"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."
-Walt Disney
"Mickey Mouse, to me, is a symbol of independence. He was the means to an end. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at a lowest ebb, and disaster seemed right around the corner. Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry. He provided the means for expanding our organization to its present dimensions and for extending the medium of cartoon animation towards new entertainment levels. He spelled production liberation for us." -Walt Disney
"All we ever intended for him, or expected of him, was that he should continue to make people everywhere chuckle with him and at him. We didn't burden him with any social symbolism, we made him no mouth piece for frustrations or harsh satire. Mickey was simply a little personality assigned to the purposes of laughter." -Walt Disney
"Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation." -Walt Disney
"Cartoon animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment, which can bring both pleasure and information to people of all ages around the world." -Walt Disney
"When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it's because he's so human; and that is the secret of his popularity." -Walt Disney
"Until a character becomes a personality, it cannot be believed. Without personality, the character may do funny or interesting things, but unless people are able to identify themselves with the character, its actions will seem unreal. And without personality, a story cannot ring true to the audience." -Walt Disney
"I try to build a full personality for each of our cartoon characters - to make them personalities."-Walt Disney
"Every spoken word, whether uttered by a living person or by a cartoon character, has its facial grimace, emphasizing the meaning."-Walt Disney
"The life and ventures of Mickey Mouse have been closely bound up with my own personal and professional life. It is understandable that I should have sentimental attachment for the little personage who played so big a part in the course of Disney Productions and has been so happily accepted as an amusing friend wherever films are shown around the world. He still speaks for me and I still speak for him." -Walt Disney
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