Steamboat Willie
| Steamboat Willie | |
|---|---|
| File:Steamboat-willie-title2.jpg Steamboat Willie title card, featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. | |
| Directed by | Walt Disney Ub Iwerks |
| Produced by | Walt Disney Roy O. Disney John Sutherland |
| Animation by | Les Clark Ub Iwerks Wilfred Jackson Dick Lundy |
| Color process | Black and white |
| Distributed by | Celebrity Pictures |
Running time | 7 min (one reel) |
| Country |  United States |
Steamboat Willie (1928) is an animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse released on November 18, 1928. Contrary to claims by some sources, it was not the first cartoon released to feature Mickey (Plane Crazy was actually the first Mickey Mouse cartoon produced followed by The Galloping Gaucho and then Steamboat Willie.) Synchronized sound became practical while Steamboat Willie was being produced, so Walt decided to add sound and have Steamboat Willie be the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released. Disney decided to use Pat Powers Cinephone system. Released at New York's Colony theater, it was an immediate hit.
The cartoon was written and directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks; the title is a parody of the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill Jr. Music for Steamboat Willie was put together by Wilfred Jackson, one of Disney's animators (and not, as sometimes reported, by Carl Stalling), and comprises popular melodies including "Steamboat Bill" and "Turkey in the Straw".
It is noted in the history books as the first animated short feature film with a completely post-produced soundtrack of music, dialogue, and sound effects, although other cartoons with synchronized soundtracks had been exhibited before, notably by Max Fleischer's series Song Car-Tunes starting in May 1924 -- and including My Old Kentucky Home (1926) -- and Paul Terry's Dinner Time (released 1 September 1928).
The film has been the center of some attention regarding the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act passed in the United States. Steamboat Willie has been close to entering the public domain in the United States several times. Each time, copyright protection in the United States has been extended. Many people have claimed that these extensions were a response by the U.S. Congress to extensive lobbying by Disney. However, the copyright extensions that Congress has passed in recent decades have followed extensions in international copyright conventions to which the United States is a signatory. (See U.S. copyright law, Universal Copyright Convention, and Berne Convention.) The U.S. copyright on Steamboat Willie will be in effect until 2023 unless there is another change of the law. However, it is already in the public domain in Australia[citation needed], Canada[citation needed] and Russia[citation needed], the last due to a non-retroactive enactment of the Berne Convention[citation needed].
The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 1994, it was voted #13 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.
Synopsis
Mickey is serving aboard Steamboat Willie under Captain Pete (a longtime Disney villain). He is first seen piloting the steamboat while whistling. Pete arrives to take the helm and angrily throws him off the bridge. They soon have to stop for cargo. Almost as soon as they set off again, the as-of-then unnamed Minnie arrives, too late to board. Mickey manages to pick her up from the river shore. Minnie accidentally drops her sheet music for the popular folk song "Turkey in the Straw," which is eaten by a goat. Mickey and Minnie use its tail to turn it into a phonograph, which plays the tune. Mickey uses various other animals as musical instruments, disturbing Captain Pete, who puts him back to work. Mickey is reduced to peeling potatoes for the rest of the trip. A parrot attempts to make fun of him, but Mickey strikes him with a potato, knocking him into the river.
One of the striking things about Steamboat Willie is how violent and misanthropic Mickey is originally, in contrast to his later benevolence, kindness, and family-friendly appeal. Mickey's character closely followed the violent and sneaky character traits of other contemporary cartoons, and was only softened later when Disney moved towards a family-friendly animation empire. Because of the jarring contrast in characterization, the short is rarely shown in its entirety today when evoked by Disney for nostalgic or historical purposes.
Video games
Steamboat Willie was the basis for, and title of, the first level in, the game Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Sony PlayStation (as Mickey's Wild Adventure).
A Steamboat Willie-themed world named Timeless River is featured in the Disney/Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II, featuring appropriately "period" versions of the familiar characters. Mickey's design is slightly inaccurate in having white gloves and drawn with an increased 'roundness' more similar to the modern Mickey Mouse.
References in other media
- Toward the end of Disney's 1996 animated film, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Genie comes out of the Giant Turtle disguised as 'Steamboat Willie.' The disguise is all but perfect, except for Genie's pointed shoes, beard, earrings, and lack of rounded ears.
- In an episode of The Simpsons, the violent cartoon pair, Itchy & Scratchy, are said to have risen to fame because of their famous 1928 film, Steamboat Itchy.
- In one Goofy cartoon on Mickey Mouse Works, the entire opening scene, even the title card, is spoofed with Goofy (resembling Dippy Dawg, his earliest form) substituting for Mickey. His steamboat rear-ends another in front of it. This boat has the real Steamboat Willie Mickey on it, who squeaks at Goofy's boat madly, while it inexplicably sinks into the water.
- In the 1995 cartoon Runaway Brain, Mickey goes through pictures of himself, one of which being from Steamboat Willie, commenting "Aw, that's old..."
- In the first episode of House of Mouse, Donald Duck attempts to imitate the opening scene of Steamboat Willie trying to please the crowd.
- In the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, a German POW speaking in English to an American soldier says, "American...I like American. Steamboat Willie. *toot-toot*." The character is referred to in the movie credits as Steamboat Willie.
- The South Park episode "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer" contains scenes from a fictional TV show, Russell Crowe Fightin' Around the World, in which Russell Crowe travels the world on a tugboat to fight people of various ethnicities. He is shown on the bridge of his boat whistling and spinning the steering wheel as a parody of Steamboat Willie.
- Alexei Sayle had a comedy show in the late '80s or early '90s and is in one scene depicted as a caricatured Mickey Mouse, walking, with the title "Steamboat Fatty".
- In the pilot episode for the cartoon Duckman, Duckman reviews a collection of home movies, the first of which involves young Duckman bullying a very Mickey Mouse-esque character for control of the steering wheel to a steamboat.
See also
- Mickey Mouse: Addition of sound to the series
- The Golden Age of American animation
- Song Car-Tunes
- Dinner Time