Steamboat Willie, released on November 18, 1928, is an animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. The cartoon is a parody of the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill Jr. and was written and directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It is a parody which has become more famous than what it is parodying.

Music for Steamboat Willie was put together by Wilfred Jackson , one of Disney's animators (and not as sometimes reported by Carl Stalling). It comprises popular melodies including Steamboat Bill and Turkey in the Straw.

It has been (and continues to be) in the history books as the first animated short with a completely post-produced soundtrack of music, dialogue, and sound effects, although other cartoons with synchronized soundtracks had been exhibited before (notably by Max Fleischer, My Old Kentucky Home (movie), 1926). Steamboat Willie was the first sound cartoon to attract widespread notice and popularity.

The film has been the center of some attention regarding the 1998 copyright extension law passed in the United States. Steamboat Willie has been close to entering the public domain in the United States several times; each time, copyright protection in the United States has been extended. Many people have claimed that these extensions were a response by Congress to extensive lobbying by Disney. (See U.S. copyright law.) As of 1 January, 2004, Disney has retained the U.S. copyright on Steamboat Willie. However, it is now public domain in Canada and Australia.

The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Summary

The script had Mickey serving aboard Steamboat Willie under Captain Pete. At first he is seen piloting the steamboat while whistling. Then Pete arrives to take over piloting and angrily throws him out of the boat's bridge. They soon have to stop for cargo to be transferred on board. Almost as soon as they leave, Minnie arrives. She was apparently supposed to be their only passenger but was late to board. Mickey manages to pick her up from the river shore. Minnie accidentally drops her sheet music for the popular folk song "Turkey in the Straw" A goat which was among the animals transported on the steamboat proceeds to eat the sheet music. Consequently Mickey and Minnie use its tail to turn it into a phonograph which is playing the tune. Through the rest of the short, Mickey uses various other animals as musical instruments. Later audiences have often described those scenes as humorously exaggerated examples of animal cruelty. Captain Pete is eventually disturbed by all this noise and places Mickey back to work. Mickey is reduced to peeling potatoes for the rest of the trip. A parrot attempts to make fun of him but is then thrown to the river by Mickey. This served as the final scene of this short.

See also

• Mickey Mouse: Addition of sound to the series

External links

• The Test Screening of Steamboat Willie
• Chronology of Animation