Steamboat Willie (1928)

Mickey Mouse, piloting a steamboat, delights his passenger, Minnie, by making musical instruments out of the menagerie on deck.

Director:

Ub Iwerks

Stars:

Walt Disney

1 win.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Walt Disney	...	Mickey Mouse / Minnie Mouse / The Parrot (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Mickey is piloting a steamboat when Captain Pete comes to the bridge and throws him off. They stop to pick up cargo. Minnie just misses the boat and Mickey uses the crane to grab her. She drops her sheet music of "Turkey in the Straw" and a goat eats it. With help from Mickey, she cranks the goat's tail, and it plays the tune. Mickey accompanies on percussion and by torturing various animals, until Pete comes down and puts a stop to it, putting Mickey to work peeling potatoes. While this is the first sound Mickey Mouse, there's no dialog.

---

Plot Keywords:

steamboat | mouse | goat | captain | sheet music | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Family | Comedy | Musical | Short

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1930 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Barco de vapor Willie

Box Office

Budget:

$4,986 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

8 min

Sound Mix:

Cinephone

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

On its release, this cartoon was paired with the movie Gang War, but it was this cartoon, not the main movie, that movie patrons walked away talking about.

---

Goofs

At the Podunk Landing site, the cow's tag around her neck disappears for a second when she moos and is back again.

---

Connections

Featured in 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005)

---

Soundtracks

"Steamboat Bill"
(uncredited)
Music by Bert Leighton and Frank Leighton
Whistled by Mickey Mouse

User Reviews

The first animated film with sound

This was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released and the first cartoon with sound. It was based on a silent movie called "Steamboat Bill, Jr." starring Buster Keaton. Back in this early Mickey short, Mickey did not talk nor did he have gloves. He could just whistle and play music. The song that he played was "Turkey in the Straw" using several barnyard animals as musical instruments. He plays a cow's teeth as a xylophone and he plays a nursing sow's teats like an accordion keyboard. Captain Pete, however, is very mad and makes Mickey peel potatoes in the galley. Pete's parrot flies up to the window and orders him to peel the potatoes. Mickey throws a half-peeled potato at the parrot and laughs, thus closing the cartoon. I was able to get this cartoon on tape and I really like it. I think the Disney shorts are much better than the feature length movies.