Read more about Minnie Mouse at: Wikipedia Official Site: Disney Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" (published January 19-May 2, 1942) by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minerva has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi Taylor. Both Minnie and Mickey were created in 1928 by Walt Disney. The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22 – December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her mother Margie Mouse, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of her grandparents Marshall Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Her best known relatives, however, remain her uncle Mortimer Mouse and her twin nieces, Millie and Melody Mouse, though most often a single niece, Melody, appears. In many appearances, Minnie is presented as the girlfriend/wife of Mickey Mouse, a close friend of Daisy Duck, Donald Duck's girlfriend/wife, and occasionally a friend to Clarabelle Cow. Minnie's sister, Mandie Mouse was a recurring character early on. In 1928, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse to act as a replacement to his previous star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. But Mickey could not fill the void alone. Among the few consistent character traits Oswald had developed before moving on to Universal Studios was his near-constant pursuit of potential sweethearts. So for Mickey to have a chance to emulate his predecessor at flirting, someone had to replace Oswald's many love interests. This replacement to Miss Rabbit, Miss Cottontail, Fanny and an uncertain number of unnamed nurses and dancers was to become Minnie Mouse. Minnie was designed in the fashion of a "flapper" girl. She was so probably intended to follow the trends of then-modern youth culture in an effort to add to her audience appeal. Her main outfit usually included a feminine bowler hat with a daisy sticking out of it, white gloves and a short dress. In the 1929 cartoon The Karnival Kid it was also revealed that she wears black stockings. Her shoes are probably her most distinctive article of clothing. For comedic effect, she wears over-sized high heeled pumps that are too big for her feet. Her heels often slip out of her shoes, and she even loses her shoes completely in The Galloping Gaucho. When she walked or danced, the clip clop of her large pumps were usually heard clearly and often went with the rhythm of the music that was played in the background. Another distinctive feature was her knickers. They were often visible under her short dress during the cartoons which exposed a square patch on her rear end. Along with Mickey, she was redesigned in the 1940s. Her hat was replaced with a large bow, and bows were added to her shoes as well. Her eyes were also given more detail. As the years passed, her look and personality became more conservative. This can be attributed to the fact that the culture of the country was becoming more conservative as a whole, and the flapper girl style was falling out of fashion. |