Mickey Mouse: Fifty Happy Years

by David Bain

This book contains many cartoons of Mickey Mouse. It follows and shows the development of his character and the quality of animation. It is interesting and informative as well.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comics, Biography, Art

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Maestro Michel Mouse in 1977. It's actually an excellent biography...of an animated rodent. Seriously, it's better than some self-written autobiographies.

Mickey Mouse was a true cinematic wonder and came about due to typical cinematic issues. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was the original star, but the film distributor, not Walt Disney, owned the rights. So Disney decided no animated character was going to break him and Mickey Mouse was invented. America's most beloved animated film icon has been a corporate player ever since. Oswald went the way of most Silent Era stars.

I find it odd that everywhere I have lived in the States, there is at least one neighbour on my street who collects Mickey Mouse memorabilia. Obviously, this little dude has his fans, though I've always been a Donald Duck-er myself. Good book for animated film fans.

Book Season = Year Round

[Kalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting review of Mickey’s first 50 years of existence. There are quite a few film stills that depict the entire length of various shorts including descriptions so the reader can imagine how the short would have played out on film. In 1977 when this book was published this would have been a unique way to view old Mickey shorts before the advent of VHS or YouTube/Disney+

Also from what I can gather Minnie Mouse was introduced the same year as Mickey and would also be 50 years old. But since Mickey is the star and always has been this book is mainly focused on him.

[hadley · Rating 3 out of 5]

super cute with a lot of interesting info to me!! now that a hundred years has past, i’d love a new edition, but if not, i know what mickey’s been up to! ❣️

[Gijs Grob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A joyous, if shallow celebration of fifty years of Mickey Mouse, with many film stills, reprints of newspaper comics and of storybook re-tellings of Mickey Mouse films, photos of Mickey Mouse merchandizing and of both versions of the Mickey Mouse club. Highlights, however, are the re-tellings in film stills of 'Plane Crazy' (1928), 'Mickey's Rival' (1936) and 'The Brave Little Tailor' (1938), as well as the reprint of Floyd Gottfredson's classic comic strip 'Mickey and the Pirates (or 'The Captive Castaways)' from 1934.

[Dianne Lipe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for any Disney fan. Mickey, a true superstar in films, at the parks, on comic strips, and as a merchandising symbol, is a real symbol of American culture. What a guy!