MICKEY LIVES ON BORN IN 1928, DISNEY'S MOUSE ICON HAS NOT LOST STEAM.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

A fish named Nemo, a lion called Simba and a space alien known as Stitch are among the popular animated characters filling The Walt Disney Co.'s coffers with huge box office grosses and home video sales.

But today marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of a mouse named Mickey, the most iconic animated Disney character of them all. The plucky rodent made his screen debut in the animated short ``Steamboat Willie'' in 1928 at New York's Colony Theater and remains the most familiar symbol of the Disney empire.

``Walt Disney would often say, `Let's never forget that it was all started by a mouse,''' Disney historian Jim Korkis said Monday. ``Mickey Mouse is still around, and I think we are going to see a rediscovery of him. He has become such a corporate icon that people have neglected to see that core underneath.''

Mickey will be feted at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. today at a celebration to be attended by Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner as well as Disney animators and actors who voice Disney characters.

As part of the festivities, 75 six-foot-tall statues of the famous mouse will be unveiled and displayed until April. They will then go on tour around the country before ending up at Disneyland in Anaheim a year from now to coincide with the theme park's 50th anniversary.

``Mickey Mouse was Walt Disney's first major success and was a good way to tell a story,'' said Katherine Greene, co-author with her husband, Richard Greene, of the Walt Disney biography ``Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney.''

``I think the character was a boyish kind of everyman who really reflected playfulness,'' she said.

Walt Disney made his mark in Hollywood with ``Steamboat Willie'' and the shorts featuring Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and the other classic Disney characters.

He went on to become a major force in the entertainment business with the 1937 release of ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' - the first full-length animated feature in color and first commercially successful film of its kind.

In the decade after the debut of ``Snow White,'' such enduring animated classics as ``Pinocchio,'' ``Fantasia,'' ``Dumbo'' and ``Bambi'' were released by Disney. Because of his burgeoning interests that, in addition to full-length animated films, included television and a theme park, most of the cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse ended after 1940.

``Mickey was very much a reflection of Walt Disney and when he became involved in so many other projects, nobody could quite capture the spirit of Mickey without Walt there,'' Korkis said. ``He never considered him a mouse, he always considered him a young boy.''

``I think Mickey captured the imagination of the world because he reflected what people wanted to be: a good-hearted hero who was loyal and courageous,'' Korkis said.

``Mickey Mouse was that young boyhood personality doing everything boys from 8 to 80 wanted to do,'' he said, ``from rescuing princesses, beating up bullies, to putting on variety shows - all of those hopes and ambitions that young people have.''

In the 37 years since Walt Disney's death, the company that bears his name has grown to become one of the largest media conglomerates in the world with its motion picture studio, worldwide theme parks and ownership of the ABC television network along with several cable channels.

And while it was the animated Mickey Mouse that really began it all, Mickey's landmark anniversary comes at a time of some struggle for Disney's animation division. It has had layoffs at its Orlando headquarters and closed its Paris animation studio.

Last week Disney shut down production on its animated feature ``A Few Good Ghosts,'' which was to be a mix of traditional and computer-generated animation, citing creative problems.

Meanwhile, computer-generated animation of such films as ``Finding Nemo,'' ``Monsters Inc.'' and ``Toy Story'' made by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Disney have exploded at the box office and for the most part overshadowed hand-drawn animated titles.

``Anything produced by Pixar is going to be a huge hit and is computer generated, so it tends to skew the box office numbers in favor of computer- generated animation,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co.

The Disney-Pixar partnership has been a lucrative one, and there are two films remaining on their current pact, which expires in 2005. A new agreement beyond that date is being negotiated but no final agreement has been reached.

Although Disney suffered a colossal failure with traditional animation a year ago with the expensive box office bomb ``Treasure Planet,'' the studio is now enjoying solid success with ``Brother Bear,'' which grossed $63 million in three weeks. Disney also scored in summer 2002 with its hand-drawn ``Lilo & Stitch'' that took in $145.7 million domestically.

``It's still about the story,'' Dergarabedian said. ``I don't think kids care whether a movie is traditionally drawn or computer drawn as long as the end result of the screen is strong.''

Disney has scored even better on the booming home-video front, not only with its box office hits but with a steady stream of direct-to-video titles that sometimes are sequels to big screen hits.

But Mickey and the other early Disney characters have not been excluded from the DVD boom. Last year, Disney began releasing a series of titles under the ``Walt Disney Treasures'' banner that began with ``Mickey Mouse in Black and White,'' a disc that includes ``Steamboat Willie.''

``We have always done extraordinarily well with classic characters like Mickey and his friends; they are timeless,'' said Bob Chapek, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment. ``They represent the very best of the magic of the Disney brand whether it's a holiday special movie or a classic character movie. They are a sure bet in the marketplace.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

MAGIC OF THE MOUSE

Nov. 18, 1928: Just five years after Walt Disney establised Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Hollywood, Mickey Mouse makes his debut in the cartoon short, ``Steamboat Willie'' at New York City's Colony Theatre. It is the first animated film featuring synchronized sound, with Disney providing the voice and animator Les Clark providing the moving pictures. The film also introduces Minnie Mouse.

1930: Mickey Mouse comic strip comic strip debuts and the first Mickey Mouse book is published.

1934: Donald Duck debuts June 9 in ``The Wise Little Hen.''

1937: ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' the first full-length animated movie, is released.

1940: Disney Studio moves to Burbank. ``Pinocchio'' and ``Fantasia'' are released.

1941: ``Dumbo''is released.

1942: ``Bambi'' is released.

1950: ``Cinderella'' is released.

1951: ``Alice in Wonderland'' is released.

1953: ``Peter Pan'' is released.

1955: Disneyland opens in Anaheim. Television welcomes the ``Mickey Mouse Club'' to the airwaves. ``Lady and the Tramp is released.

1959: ``Sleeping Beauty'' is released.

1961: ``101 Dalmatians'' is released.

1966: Walt Disney dies.

1967: ``The Jungle Book'' is released.

1971: Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Fla.

1977: ``The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' is released.

1981: ``The Fox and the Hound'' is released.

1989: ``The Little Mermaid'' is released.

1991: ``Beauty and the Beast'' is released.

1992: ``Aladdin'' is released.

1994: ``The Lion King'' is released.

1995: ``Toy Story'' and ``Pocahontas'' are released.

1998: ``A Bug's Life'' is released.

2000: ``Fantasia 2000'' is released.

2001: Disney's California Adventure opens in Anaheim. ``Monsters, Inc.'' is released.

2002: ``Lilo & Stitch'' is released.

2003: ``Finding Nemo'' is released.

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MAGIC OF THE MOUSE (see text)