Universally beloved cartoon character Mickey Mouse made his first appearance as "Steamboat Willie" on the silver screen eighty years ago today, marking this date as his official birthday.The aforementioned short film made animation history with its ground-breaking synchronized soundtrack and launched an empire for Walt Disney that now includes amusement parks on three continents, cruises and even a sports themed cable channel, amongst 80 gazillion other revenue-generating endeavors.
Say what you will about the evil tendencies of the global conglomerate, but you have to admit that it's pretty amazing that an empire can be built from a cartoon mouse.
This occasion also reminds me of another beloved character and American national treasure, George Carlin, who pointed out our frivolous preoccupation with the imaginary rodent's age in this particularly vexatious diatribe:
Oh George, how you are missed.
And yes, this whole post was just an excuse to show that clip...
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