Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse celebrates his 82nd birthday

NEW YORK - Walt Disney’s cartoon character Mickey Mouse has turned 82.

Mickey Mouse had made his first appearance with sound in ‘Steamboat Willie’, which was the first of his films to be distributed, on November 18, 1928, the New York Daily News reported.

He had appeared in ‘Plane Crazy’ six months prior to the release of ‘Steamboat Willie’, alongside Minnie, but in that feature he had been silent.

Ub Iwerks was the main animator for both shorts as well as co-director with Walt Disney, who also provided the vocals for the star of the show.

The popular mouse first spoke actual words in ‘The Karnival Kid’ in 1929, and in 1978, he became the first cartoon to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In an effort to bring the famous mouse back into the spotlight, last year the Walt Disney Company announced they would be rebranding Mickey Mouse as a more mischievous rodent, starting with the upcoming video game ‘Epic Mickey’, which is set for release on November 30. (ANI)