“…...it was all started by a mouse.”
Mickey Mouse is unarguably the most recognisable of all the Disney characters with his bright red shorts, oversized yellow shoes and white gloves. Originally named Mortimer, he was created in 1928 as a replacement for Lucky the Rabbit, an earlier creation of the Disney studios. Often seen with his girlfriend, Minnie, and his other friends, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto he portrays positivity, friendship and fun.
Mickey’s appearance started off very similar to Lucky the Rabbit but it was soon decided to change the shape of his head and ears to circles, thus making Mickey much easier to draw and recreate, and his trademark ears are recognisable the world over.
But why has he only got three fingers and a thumb on each hand? Walt Disney decided that “five fingers were too many on a mouse; they would make his hand look like a bunch of bananas”. The white gloves were introduced as a contrast to his black body.
Mickey’s favourite colour most obviously is red. When not wearing his familiar red shorts, he can be seen wearing a red bandsman uniform, a red cloak, a red shirt, red overalls or a red coat.
Mickey Mouse is depicted on a wide range of products and jewelry continues to be extremely popular, with items ranging from watches to pendants, earrings and charm bracelets. Featuring either his cheeky face or his very distinctive silhouette, Mickey Mouse items are recognisable everywhere and always in demand and loved by the very young through to the young-at-heart nonagenarians (or even older).
