Mickey Mouse at Home

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 19, 23 January 1937, Page 15 (Supplement)

Mickey Mouse at Home

Mickey mouse is, as everyone knows, a good mouse. By that Ido not mean that he is particularly saintly, or that he is a prig; but simply that he stands for what is good in life rather than for what is bad. In a complex world in which human nature has gone sadly astray and in which greed, envy and animosity seem to predominate, he serves as a cheerful reminder that the simple, good things of life still do exist. His infectious laugh, his perky good humour, his quaint humility, and his steadfast ability to take it on the chin make him a perfect antidote to the . . . self-opinionated bores, and the economic depressions of this world.

It is curious that it should have fallen to the lot of an animated cartoon mouse to fulfil this role. Yet the fact that he succeeds in doing so is probably the main cause of his popularity. H** is a modern David gone out to fight the Goliath of oppression and depression, and the world cheers on its champion. He is an American ambassador of goodwill, roaming the world at large and speaking a language that all can understand. . .

Private profit in the Disney Studio is held to be the enemy of progross; so that whilst the studio staff receive high wages, nobody, least of all Disney him-

self, draws an income that can be called high by Hollywood standards. Moreover, although the studio has attracted a brilliant staff of artists, musicians, and others, nobody tries to push his own personality forward. All are content to work behind Disney, both because they respect his leadership and ability, and also because they realise that to attach a sense of human personality to a cartoon would be to destroy much of its attraction. —Sir Anthony Jenkinson, in “America Came My Way.”