Disney Outlines How Mickey Mouse’s 90th Birthday Will Be Celebrated

Published on 3/2/18 by Craig Smith

Mickey Mouse made his big screen debut in the iconic film Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928. To honor Mickey’s 90th birthday, Disney has developed a year-long celebration. Here is a quick rundown of what they have planned on TV, in Disney parks and beyond…

Image courtesy Disney

The party kicks off on March 7 with “The Happiest Show on Earth”—a runway fashion event featuring a Mickey-inspired collection designed by couture brand Opening Ceremony founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The show, which serves as Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2018 runway show, closes out fashion week celebrations around the world. Select items from the Mickey collaboration will be immediately available for sale following the runway show at shopDisney.com, OpeningCeremony.com and Opening Ceremony stores, while the remaining ready-to-wear looks will hit stores in November. The fashion show will also honor the iconic story of Minnie Mouse, who shares this milestone anniversary with Mickey and recently received her official star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Disney’s collaboration with Opening Ceremony launches “Mickey the True Original”—a global celebration of Mickey’s heritage, personality and status as a pop-culture icon. The campaign will come to life through fashion collaborations with other true original brands, as well as engaging content and events that embrace Mickey’s impact on the past, present and future.

The celebration continues across The Walt Disney Company, throughout 2018 and beyond:

This fall, ABC will air a star-studded celebration of Mickey in honor of his birthday, with special guests, musical performances and more.

Disney Channel will debut a fifth season of the Mickey Mouseanimated shorts, taking the series total to more than 90 shorts, including a special seven-minute extended-length birthday episode that will air later this year.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world will celebrate Mickey’s 90th on November 18, marking the day with commemorative merchandise, photo locations and more.

Beginning in late 2018 and into 2019 the World’s Biggest Mouse Party, saluting Mickey and Minnie, will take place at Disney parks worldwide.

Disney On Ice will salute Mickey as the “True Original” host of Disney On Ice since its inception in 1981 by creating Mickey’s 90th pre-shows for productions touring the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Special Celebration, a new production showcasing Mickey Mouse’s memories throughout the years, will launch in Japan in July 2018 and continue touring throughout the Asia-Pacific region until August 2019.

In France, 38 design and art schools will take part in “Mickey Is Art,” a unique contest in which students will craft works of Mickey, inspired by their favorite artistic movement. The winning designs will be displayed this summer in 12 major train stations in France and for sale this September at Galerie Glénat in Paris.

Disney store will continue to celebrate milestone moments for Mickey Mouse with the Mickey Mouse Memories Collection (launched January 2018), a monthly, limited-release series of 12 collectible plush, mugs and cloisonné pins inspired by Mickey’s most memorable movie roles.

Disney Publishing Worldwide will introduce more than 30 titles globally as part of Mickey’s 90th, including books, arts & crafts and comics.

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is also celebrating Mickey’s 90th throughout 2018. D23 and the Walt Disney Archives have partnered with Walt Disney Animation Studios to commission legendary Disney animator Mark Henn (Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the upcoming Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2) to paint Mickey’s official 90th birthday portrait, which will debut on the cover of the fall issue of D23’s quarterly publication Disney twenty-three. In November, D23 will present Destination D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse, a two-day event at Walt Disney World Resort featuring panels, presentations and fun-filled entertainment. Additionally, this year’s annual gift for D23 Gold Members is an exclusive box set of 23 special Mickey Mouse mementos—authentic reproductions of such treasured keepsakes as pages from the script of Steamboat Willie and a miniature animation cel from Parade of the Award Nominees (1932).

Fans are encouraged to join the conversation on social media throughout the celebration using the hashtag #Mickey90.