On Mickey Mouse’s Birthday, Disney is released a brand new documentary that takes a look at the history of one of the most well-known characters that has ever existed.

As you would expect, the documentary goes right back to the very start, when Walt Disney started the company and why Mickey Mouse was created after an ownership dispute over “Oswald The Lucky Rabbit”.  We get to hear about how the character was creand ated, how Mickey evolved over time and helped during the second world war.

We also get to hear about how Mickey became the icon of counter-culture for an entire generation and how Mickey became the face of the company.  Plus, we see how Disney triseveralber of occasions to reboot Mickey Mouse for newer generations in the past few decades, such as the recent Mickey Mouse short series, which aimed to get back Mickey back to being more than a generic spokesperson.

As a theme park fan, it was lovely to nice to see a portion of the documentary showed some of the history of Mickey at the parks, seeing how meet-and-greet costumes have improved over the years and how so many people have had amazing experiences when they meet him in person! The opening scene, with some kids getting so excited and full of joy when they see Mickey for the first time, brought a tear to my eyes.

One of the things I did like about this documentary, was how it didn’t completely gloss over some of the negative aspects of Mickey Mouse.  Official documentaries often become nothing more than an advert, but they address the issue of copyright disputes, the Vietnam war and how the character became inconsequential due to Disney being overprotective over how Mickey was used.   I personally liked how the documentary wasn’t always positive, because that would have made it feel more like a commercial, but I’d have liked it a little more, with some more negative stories to counterbalance the glossy nature of it.

This documentary also follows the creation of a brand new one-minute short featuring Mickey Mouse going through the decade, which has been hand-drawn, like how the original shorts were made back in the day.  This short is also shown in full at the end of the documentary, which is a nice touch and worth checking out, (hopefully, they release this separately so more people can experience it).  It’s also interesting to see Bob Iger talking so openly about how he felt Mickey had lost its way over the years, and they wanted to bring the character back to life.

Overall, “Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse” is a lovely documentary that shares a detailed look into the character, that most of us recognise, but maybe don’t truly understand.  It’s very glossy and is very much a positive piece about Disney’s most valuable asset, but it highlights some of the character’s problems over the years.  I really enjoyed this documentary and would happily recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Mickey Mouse.

Rating 4 Out Of 5

“Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse” is coming to Disney+ on Friday, 18th November 2022.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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