Today, Disney+ released the teaser trailer for Mickey: The Story of A Mouse from Disney Original Documentary. The announcement comes out of D23 Expo in Anaheim, which launched the official kick-off to the 100th anniversary celebration of The Walt Disney Company. The feature documentary will premiere globally on Disney+ on November 18 – Mickey Mouse’s birthday. Mickey: The Story of A Mouse is directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeff Malmberg (Marwencol) and produced by Academy Award-winner Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor), Meghan Walsh, and Chris Shellen. The film had its World Premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this year and also screened at this year’s Sun Valley Film Festival and Newport Summer Film Series, among several others.
As one of the world’s most beloved characters, Mickey Mouse is recognized as a symbol of joy and childhood innocence in virtually every corner of the globe. Dreamed up at a low point in Walt Disney’s burgeoning career, Mickey became an overnight sensation when he starred in the first sync-sound animated short, “Steamboat Willie.” Through the decades that followed, the character evolved into strikingly different versions of himself that reflect both his creator’s remarkable career and dramatic societal shifts in the nation he came to represent. Director Jeff Malmberg and Academy Award-winning producer Morgan Neville (who previously teamed up for “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”) examine the cultural significance of the nearly 100-year-old cartoon mouse. The documentary also features an exclusive animated short film, “Mickey in a Minute,” created by the legendary hand-drawn team from Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Mickey: The Story of A Mouse features legendary Disney animators Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn and Randy Haycock, as well as animation artist and Disney Legend Floyd Norman. Art historian Carmenita Higginbotham, director of Walt Disney Archives Rebecca Cline and archivist Kevin Kern are also featured in the film. With exclusive archival footage and interviews, the film examines the ongoing artistic and cultural significance — as well as the controversies — surrounding the nearly 100-year-old cartoon mouse. The film features a brand new Walt Disney Animation Studios hand-drawn animated short, “Mickey in a Minute,” and documents its animation process by Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn and Randy Haycock.