Mickey Mouse

Believe it or not, Mickey Mouse started his career as a rabbit--in 1927 as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to be exact. Oswald was a black rabbit with a white face. Except for the wrong kind of tail and ears, he looked a lot like Mickey Mouse.

Because of legal difficulties as to who had the rights to Oswald, Walt Disney decided to change the name, and eventually the type of animal. In his studio in Kansas City, Disney had a tame mouse that he had nicknamed Mortimer. Soon, Disney was drawing Mortimer Mouse cartoons. However, before any of these were released, the name was changed to Mickey Mouse.

Minnie Mouse, with no aliases, was with Mickey almost from the start. Pluto, Mickey's dog, did not make his appearance until 1930, and was originally called Rover.

animals, fictional characters

Books

• The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle
  Brief factual stories about how various familiar things were invented, many by accident, from animal crackers to the zipper.

Last updated by fatorangecat on April 9, 2008

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While the Library has verified the information presented in these files in what it considers to be reliable and authoritative sources, it cannot take responsibility for nor guarantee the accuracy of the information presented.