Walt Disney did not draw Mickey Mouse, despite the fact that the figure is practically synonymous with his most well-known work. Disney’s closest buddy, animator Ub Iwerks, created the famous cartoon rodent in 1928. In fact, A Mouse Split: How Walt Disney Became Uncle and Ub Iwerks Was Forgotten Mickey was referred to by Walt Disney historian Jeff Ryan as “basically the child of two dads.” Iwerks contributed to the development of theme park attractions like “It’s a Small World” and produced effects for Disney classics like Mary Poppins and Sleeping Beauty throughout their decades-long collaboration. However, he was hardly acknowledged for his services to the company, particularly when compared to its founder. Leslie Iwerks, his granddaughter, directed The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story in 2000, which started to change that, though Iwerks is still not very well-known.
Disney provided Mickey Mouse’s voice during the first 20 years of the character’s existence. Mickey first appeared in the animated short Steamboat Willie in 1928. However, Disney had already created two other Mickey films that year, Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho, which were not picked up by distributors. The first of them with sound was Steamboat Willie; nevertheless, Mickey didn’t say his first words, “Hot dog!” until The Karnival Kid the following year. Disney’s vocal contributions to The Mickey Mouse Club were last heard from 1955 to 1958. However, Get a Horse! (2013) combined clips from earlier releases to bring back Disney’s iconic cartoon mouse voice.
