebrity Productions (1928–1929) and Columbia Pictures (1930–1932), as there is no definitive release date. The list excludes shorts where Mickey appears outside the series, such as in other characters' series, feature film segments like The Sorcerer's Apprentice, or episodes of Mickey Mouse Works. Gray headers indicate black-and-white films; yellow headers indicate color films.

Releases

Mickey Mouse cartoons first hit theaters, typically playing before feature films. Starting in 1929, some cinemas ran a "Mickey Mouse Club" for kids that featured only these shorts. Distribution shifted over time: Columbia Pictures handled it from 1930 to 1932, United Artists from 1932 to 1937, and RKO Radio Pictures from 1937 to 1953.

The last four films were put out by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Television broadcasts began in 1936 on BBC Television, airing regularly except during World War II. In the U.S., selected shorts appeared on the Walt Disney anthology series and later on programs like The Mouse Factory, Mickey's Mouse Tracks, and Ink & Paint Club.

Home media

The films have been released on various home media formats. In the 1960s, 8 mm and Super 8 releases were often silent, black-and-white, or condensed. In 1978, Disney began releasing selected films on VHS, laserdisc, and later DVD. Starting in 2010, some cartoons became available on the iTunes Store as digital downloads.

Online, Disney's website shows cartoons on a rotating basis under "Mickey & Friends". On Walt Disney Animation Studios' official YouTube channel, three complete cartoons have been released: Plane Crazy, Steamboat Willie, and Hawaiian Holiday, plus most of Thru the Mirror. As of 2018, the only complete re-release of the series is the "Walt Disney Treasures" DVD sets, with the vast majority appearing across four two-disc sets: Mickey Mouse in Black and White (2002), Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Volume Two (2004), Mickey Mouse in Living Color (2001), and Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two (2004).

Film critic Leonard Maltin, who hosts the collection, implied opposition to releasing the complete series due to content considered politically incorrect, such as racial and ethnic stereotypes, and argued that releasing it uncensored was the only way to learn from the past. The only film not included was Get a Horse! (2013), which premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and was shown ahead of Frozen.