Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

This is corporate Disney doing a documentary on their brand mascot. To be fair, this is better than that. It's nice to have snippets of Walt's early childhood. It's not the worst thing to have a social discussion of the significance of Mickey Mouse. There is a lot of meat on that bone. In addition, this is willing to touch on some of the more sensitive aspect like Disney's litigious side and its establishment tendency. It is nice to see them talk about the change between pre and post WWII. In the end, it is an in-depth documentary from friends and fans.

The film provides a decent history of Mickey Mouse in film and also shows some other art forms that were inspired. It does not shy away from problematic aspects and even mentions Disney's obsession with copyright which have been quite problematic. However a great shortcoming is the complete lack of reference to comic strips and comic books. They have been just as important for the rise and popularity of Mickey Mouse and it is a great disappointment that its missing. Floyd Gottfredson's daily newspaper strip was iconic and spread the Mouse worldwide while Walt Disney's signature appeared on each and everyone suggesting that Disney was the actual artist. Later artists like Paul Murry or Romano Scarpa should also not be forgotten. There are still comic books named after Mickey Mouse that are published regularly in numerous countries worldwide. So this was a bit of a letdown. Instead, the interviews somewhat dragged down the documentary without adding more information, which made it a bit boring, especially at the end.

When i first watched it on Disney+, i thought that this documental would be cool it is all about Mickey Mouse over the previous years, that started from the first short called Steamboat Willie back on the Disney classic era, i called it the best documental i have ever seen and it is about the meaning of culture like almost 100 years of magic and wonder and in the cover i also saw the Mickey Mouse shorts (2013), The Wonderful World Of Mickey Mouse and even his sorcerer counterpart that appeared in both movies of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 and his song called The Mickey Mouse March performed by Jimmie Dodd.

I am into documentaries and I have watched several of them on Disney+, but this one felt all over the place. It was pretty boring and it seemed like it did not have a specific direction. They tried to show us the evolution of Mickey Mouse through time, but at the same time, they seemed lost about the true meaning of their character or the message they want Mickey to send. In the end, we feel like we have left out something, because the documentary does not show any moral o lessons learned in 100 years of history. I am sure this could have turned better. It did not do justice to the most beloved character of their company and it showed that not even Disney employees comprehend Mickey Mouse. Also, the animation at the end is medium quality at its best. How is it possible that the hand-drawn animation that made them famous isn't even their forte these days? This all just proves that Walt Disney Company is having an identity crisis, as we all have witnessed it.

Anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with Mickey Mouse. I was so excited for this documentary. The trailers made me tear up. Unfortunately so did the actual movie but not for the same reason. I understand there is a dark side to Disney history (as there is to pretty much everything in the entertainment business) but did they have to focus so much on that? I was hoping for a celebration of Mickey on his 94th birthday but instead I got bummed out by terrible things that PEOPLE did using his image. I don't think we should shove the past under the carpet. We need to know these things so that we don't repeat them but I don't think this was the time or place for that kind of thing. How would you like it if someone brought up all of your past mistakes on your birthday?