Mickey Mouse Turns 84 Year Old

Mickey Mouse, the iconic character created by Walt Disney, is celebrating his birthday today. The lovable little rodent is now 84-years-old.

According to E! Online, Mickey Mouse was created by Disney and Ub Iwerks way back in the year that was 1928. The character made his animated debut in the classic Disney cartoon Steamboat Willie, a short which effectively transformed the little guy in a big star.

Mickey Mouse first put on his trademark white gloves in the 1929 short The Opry House. Later that same year he would speak his first lines of dialogue in The Karnival Kid. His first words: “Hot dogs! Hot dogs!”

According to the New York Post, Mickey Mouse wasn’t always the crown jewel in Disney’s empire. Before the artist gave birth to his most popular character, Disney was attempting to transform Oswald the Lucky Rabbit into an international superstar.

Unfortunately for Disney, he lost Oswald in a dispute with Universal in 1928. Instead of taking his case to court, the animator decided to cut his loses and create a brand new character. Mickey Mouse would take shape shortly thereafter.

“People like to think about Walt Disney as always being this legend, but in 1927 he was a 26-year-old animator who had never really done anything too successful,” explained Junction Point Studios creative director Warren Spector.

Although Disney would snag the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit once again in the mid-2000s, there’s no replacing Mickey Mouse as the iconic face of the Disney brand.

In order to celebrate Mickey’s 84 years of existence, Disney and Junction Point Studios have joined forces for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, a game which launched today for the Wii U. Players will help the birthday boy and his older brother Oswald return color to a drab black and white world.

How will you celebrate Mickey Mouse’s birthday?