When is Mickey Mouse’s real birthday?

(Note: This is the first in a continuing series of stories celebrating Mickey Mouse’s 90th anniversary.) 

There are many people who fudge their birthdays. Especially those in show business. In most cases, stars shave off a few years. In Mickey Mouse’s case, Disney shaved off a few months.

The reason, Mickey’s first appearance was not a success.

According to Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse’s official birthday is Nov. 18, 1928, with his debut in the groundbreaking short “Steamboat Willie.” This year will mark his 90th birthday. However, that’s not the first time Mickey appeared on the silver screen.

Mickey’s first appearance was in a short called “Plane Crazy” directed by Walt Disney and famous animator Ub Iwerks. The silent cartoon was screened May 15, 1928, in a Hollywood theater, six months before “Steamboat Willie” was released. The Walt Disney Studios hoped this short would propel the company and the character into major theaters across the country.

In the film, Mickey is trying to fly an airplane. This is an imitation of the famed pilot, Charles Lindbergh, who was the first person to fly non-stop from North America to Europe. While Lucky Lindy made it across the Atlantic from the U.S. to France, “Plane Crazy” couldn’t get off the ground. It flopped. No distributor wanted the film. The short was considered a test screening.

Even though this was a silent film, the short did contain a technological first. This was the first animated film to use a camera move. Disney and Iwerks piled books under the spinning background to move the artwork closer to the camera. This point of view shot from the plane makes it look as if the camera is tracking to the ground.

On March 17, 1929, the short was finally widely released. This time as a sound cartoon.

Mickey is not the only movie star whose first film was not well-known. Look at George Clooney who first appeared in “Grizzly II: The Concert” or Leonardo DiCaprio who started off in “Critters 3,” Tom Hanks in “He Knows You’re Alone,” Reese Witherspoon in “The Man in the Moon,” or  Samuel L. Jackson in “Together for Days.”

Mickey, like these other A-list stars, bounced back. And, with staying power.