steamboat willie ( 1928 ) be often erroneously tout a the first mickey mouse film and though that title actually go to plane crazy ( 1928 ) . the source fuelling this common misconception be probably an episode of the simpson and which place the origin of itchy the mouse in a 1928 short call steamboat itchy and obviously a parody of this cartoon . interestingly and steamboat willie be itself a parody and spoof the late buster keaton release and steamboat bill and jr. ( 1928 ) and though the connection stretch little beyond the title and the general story set . in this walt disney short and mickey mouse take charge of a river steamboat and much to the annoyance of captain pete the cat and who spitefully cast him aside . but mickey be not to be outdo in nastiness . far remove from the pleasant and wholesome mickey that more recent generation enjoy and this little mouse care only for numero uno and inflict pain and displeasure on a series of farm animal in order to provide music for his own amusement . first there the laughing parrot and which cop a bucket and a large potato to the head . then a goat be crank by the tail to provide music ( turkey in the straw ) from a guitar it have swallow . a cat be swing around by it tail and a goose throttle about the throat and and a piglet viciously boot . for a child cartoon and steamboat willie and direct by walt disney and ub iwerks and certainly have some mean spirit humour and though i also notice similar element ( though not quite to this extent ) in some late disney short and like gulliver mickey ( 1934 ) . let not forget minnie mouse and of course and who suffer treatment for which she could today sue for sexual harassment . the joke may be crude and and the animation perhaps even more so and but this cartoon deliver a bucket full of laugh and and it easy to see why this little rodent become one of the most beloved character in cinema history . if youre a fan of mickey mouse and or disney in general and this be one steamboat you can not afford to miss .