Steamboat Willie and included the songs "Steamboat Bill", a composition popularized by baritone Arthur Collins during the 1910s, and "Turkey in the Straw," a composition popularized within minstrelsy during the 19th century. The title of the film is a parody of the Buster Keaton film "Steamboat Bill, Jr." (1928), itself a reference to the song by Collins. Walt Disney performed all of the voices in the film, although there is little intelligible dialogue. While the film has received some criticism, it has also received wide critical acclaim, not only for introducing one of the world's most popular cartoon characters, but for its
Steamboat Bill, Jr. all the way through that cause laughs" while noting that "the plot is nonsensical." Mordaunt Hall of the "New York Times" called the film a "gloomy comedy" and a "sorry affair." Over the years, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." has become regarded as a masterpiece of its era. Currently, review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 16 reviews, with an average score of 9.1/10, with an audience rating above 90%. The film was included in the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die". The film inspired the title of