1. Mickey Mouse was initially called Mortimer.
2. Mickey Mouse was the first cartoon character that could also speak. However, not in “Steamboat Willie”, but only in “The Karnival Kid” (1929).
3. Mickey Mouse’s first words were less philosophical than gut instinct: “Hot dogs.”
4. In the early years, Walt Disney himself lent his voice to Mickey Mouse.
5. The animators later gave Mickey Mouse white gloves so that viewers in the black-and-white cartoons couldn’t get the impression that his hands were going inside his body.
6. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are actually married. Walt Disney once said this in an interview, but also emphasized that they would deliberately keep this secret.
7. Mickey Rooney was sure throughout his life to have been the inspiration for Mickey Mouse’s first name.
8. The first two Mickey Mouse shorts cost what now seems a modest $2,500.
9. In 1979, Disneyland Records released a multi-platinum disco hit, ‘Mickey Mouse Disco.’ Also included: Dance versions of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “It’s a Small World”.
10. Several polls suggested that Mickey Mouse is more likely to be recognized by children around the world than Santa Claus.
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