Mickey Mouse Kicks Off Celebration of 90 Years at Disneyland!

Mickey is 90 years old this year and that is something to celebrate! Since first appearing on November 18, 1928, in Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse has been delighting fans around the globe. He has appeared in tv shows, comics, cartoon shorts, theme parks, stage shows, movies, and more. Always with an optimistic outlook, Mickey Mouse has been a wonderful representative of The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney’s original dream.

Disney is kicking off the celebrations at Disneyland on March 7th with a Fashion Show. This fashion show will be inspired by Mickey Mouse’s “True Original” personality. It will feature a collection by couture brand Opening Ceremony founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. This event will not just kick off the celebration of 90 years of Mickey Mouse but also serve as Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2018 runway show. It will also mark the conclusion of fashion week celebrations around the world. Some of the items of the Mickey collaboration that will be showcased during this event will be available immediately following the show on OpeningCeremony.com and also in Opening Ceremony stores. Other “ready-to-wear” options will come to stores in November. Mickey Mouse isn’t the only one celebrating 90 years though. Minnie Mouse is as well! She will be recognized and celebrated during this fashion show as well.

The event at Disneyland just kicks off this year’s celebration of Mickey Mouse though. It will launch the celebration of Mickey Mouse as part of the “Mickey the True Original.” This global event will last throughout the year and include events, a television program, more animated shorts on the Disney Channel, a birthday celebration on November 18th, and also the World’s Biggest Mouse Party! All of this will not only celebrate Mickey Mouse as the illustrious mouse he is. It will also showcase the impact that Mickey Mouse has had on the world in the past, today, and in the future!

Here is a look at what the celebration of Mickey Mouse will include:

• This fall, ABC will air a star-studded celebration of Mickey in honor of his birthday, with special guests, musical performances and more.
• Disney Channel will debut season five of the Mickey Mouse animated shorts, taking the series total to more than 90 shorts, including a special seven-minute extended-length birthday episode that will air later this year.
• Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world will celebrate Mickey’s 90th on November 18, marking the day with commemorative merchandise, photo locations and more.
• Beginning in late 2018 and into 2019 the World’s Biggest Mouse Party, saluting Mickey and Minnie, will take place at Disney Parks worldwide.

• Disney On Ice will salute Mickey as the “True Original” host of Disney On Ice since its inception in 1981 by creating Mickey’s 90th pre-shows for productions touring the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
• Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Special Celebration, a new production showcasing Mickey Mouse’s memories throughout the years, will launch in Japan in July 2018 and continue touring throughout the Asia-Pacific region until August 2019.
• In France, 38 design and art schools will take part in “Mickey Is Art,” a unique contest in which students will craft works of Mickey, inspired by their favorite artistic movement. The winning designs will be displayed this summer in 12 major train stations in France and for sale this September at Galerie Glénat in Paris.
• Disney store will continue to celebrate milestone moments for Mickey Mouse with the Mickey Mouse Memories Collection (launched Jan. 2018), a monthly, limited-release series of 12 collectible plush, mugs and cloisonné pins inspired by Mickey’s most memorable movie roles.
• Disney Publishing Worldwide will introduce more than 30 titles globally as part of Mickey’s 90th, including books, arts & crafts and comics.

For those who love D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. The celebration will also be continuing throughout 2018 in the following ways:

• D23 and the Walt Disney Archives, in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios, have commissioned legendary Disney animator Mark Henn to paint Mickey’s official 90th birthday portrait. Henn follows in the footsteps of artists such as Disney Legend John Hench, who crafted five of Mickey’s official portraits. Henn animated Mickey for Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and is currently at work on Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018). The new portrait will debut on the cover of the fall issue of Disney twenty-three, a quarterly publication from D23.
• This November, D23 will present Destination D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse, a two-day event at Walt Disney World Resort featuring panels, presentations and fun-filled entertainment.
• This year’s annual D23 Gold Member gift is an exclusive box set of 23 special Mickey Mouse mementos—authentic reproductions of such treasured keepsakes as pages from the script of Steamboat Willie and a miniature animation cel from Parade of the Award Nominees (1932).

All of these events and offerings will celebrate 90 years of the worlds most beloved mouse. Whether you can attend these events or not, you can connect with them and either share your experience or see others with the hashtag #Mickey90.

Since first debuting in Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse has appeared in over 100 cartoon shorts. He can currently be seen on the Mickey Mouse cartoon series on the Disney Channel.  He is also on Disney Junior in Mickey and the Roadster Racers. What is your favorite Mickey Mouse performance? Let us know in the comments below. Also, let us know what you are most excited about for this celebration of 90 years of Mickey Mouse!