Mickey Mouse Birthday Celebrated for 81st Time

Mickey Mouse birthday wishes are being sent today, though it may not be Mickey Mouse's birthday exactly. The official Mickey Mouse birthday is November 18, 1928, since it was when Steamboat Willie came out. Yet Mickey Mouse's real birthday may be six months earlier, when the then unknown mouse starred in a short called Plane Crazy. However, those little details mean little in the Mickey Mouse mythology, and so the mouse's 81st birthday is officially celebrated today by Disney.

The Mickey Mouse birthday comes 81 years after Steamboat Willie helped give birth to an empire. Every single famous, infamous, and historic conquest by Disney in the last eight decades would not be possible without Mickey. The mouse has become one of the top iconic symbols in entertainment and business history in America, all in only 81 years.

Although he is 81, Mickey Mouse's birthday still leaves him in pretty good shape. Since he is a cartoon and can't age, that helps as well. He is still the master of ceremonies in Disney World and all the other Disney parks, and he is getting set for another busy holiday season. Once Thanksgiving ends, he will likely have to start picking out Christmas gifts for Minnie and Pluto, if he hasn't already.

This latest Mickey Mouse birthday isn't exactly a milestone one, like last year's 80th anniversary. In addition, Google doesn't have any Mickey icons on its logo today, as the mouse had to share the birthday spotlight this year. Sesame Street spent a whole week celebrating its 40th birthday, with Google icons and all, so Google and some of the public may have overlooked Mickey's big day by mistake.

But Mickey's company has had a productive year since his more publicized 80th birthday. Disney continued to make Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers the biggest "tween" obsession other than Twilight, and even merged with Marvel Comics.