Roy E. Disney is Born

It was on this day in 1930 that the late Roy Edward Disney was born. The son of Walt’s brother, Roy Oliver Disney, Roy Edward was a part of the Disney company from his earliest years, often being left at the Disney Studio to have his father babysit while his mother went shopping. Roy once …

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Still from Silly Symphony film Hell's Bells

Hell’s Bells is Released

On this day in 1929, just in time for Halloween, the fourth Silly Symphony, Hell’s Bells, fired up movie screens. This is the first cartoon directed by Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, Walt’s first business partner who also astoundingly animated the first Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts all by himself. Hell’s Bells takes place in the bowels …

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cel frame from cartoon Skeleton Dance showing four skeletons dancing in a row

The Skeleton Dance Premieres

On this day in 1929, the very first Silly Symphony was released. As Walt Disney once explained to audiences in his weekly television series, “The Silly Symphonies were started as an experiment. We used them to test and perfect the color and animation techniques employed later in full-length feature pictures like Cinderella, Snow White, and …

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Margaret Kerry

Margaret Kerry was Born

On this day in 1929, a pixie-like actress named Peggy Lynch was born. She began her acting career at the age of four, and as a teenager she was cast in the 1948 musical comedy film If You Knew Susie, with Eddie Cantor and Joan Davis. The popular singer, Eddie Cantor, decided that young Peggy …

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The Opry House

The Opry House is Released

If you’ve ever wondered when Disney first got its singing voice, it was on this day in 1929 with the release of The Opry House. The short marked the first real Disney musical—the prelude to Silly Symphonies and the foreshadowing of full-length animated musicals to come. In the film, Mickey Mouse, the proprietor and the …

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The Barn Dance

The Barn Dance is Released

Walt Disney directed the fourth Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Barn Dance, released on this day in 1929, and the film is notable for the way our beloved ambassador to the world endures a series of setbacks over the course of a seven-minute short. He arrives at Minnie’s home on a horse-drawn cart to escort her …

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Early animated film called Galloping Gaucho featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse

The Gallopin’ Gaucho is Released

It was on this day in 1928 that Mickey Mouse first galloped into theaters aboard his trusty ostrich in The Gallopin’ Gaucho. Although Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released in theaters, it was the third movie produced. The silent films Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho were the first two Mickey cartoon …

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Steamboat Willie Premieres

Hiya, folks! Today is a milestone in the history of The Walt Disney Company, because it is the birthday of Mickey Mouse. It was on this day in 1928 that the first Mickey Mouse cartoon short was released at the Colony Theatre in New York. This first synchronized sound cartoon is actually a parody, loosely …

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Hot Dog is Released

Before there was Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney created Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit, who appeared in a total of 26 cartoons between 1927 and 1928. The films were made for Charles Mintz, who contracted with Universal to handle distribution. Walt, however, would lose the rights to his rabbit character, and on this day in 1928, the …

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