Mickey Mouse and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks again served as the head animator, assisted by Johnny Cannon, Les Clark, Wilfred Jackson and Dick Lundy. This short was intended as a parody of Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", first released on May 12 of the same year. Although it was the third Mickey cartoon produced, it was the first to find a distributor, and thus is considered by The Disney Company as Mickey's debut. "Willie" featured changes to Mickey's appearance (in particular, simplifying his eyes to large dots) that established his look for later cartoons and in numerous Walt Disney films. The cartoon was
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs by it and is transformed into an appropriately animated black-and-white version of itself. The cartoon to which they're transported is a spoof of "Steamboat Willie" starring Zoidberg, Leela (in the Mickey role), Fry, and Bender. The Planet Express Ship then flies by the moon and zaps the Hydroponic Farmer from "The Series Has Landed" with the ship's ray gun. Following the cartoon, the Planet Express Ship crashes out from the television billboard. In the Comedy Central broadcast, the opening sequence is shortened to remove the entire scene where the Planet Express crew flies by the moon. In the opening sequence