As a child weaned on Mickey Mouse myself, I share in John Updike’s inquiries to Mickey Mouse’s appeal. Is it really in the ears? Driving to Disney World every Spring Break since birth, the two perfect circles were the key to letting me know we were close to the vast region of happiness, carelessness, and bliss. The signs in the area are distinctly colorful and the two ears peek up behind all of them. It was the trip that I longed for by autumn because too me, it really was (and still is) the happiest place on earth. Why? You have no worries and everything is done in the spirit of fun and Disney!

Mickey is the icon of my haven, the prototype of this pleasure and excitement. Whether through cartoons, movies or ‘in person’ (at any of the Disney parks across the globe), Mickey Mouse represents contentment and joyful experiences, magic and harmless mischief. He can also relate to all ages, social classes and races on some level, so it is no surprise that his popularity has spread world wide. Updike questions this popularity and fascination of the lovable icon in his essay “The Mystery of Mickey Mouse” as well as the character’s future. Will the icon act as a fad and become just a cheerful memory? He also parallels Mickey to society’s ‘lower class’ and African-Americans. Perhaps they were the basis of Walt Disney’s creation: to reach out to those who are usually left out of the crowd, rather then to invent just another child’s role model (although he stands as a favored model) like Bugs Bunny, Felix the Cat or Garfield. I personally believe Disney might have had families in mind, or at least family bonding is one of the greatest outcomes. My family was able to bask in the sun and live in a land where everyone played a part in the magic for two weeks, but underneath the autographs and rides was true family bonding. This has to play a big part in the continuousness of Mickey’s appeal. I do wonder, however, if the family trip and all its memories are really the reason for loving the place so much, or if it truly is the mouse. We could go to Six Flags Theme Park and see the Looney Tunes characters instead, yet we never do. Given, some of the excitement does lie in the two day drive; but there really is something about Mickey Mouse, Disney World, and Disney as a whole.

Updike states it best in saying “the television program revived him for my children’s generation, and the theme parks make him live for my grandchildren’s. Yet survival cannot be imposed through weight of publicity.” Mickey has survived for many years and it makes me wonder what will keep him alive for my children. By merely watching cartoons on TV as a family, Mickey creates an atmosphere of familiarity. Seniors watch in nostalgia- of his fabrication, adults connect through his establishment, teens in maturing with Mickey and kids watch in amazement and awe as they only embark on a relationship with a mouse. Every age has been exposed to his lovable personality and it sticks within them all, but his publicity does not ensure his existence.

Updike discusses the popularity of Mickey Mouse, and not just in America either. Those in the smallest tribes of Africa base their hygiene and tattoos on the mouse. I’ve also heard that the two most known words around the world are Coke-a-cola and McDonald’s, but I bet that Mickey Mouse is high on that list. He is a major representative of the Walt Disney Company, which is a huge corporation like the others. He has remained one of the most admired characters since born in the 20’s so what’s to stop him from staying at the top? Other fads like Popeye and Heathcliff are still fairly well-known, but unlike Mickey, they have failed to become an icon. As Updike says, “an icon must be simple” and someone who “gets into scrapes through no fault of his own, [and] always manages to come up grinning”, as Walt Disney described his creation.

From an apprentice or tailor to a hero or prince, Mickey always comes out on top. He is a true renaissance man. He can do anything, be anybody and play any part. In his cartoons, he is a “wanderer” who takes on any and all tasks with no complaints. From this, he represents everyone. “Mickey [is] one of us” Updike states, with no age, class or ethnicity in mind. He has, however, favored the black Americans in such films as Dumbo and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The soul in the crow scene and the ghetto-like Toonville shine a light on the race as they were the lower class of the time. Disney also puts Mickey into an Arab role in Mickey of Arabia. Clearly Mickey does not only play the roles of white, rich Americans, perhaps a key to his overall appeal.

Mickey seems to also live our dreams for us, or as Updike puts it, “he [acts] out our fantasies.” Since he can be drawn into any situation, he can also magically come out a hero. The essay describes him as having “unsuspected skills and a reluctant heroism.” The ‘lower class’ Updike refers to as the main Disney audience and allusions are believed to never be able to become the hero or the rich success. Now they can through the creation of Mickey and his charismatic friends. This sides with Mickey being a part of all of us. He lives in our minds and therefore will continue living through those who encourage his existence. Not everyone favors the mouse though. There is always going to be those who dislike Mickey, I’ve already come across many in my short life. Yet I fail to see a time where the haters outnumber the fans. He has remained a top icon for almost a century. Fads don’t last centuries; I think he’s in a safe position although the animators and Disney staff have their work cut out for them. They have the job of imagining ways to keep the magic alive for future generations rather than relying on the old to allure kids into the Disney world and kids today are growing up faster then any generation before, not to mention their much lower attention spans. Nowadays the new cartoon show “House of Mouse” brings back old cartoons such as Clarabelle and Mortimer while bringing together characters from Disney animated movies. I personally love the show; it puts every lovable aspect of Disney into half an hour. Anyone who’s grown up with Disney movies, the Mickey Mouse Club and annual trips to Disney World would agree. This show can be watched by all generations with premium enjoyment, so it is an ingenious program to keep the mouse living on.

My entire family (okay, just those on my dad’s side) will remain Disney fanatics, as we all continue to make the annual journey half across the country just to partake in the magic. I will share the magic with my children as will my cousins. We own every Disney movie ever made and still watch them often, continuously adding to the collection. People will continue to wonder the appeal of Mickey Mouse as well as ponder his future. I will further investigate the appeal of Walt Disney’s most prime character. Maybe it is a family thing and maybe his popularity will keep him alive. Maybe it’s because he can relate to everyone while living out our dreams, or maybe, just maybe, “It’s all in the ears” (Updike 306).