Mickey Mouse is perhaps the greatest creation of the Walt Disney Company. While the initial shorts made the character famous, the world of toons has since evolved to include a wide cast of characters, each of which has garnered their own TV show or movie.
Whether it's Mickey's extended family including Minnie, or perhaps his best friends like Donald, Goofy, and their own relatives, these characters have been featured on screen for decades. This world of Disney magic has continued to evolve and change in each new era, yet these heroes and villains are a fundamental part of the House of Mouse.
Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas
Mickey Mouse will always be Disney's most famous character due in part to his versatility. The protagonist can be inserted into any kind of story and for Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas he is the perfect lead for a number of festive films. Of course, this is an ensemble piece, though.
The movie is a brilliant snapshot inside the lives of some of Disney's most beloved toons. Each one shares with its audience a morality tale, some of which are based upon traditional fables. Mickey and Minnie's gift buying, Huey, Dewey, and Louie's chaotic love for Christmas, and Goofy and Max's relationship with Santa all take center stage.
A Goofy Movie
With this, Disney took Max and Goofy and gave them a film that allowed the duo to truly bond. Max spent most of his teenage years fearing that he may one day become like his father. He is completely embarrassed by Goofy's antics.
The single parent comes to understand his child's fears and seeks to rectify them. It's a story about acceptance and putting family first. With great animation and a few cameos from familiar characters, this is one of the most celebrated and deep installments to the Toontown universe.
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
Disney love to take a classic story and put their own spin on it. For Mickey, Donald and Goofy they were thrust into the tale of the Three Musketeers, where they would form the kind of partnership that fans loved for its loyalty and its supportive nature.
Fighting against the evil Pete, the trio try to rise from their poverty and their jobs to become the heroes they know they can be. With Minnie Mouse looking for a great love with the help of Daisy, the two stories crossover to create a fairytale only Disney could tell.
DuckTales
DuckTales is a classic show in every sense and the recent reboot managed to celebrate what worked about the original, while also bringing it into a new setting. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are the stars of the show, living with Scrooge McDuck who teaches them the way of the world.
Through goofy escapades and fun misadventures, the trio starts to evolve in what's really a coming-of-age tale. There are some great cameos featured throughout the show, including Darkwing Dark and Donald Duck, and the series also carves out its own place in the Toontown universe by bringing in some new characters.
House Of Mouse
House Of Mouse was a show unlike anything Disney had previously produced. With Mickey and friends hosting weekly shows, characters from across the Disney animated films turned up to enjoy the entertainment. It was the only show where Mickey might be interacting with the likes of Aladdin and Belle in one night.
Throughout the show, there would also be classic Disney shorts, partially playbacks from the past, and some newer content as well. It was the perfect combination of sketch comedy and silly antics that have made these toons so beloved to fans over the years.
Fantasia
Walt Disney wanted to find a way to create a piece of art through both music and animation. The result was Fantasia which saw a series of scenes created alongside the work of classical composers. It's a thing of beauty and showcases the best of Walt Disney's animation team.
Of course, while the film itself is iconic, it also spawned one of the most famous Mickey Mouse sketches of all time. Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, trying to enchant the buckets and mops to clean the floor is still a vital piece of cinema history and even led to a live-action movie.
Darkwing Duck
Although Darkwing Duck may seem adjacent to the Mickey Mouse Club, he has actually appeared in other shows including DuckTales. Disney's attempt on Batman led to some hilarious and memorable episodes from throughout the show's run.
It may have been silly in places but it was also a little bit dark and gritty in the goofiest way possible. It had Darkwing Duck himself portray the classic vigilante, fighting against some ridiculous crimes but ultimately proving himself to be a valiant hero.
Chip 'N' Dale: Park Life
Chip 'N' Dale: Park Life is one of Disney's latest reimaginings of these classic characters and a recent addition to the Disney+ streaming service. It's already showcased that the company still understands how to tell great stories through animation and very limited dialogue.
These sketches feel drawn out to their most extreme and craziest eventuality and that works in every way. Although it's certainly a fun time for kids it's also a brilliant way for older fans to get back into the current iteration of this landscape.
The Wonderful World Of Mickey Mouse
In regards to a newer take on these characters, The Wonderful World Of Mickey Mouse acts as a launchpad in every single way for the future of the toons. Introducing a new animation style and bringing these characters to a different generation, there's a strong foundation here to build from.
The production demonstrates the icon status of the character, with the comedy sketches drawing out deeper meanings while also capitalizing on the humorous situations the writers can take Mickey and the gang in. There's a particular emphasis on Minnie in this show that fans of the character will adore.
Steamboat Willie
Although it may be a short film, the impact of Steamboat Willie can't be ignored. The very first film to feature the character that would eventually become Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willie had a very simple premise that saw the titular character trying to control his steamboat.
As usual, hijinks ensue but it's a brilliant demonstration of the fluidity of the animation, the range of the use of music and sound design, and the simplicity and yet iconography of the design of the characters. Without Steamboat Willie, the rest simply wouldn't exist.