16 Facts About Steamboat Willie

Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.

Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but it was the first to be distributed, because Walt Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to produce one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.

Steamboat Willie is especially notable for being one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, as well as one of the first cartoons to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack, which distinguished it from earlier sound cartoons, such as Inkwell Studios' Song Car-Tunes and Van Beuren Studios' Dinner Time (1928).

Music for Steamboat Willie was arranged by Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis, and it included the songs "Steamboat Bill", a composition popularized by baritone Arthur Collins during the 1910s, and "Turkey in the Straw", a composition popularized within minstrelsy during the 19th century.

Steamboat Willie makes a stop at "Podunk Landing" to pick up a cargo of various livestock.

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However, the Song Car-Tunes failed to keep the sound fully synchronized, while Steamboat Willie was produced using a click track to keep his musicians on the beat.

Production of Steamboat Willie took place between July and September 1928, with an estimated budget of $4, 986.

Steamboat Willie said later in recalling this first viewing, "The effect on our little audience was nothing less than electric.

Steamboat Willie eventually settled on Pat Powers's Cinephone system, created by Powers using an updated version of Lee De Forest's Phonofilm system, without giving De Forest any credit, a decision that Powers later regretted.

Steamboat Willie premiered at Universal's Colony Theater in New York City on November 18, 1928.

Steamboat Willie was an immediate hit, while Gang War is all but forgotten today.

Steamboat Willie has been close to entering the public domain in the U S several times.

Under current copyright law, Steamboat Willie is set to enter the US public domain on January 1, 2024; however, later iterations of the character of Mickey Mouse will remain under copyright protection.

Legal experts noted that later versions of Mickey Mouse created after Steamboat Willie will remain copyrighted and Disney's recent use of the Steamboat Willie version as a logo in its modern movies may allow them to claim protection for the 1928 version under trademark law, as active trademarks do not expire.

Since the release of Meet the Robinsons, the scene of Mickey at the ship's wheel whistling "Steamboat Willie Bill" has been used for Walt Disney Animation Studios' production logo.

Steamboat Willie was inducted to the National Film Registry in 1998.