Mickey Mouse's 50th Birthday

Credits

Descriptions by
Davidthelogohunter

Compiled by
Davidthelogohunter

Background

In 1978, Disney was celebrating Mickey Mouse's 50th Birthday. As part of the birthday celebration, Disney created a special animated logo, which appeared on thetrical releases and re-issues. Later, the logo was modified to be used as the logo for Disney's new home media division.

(1978)

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• 
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  UK variant
• 
  Italian variant
• 
  Textless variant

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Logo: A solid red Mickey appears with purple dashed outlines surrounding it. The Mickey starts to rotate. After a while, the text "Congratulating Mickey Mouse on his 50th Birthday!", in white and in a fancy font, zooms in. After a few seconds, it zooms in towards the screen until vanishing from sight, and the top and bottom halves of the 1978 Buena Vista logo wipe in over the logo.

Variants:

• On UK theatrical releases, the text reads "Happy birthday MICKEY On Your Golden Jubliee".
• On Italian thetrical and Super 8 releases, the text reads "Congratulazioni Topolino per il tuo Giubileo d'Oro".
• A rare textless variant also exists.

Technique: Rotoscoped cel animation.

Music/Sounds: A loud orchestral fanfare, composed by longtime Disney composer Buddy Baker.

Music/Sound Variants:

• On the DVD of The Cat from Outer Space, the Mickey's 50th Birthday variant is silent due to the fact they were unable to restore the audio.
• On a bootleg reel of the Italian Super 8 release Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse, a swooshing sound is used.

Availability: Appears on 1978 thetrical releases (The Cat from Outer Space, Return from Witch Mountain) and theatrical re-issues (Pinocchio, The Jungle Book). It also appears on Italian Super 8 releases.

Legacy: A very important and beautifly animated logo, which would later be used (in modified form) as the first logo for Walt Disney Home Entertainment.