Steamboat Willie (1928) is an animated cartoon released on November 18, 1928. It was the Third Mickey Mouse cartoon, behind Plane Crazy (Released two months earlier) and The Gallopin' Gaucho (Made earlier, but released after). It was the first Disney cartoon to feature synchronized sound. Disney used Pat Powers' Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forest's Phonofilm system without giving De Forest any credit. Steamboat Willie premier...
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Steamboat Willie (1928) is an animated cartoon released on November 18, 1928. It was the Third Mickey Mouse cartoon, behind Plane Crazy (Released two months earlier) and The Gallopin' Gaucho (Made earlier, but released after). It was the first Disney cartoon to feature synchronized sound. Disney used Pat Powers' Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forest's Phonofilm system without giving De Forest any credit. Steamboat Willie premiered at New York's 79th Street Theatre, and played ahead of the independent film Gang War. Steamboat Willie was an immediate hit while Gang War is all but forgotten today.
The cartoon was written and directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The title is a parody of the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill Jr. Music for Steamboat Willie was put together by Wilfred Jackson, one of Disney's animators — not, as sometimes reported, by Carl Stalling — and comprises popular melodies including "Steamboat Bill" and "Turkey in the Straw".
It is noted in the...
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