Editing Mickey Mouse universe (section)

== Continuity development ==
The Mickey Mouse universe essentially originated with the debut of Mickey himself in ''[[Plane Crazy]]'' (1928). Although Mickey's stories included the character [[Pete (Disney)|Pete]], who was created in 1925, the world in which Mickey lives holds a [[Continuity (fiction)|continuity]] largely independent from earlier films. An exception to this was the reintroduction of [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]] in 2010 with the release of ''[[Epic Mickey]]''.

In 1930, Disney began a [[Mickey Mouse (comic strip)|''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip]] which greatly expanded Mickey's world. The stories then became a work of [[collaborative fiction]] with writers working in different mediums and different countries. This sometimes caused continuity discrepancies. For example, while Mickey and his friends largely live in the same contemporary setting, they sometimes appear in exotic settings, including [[period piece]]s (''[[Brave Little Tailor]]'', ''[[The Nifty Nineties]]'') and [[fantasy film]]s (''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', ''[[Fun and Fancy Free]]'').

The comics writers explained this discrepancy was to present the characters as "real" cartoon characters who are employed by Disney as actors. Walter J. Ong in his cultural research of Mickey Mouse and Americanism also agreed with this opinion. In short, characters are more human-like, featuring fewer animal features in their characteristics.<ref>Ong, W. J. (October 4, 1941). MICKEY MOUSE AND AMERICANISM [Editorial]. ''America'' '''65'''(26), 719–720.</ref> This understanding of the characters leading separate lives was welcomed by Walt Disney. When asked whether or not Mickey and Minnie were married, Disney replied that the mice were indeed married in their "private lives", but that they sometimes appear as boyfriend and girlfriend for "screen purposes."<ref>{{cite book|last = Holliss |first = Richard |author2=Brian Sibley |title = Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: His Life and Times |url = https://archive.org/details/waltdisneysmicke00holl |url-access = registration |year = 1986 |publisher = [[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Row]] |location = New York City |isbn = 0-06-015619-8 |page = [https://archive.org/details/waltdisneysmicke00holl/page/33 33] }}</ref> Also, in the World War II propaganda film ''[[The New Spirit]]'' (1942), Donald Duck fills out his income tax and lists his occupation as "actor", and the film ''[[Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers|The Three Musketeers]]'' (2004) includes a DVD bonus feature of the characters reminiscing on their experience filming the feature film.

Animation historian [[David Gerstein]] has noted that although the characters will appear in different settings and sometimes even change their names (''[[Mickey's Christmas Carol]]''), the characters are still themselves and behave in a way consistent with their natures.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160121135114/http://stp.lingfil.uu.se/~starback/dcml/chars/egmont-mmu.html The Mickey Mouse "Universe" Guide] by David Gerstein</ref>

Initially, [[Disney comics]] were produced in the United States. Over the years, demand for these comics eventually became so intense that stories were created in the United States exclusively for foreign consumption. Disney licensed its characters to foreign publishers. As a result, many Disney comics stories have been created by European or Latin American authors, resulting in more continuity discrepancies and local variations of the Mickey Mouse and [[Donald Duck universe|Donald Duck]] universes. Some characters have become more popular abroad than in the United States, while some appeared and were used solely in foreign stories.

Generally, Mickey Mouse series films are for entertainment purposes. Unlike traditional stories like [[Aesop's Fables]], Disney animation generally does not avoid adult or mature scenes. In ''[[Hawaiian Holiday]]'' (1937),<ref>Studios, W. D. (July 27, 2010). Hawaiian Holiday. Retrieved from https://m.youtube.com/watch?index=1&v=SdIaEQCUVbk&list=PLA831BC0E127BC123</ref> Goofy was in a scene of being in a grave. Disney arranged a laugh scene after that. Its choice of scene creation can be seen as a signature of the attention to entertainment effort.