Walt Disney: from failure to household name“I just hope I don't lose sight of one thing: it all started with a mouse” - Walt Disney (Walt Disney) . Who is that mouse that started it all? Mickey Mouse, that's who started it all. What started? It kicked off the success of Walt Disney, its creator. Walt Disney can often be compared to some of the most successful industrialists for entertaining an unlimited number of people and for being one of the best people to sell their hard work (Crowther). The most important thing he did in his career was to bring his imagination into animation (Finch 127). Walt Disney overcame bankruptcy by creating Mickey Mouse, starting the Walt Disney Company, and creating the legendary Disney Parks. Walt Disney had cartoon characters before Mickey Mouse, but those characters failed Disney unlike his beloved mouse. Mickey Mouse came to Disney in March 1928 after his New York distributor, Charles Mintz, took the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Steamboat Willie) from him. Since Disney no longer had a cartoon character to produce, Mickey Mouse was born. The first time the general public saw Mickey Mouse was in an animated short called Steamboat Willie (Spurgeon). Steamboat Willie was a success and gave Disney its foothold in the animation industry. Since his success in Steamboat Willie, Mickey has starred in multiple cartoon shorts and has become a world-famous character. Mickey Mouse was the first big star of the Disney Studio (Steamboat Willie). Steamboat Willie started Disney and Mickey Mouse's career in the entertainment industry. Mickey's popularity led to the creation of his friends Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy (Crowther). The creation of these characters gave D...... middle of paper ......aw-Hill, 1980. Print.Smith, David R. “Disney, Walt.” Advanced World Book. World Book, 2014. Web. March 19, 2014.Spurgeon, Thomas. "Mickey Mouse." Advanced World Book. World Book, 2014. Web. March 24, 2014. “Steamboat Willie.” Primary sources of the American decades. Ed. Cinzia Rosa. vol. 3: 1920-1929. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 55-57. Biography in context. Network. March 24, 2014.Thomas, Bob. Walt Disney. New York: Hyperion, 1994. Print. "Walt Disney". Clever quote. Xplore Inc, 2014. Web. March 21, 2014. “Walt Disney Company.” Advanced World Book. Book of the World, 2014. Web. March 19, 2014. "Walter Elias Disney." Gale Encyclopedia of the Economic History of the United States. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale 1999. Biography in context. Network. March 24, 2014. Woodburn, Sherri P. “Disneyland.” The 1950s in America. Ed. C. Super John. 3 vols. Salem Press, 2005. History of Salem. Network. March 24. 2014.