| Micky Mouse | |
|---|---|
 ' | |
|
Real Name |
Micky Mouse |
|
First Appearance |
Newspaper Ad (1926) |
|
Original Publisher |
Performo Toys company |
|
Created by |
Rene D. Grove |
Origin[]
Micky mouse is a toy first released in 1926 by Performo Toys company. The similarities between both mice have led to speculation that Walt Disney stole his most successful idea from the Performo Toy Company. The wooden mouse was very popular in New York City (where Performo's distributor was located) in 1928. Coincidentally, at about the same time, Disney thought of the idea for his animation studio's new character and began drafting cartoons, which then aired as shorts, padding the time between one film and the next, and were extremely popular.
There is a well known legend in Middletown about how Performo Toy Company sued The Walt Disney Company, which included some coverage in the local paper. A conspiracy theory might have arisen from this story, however, History Detectives, a television program on PBS, conducted an investigation on the topic. The historians and researchers of the PBS program conducted a nationwide search, finding that there are no records nor evidence of any legal action between the two parties. Inquiries to Disney historians and archivists resulted in a letter stating that no such action had ever existed between the companies. Hence the legend is dismissed as local gossip made urban myth.
Part of the program showed that Performo's Micky, while very close to Walt Disney's, actually grew more that way after the cartoon's success. Performo's Micky Mouse, without the "e", suddenly developed red shorts with white buttons, as was shown by a Mickey collector who had both products in his multi-room collection. The program's investigating historian concluded that it was a series of generic mice that featured in Felix the Cat (1922), Milton Mouse from Aesop's Film Fables(1920) or Ignatz Mouse from Krazy Kat (1914), which provided the inspiration for Mickey Mouse. When viewed side by side and in sequence of appearance, an evolution of the many mice in cartoons of the era is striking, if not conclusive.
Further, in 1932 the sales of Mickey Mouse toy paraphernalia out-grossed the revenues for the films themselves, the first time that happened in the experience of Hollywood. At nearly the same time, Performo came onto hard times despite its rapid growth and filed for bankruptcy in 1933. The PBS historian concludes it became a victim of the depression like many other toy companies and other luxury goods producers while the movie tie-in enabled Disney's nascent toys and novelties business to weather the hard times of the Great Depression.
Notes[]
- The Simpsons episode "The Day the Violence Died" bears a remarkable similar storyline to the Grove–Disney debate.