By Lubna Abdel-Aziz If only we could all be like him at 80! This octogenarian is as vigorous, as exuberant, as enchanting, and as young and fresh as ever -- a perfect role model for all. Amidst stormy seas of negativity and violence across the globe, we are in dire need of a delightful recess from this troubled world. Why not celebrate with us the 80th birthday of one of the most universally beloved symbols of the 20th century, your lifelong friend and mine -- Mickey Mouse. He was born in November, 1928, on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles to a young Hollywood couple, Mr. and Mrs. Walt Disney. Only 26 then, Walt Disney was already the owner of an active cartoon studio in Hollywood. His first born was a rabbit named Oswald whom he had just lost to his New York sponsors who were disappointed in the outcome and refused further financial support. Despondent, the young couple started their journey back home to LA, which at that time lasted almost a week by train. Dinsey's fertile imagination was not idle for long. In the recesses of his creative mind, this little mouse in red velvet pants was taking shape. He called him Mortimer. His wife Lillian liked the mouse but not the name. By the end of the journey Lillian came up with the name Mickey. Walt loved it. Mortimer Mouse became Mickey Mouse -- and this is how one of the great characters of the 20th century was born. Mickey soon begat a Disney Empire, with the Disney Studios, Disneyland, Disney World, leaving a precious legacy, unequalled in the history of children's entertainment. The creator of Mickey Mouse was born in Chicago Illinois, on December 5th 1901 to Elias, an Irish-Canadian, and Flora, a German- American. The couple had 4 boys and one girl, but it was their son Walter who showed a remarkable talent for drawing. Little did they realize that the boy born at the turn of the century was to dominate the rest of the 20th century with his drawings. At age 7, Walt was already selling his sketches to friends and neighbours. In high school, he concentrated on drawing and photography and joined the Academy of Fine Arts at night. At 16, too young to enlist for military service during WWI, he joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas as an ambulance driver. While other ambulances were camouflaged with twigs and branches, his was covered with drawings and cartoons. After the war, he began his career as an advertising cartoonist in Kansas City. In 1920, he created and marketed his first original animated cartoons, and later perfected a new method for combining live action and animation. By 1923, he packed up and headed for Hollywood with but a few drawing materials, $40 in his pocket, and a completed animated live-action film. Brother, Roy Disney, was already in Hollywood, and together they began their production operation. His drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Mickey Mouse's first screen debut Steamboat Willie (1928) was an overwhelming success, and Walt became the talk of tinsel town, while Mickey skyrocketed to fame and fortune. Theatre-goers would first ask if there was "a Mickey running" before they purchased their tickets. The decade of the 30s was Mickey's Golden Age. Eighty seven cartoons were produced, spawning a large family, which included Minnie Mouse, Annabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald Duck. In 1932 Disney received a Special Oscar for the creation of one mighty mouse named Mickey. Walt Disney had a uniquely inquisitive mind and a keen sense of education through entertainment. There was much to do and more to create. He conceived worlds of colour, music, animals, kings and queens, evil rogues and valiant noble princes. His Fantasia (1940), was a major artistic innovation in animated features, using techniques that were way ahead of his time. Mickey Mouse starred in this classic interpretation of music, colours, shapes and movement as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, which became the defining role of his career. During WWII, Mickey had a major role to play in the war effort. He appeared on posters urging national security and encouraging the purchase of war bonds. He became such a war symbol, that on D-day June 6th 1944, the Allied Forces used the password "Mickey Mouse." Mickey made fewer appearances after the war, while other characters were more flexible, Mickey's manners became his limitations. He was too perfect to change his strict code of behaviour, like others, such as Donald Duck. Audiences would not expect Mickey to misbehave. Until then Walt Disney himself had provided the voice for Mickey. Jim McDonald took over in 1946 as Disney became too busy innovating and creating, learning and teaching. Television became a new venue for Mickey. The Mickey Mouse Club started in 1955, which became the most successful children's television program in history. With the construction of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Mickey became the chief host welcoming its millions of visitors, shaking hands and posing for pictures and leading big parades. Children of every generation love and revere Mickey, listening to his instructions, following his lead. Mickey obliges by appearing at every resort that Disney opens, in Florida (1971), Tokyo (1983), and Paris (1993). Even at 80 he is as active as ever. Before his death Walt Disney (December 15, 1966) was wholly devoted to establishing a college-level professional school of all the creative and performing arts. "If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I will have accomplished something." The California Institute of Arts was founded in 1961, and has been thriving ever since. But Disney accomplished so much more than a college for the performing arts. Disney did more for the children of the world throughout the 20th century than any other one man. His worldwide popularity brought him accolades from around the globe. During his lifetime, creator Walt Disney received more than 950 honours (including 45 Oscars) and citations from every nation whose children were educated and entertained by this great artist. He received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, University of Southern California, UCLA, in addition to the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, France's Legion d'Honneur, and many others. With his incomparably fertile imagination, none did more to touch the hearts and minds of generations of children - "Our world shall know but one Walt Disney." As we join in the birthday gala of Mickey and the accomplishments of his creator, we must never lose sight of the fact that the Disney Empire and his treasured legacy was all started by a mouse, and what a Mighty Mouse is that Mickey! Disney is the most significant figure in graphic arts since Leonardo Da Vinci British cartoonist, Sir David Cecil Low (1891-1963)
