The Betrayal That Created Mickey Mouse

In early 1928, Walt Disney went to New York hoping for a better deal. Instead, he lost his star character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and most of his animators. Later that year, Steamboat Willie gave him a new star: Mickey Mouse. This is the true story, from a failed studio in Kansas City to the premiere at the Colony Theater, and the animator, Ub Iwerks, who was crucial to what came next. Chapters 0:00 The loss that led to Mickey 0:41 The paper boy 1:10 His first studio fails 2:53 Oswald, the rabbit he didn't own 3:58 The New York talks 5:16 The train story, and the man who designed Mickey 6:11 The bet on sound 8:28 What it became 10:15 Started by a mouse Sources Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_... Cartoon Research: The Winkler Oswalds: https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php... Michael Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons (Oxford University Press): https://academic.oup.com/book/47601/c... D23: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: https://d23.com/a-to-z/oswald-the-luc... The Walt Disney Company fiscal 2025 results (SEC filing): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Kansas City Public Library: https://kclibrary.org/news/2024-08/he... Walt Disney – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Di... Walt Disney Family Museum: How Walt Disney Went From Ambitious Cartoonist to Running His Own Studio: https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/how-w... Laugh-O-Gram Studio – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laugh-O... MousePlanet: The Laugh-O-gram Story (Jim Korkis): https://www.mouseplanet.com/11723/The... Thank You Walt Disney: A century of Walt Disney in Kansas City: https://thankyouwaltdisney.org/blog/a... American Bankruptcy Institute: Walt Disney Never Filed Bankruptcy: https://www.abi.org/node/26196 National Archives at Kansas City: Laugh-O-gram bankruptcy file: https://www.archives.gov/kansas-city/... Walt Disney Family Museum: 100 Years Ago, Walt Goes West: https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/100-y... D23: Poor Papa, first Oswald produced: https://d23.com/exclusive-newly-resto... Les Clark – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Clark Walt Disney Family Museum: The Birth of a Mouse: https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/birth... Library of Congress: Steamboat Willie essay (Dave Smith): https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/n... D23: Ub Iwerks: https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/ub... Mickey Mouse – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_... Plane Crazy – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plane_C... The Gallopin' Gaucho – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gal... Steamboat Willie – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steambo... D23: Steamboat Willie: https://d23.com/a-to-z/steamboat-willie/ Walt Disney Family Museum: Happy Birthday, Walt: https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/happy... Britannica: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: https://www.britannica.com/print/arti... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (film) – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Wh...) Cartoon Brew, 9 Feb 2006: Oswald comes home: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/archives/... NPR, Feb 2006: ABC trades sportscaster for Oswald: https://www.npr.org/2006/02/13/520418... D23: Disneyland at 70: https://d23.com/disneyland-at-70-a-tr... Honda Global: Joy of manufacturing (1936): https://global.honda/en/heritage/epis... This video is an independent documentary. It is not made, sponsored or approved by The Walt Disney Company. Film clips are from the original 1927–1928 cartoons, in the public domain in the United States. Photo of Walt Disney: Alan Fisher, 1938, New York World-Telegram & Sun collection, Library of Congress. Music: "Veil of mysteries" and "Jasmine Whispers" by Patrick Patrikios, "First Dream" by Brian Bolger, "Dreaming in 432Hz" by Unicorn Heads, "A Stroll Alone" by Everet Almond (YouTube Audio Library). Period scenes are AI-generated illustrations, not historical photographs; documents marked "Recreation" are recreations. The 1923 chattel mortgage is from the Laugh-O-gram bankruptcy file at the National Archives at Kansas City.