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
Once Upon a Mouse Once Upon a Mouse Once Upon a Mouse is a 1981 American theatrical featurette directed by Jerry Kramer and Gary Rocklen of Kramer/Rocklen Studios, produced in association with Walt Disney Productions. It was released on July 10, 1981 on a double bill with "The Fox and the Hound. A documentary featurette produced in celebration of the studio's 20th (now 24th) feature-length animated film "The Fox and the Hound" which highlights sixty years of Walt Disney's legacy beginning with "Steamboat Willie" in 1928 followed by a kaleidoscopic magic carpet ride through the world of Disney animation, including segments from hundreds of