The path to the first modern cartoon

The Walt Disney Company celebrates the birth of Mickey Mouse as 18 November 1928 — the release date of the Steamboat Willie cartoon. Walt Disney gave Mickey Mouse a voice and a soul, and the loveable rodent is now one of the best-known symbols in the world.

Download our November issue article as a PDF:

The path to the first modern cartoon, Spotlight 11/2008

The November History section describes the development of early cartoon animation, from the first silent cartoons to the first popular animated cartoon with sound. The story takes us from 1900 to 1928, from the first drawings that come to life in films with human actors to a very famous musical mouse. Each week during November at Spotlight Online, MIKE PILEWSKI invites you to our "movies of the week", where you can see the short films the article talks about.