Mickey's 50

The show explores and explains Mickey's enormous and almost immediate popularity. His phenomenal success was due to Walt's insistence on releasing his first cartoon, Steamboat Willie, with sound, which was brand new in 1927. Prior, Mickey was featured in a Plane Crazy, which parodied the Lindburgh solo trans-Atlantic flight but was silent. Walt held Plane Crazy back from release and issued Steamboat Willie with sound instead resulting in immediate recognition for the mouse. The pattern of satirizing events of the day, especially hit movies, marked Mickey's rise to popularity.

The 90-minute special highlights the beloved cartoon character as a great actor, athlete, musician and Lothario. The show also features Mickey as a great merchandiser. His countenance appeared on myriad products from breakfast cereal to soap generating millions in licensing revenue for Walt Disney Productions, even at the great depression raged.

Mickey's 50 is a love letter to the little mouse with more than eighty stars and celebrities paying their respects.