Editing Walt Disney (section)

===Creation of Mickey Mouse and following successes: 1928–1934===
To replace Oswald, Disney and Iwerks developed [[Mickey Mouse]], possibly inspired by a pet mouse that Disney had adopted while working in his Laugh-O-Gram studio, although the origins of the character are unclear.{{sfn|Thomas|1994|p=88}}{{efn|Several stories about the origins exist. Disney's biographer, [[Bob Thomas (reporter)|Bob Thomas]], observes that "The birth of Mickey Mouse is obscured in legend, much of it created by Walt Disney himself."{{sfn|Thomas|1994|p=88}}}} Disney's original choice of name was Mortimer Mouse, but his wife [[Lillian Disney|Lillian]] thought it too pompous, and suggested Mickey instead.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=112}}{{efn|The name Mortimer Mouse was used in the 1936 cartoon ''[[Mickey's Rival]]'' as a potential love-interest for [[Minnie Mouse]]. He was portrayed as a "humorous denigration of the smooth city slicker" with a smart car, but failed to win over Minnie from the more homespun Mickey.{{sfn|Watts|2013|p=73}}}} Iwerks revised Disney's provisional sketches to make the character easier to animate. Disney, who had begun to distance himself from the animation process,{{sfn|Thomas|Johnston|1995|p=39}} provided Mickey's voice until 1947. In the words of one Disney employee, "Ub designed Mickey's physical appearance, but Walt gave him his soul."<ref name="WDFM: MM" />

[[File:Steamboat Willie (1928) by Walt Disney.webm|thumb|thumbtime=0:26|The first appearance of [[Mickey Mouse]], in ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'' (1928)]]
Mickey Mouse first appeared in May 1928 as a single test screening of the short ''[[Plane Crazy]]'', but it, and the second feature, ''[[The Gallopin' Gaucho]]'', failed to find a distributor.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=116}} Following the 1927 sensation ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'', Disney used synchronized sound on the third short, ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'', to create the first post-produced [[sound film|sound cartoon]]. After the animation was complete, Disney signed a contract with the former executive of Universal Pictures, [[Pat Powers (businessman)|Pat Powers]], to use the "Powers Cinephone" recording system;{{sfn|Langer|2000}} Cinephone became the new distributor for Disney's early sound cartoons, which soon became popular.{{sfnm|1a1=Finch|1y=1999|1pp=23–24|2a1=Gabler|2y=2006|2p=129}}

To improve the quality of the music, Disney hired the professional composer and arranger [[Carl Stalling]], on whose suggestion the ''[[Silly Symphony]]'' series was developed, providing stories through the use of music; the first in the series, ''[[The Skeleton Dance]]'' (1929), was drawn and animated entirely by Iwerks. Also hired at this time were several artists, both local and from New York.{{sfnm|1a1=Finch|1y=1999|1pp=26–27|2a1=Thomas|2pp=109|2y=1994|3a1=Langer|3y=2000}} Both the Mickey Mouse and ''Silly Symphonies'' series were successful, but Disney and his brother felt they were not receiving their rightful share of profits from Powers. In 1930, Disney tried to trim costs from the process by urging Iwerks to abandon the practice of drawing every frame individually in favor of the more efficient technique of drawing key poses and letting assistants [[Inbetweening|sketch the {{Not a typo|inbetween}} poses]]. Disney asked Powers for an increase in payments for the cartoons. Powers refused and signed Iwerks to work for him; Stalling resigned shortly afterwards, thinking that without Iwerks, the Disney Studio would close.{{sfnm|1a1=Finch|1y=1999|1pp=26–27|2a1=Gabler|2y=2006|2pp=142–44}} Disney had a nervous breakdown in October 1931{{nsmdns}}which he blamed on the machinations of Powers and his own overwork{{nsmdns}}so he and Lillian took an extended holiday to Cuba and a cruise to Panama to recover.{{sfn|Krasniewicz|2010|pp=59–60}}
[[File:Walt Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm, year 1935.jpg|thumb|243x243px|Disney with film roll and [[Mickey Mouse]] on his right arm in 1935]]
With the loss of Powers as distributor, Disney studios signed a contract with [[Columbia Pictures]] to distribute the Mickey Mouse cartoons, which became increasingly popular, including internationally.<ref name="Time: Rodent" />{{sfnm|1a1=Finch|1y=1999|1pp=26–27|2a1=Gabler|2y=2006|2p=142}}{{efn|By 1931 he was called Michael Maus in Germany, Michel Souris in France, Ratón Mickey in Spain and Miki Kuchi in Japan.<ref name="Time: Rodent" />}} Disney and his crew also introduced new cartoon stars like [[Pluto (Disney)|Pluto]] in 1930, [[Goofy]] in 1932 and [[Donald Duck]] in 1934.{{sfn|Thomas|1994|p=129}} Always keen to embrace new technology and encouraged by his new contract with [[United Artists]], Disney filmed ''[[Flowers and Trees]]'' (1932) in full-color three-strip [[Technicolor]];{{sfnm|1a1=Gabler|1y=2006|1p=178|2a1=Thomas|2y=1994|2p=169}} he was also able to negotiate a deal giving him the sole right to use the three-strip process until August 31, 1935.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrier|1y=1999|1p=167|2a1=Gabler|2y=2006|2p=179}} All subsequent ''Silly Symphony'' cartoons were in color.{{sfn|Finch|1999|p=28}} ''Flowers and Trees'' was popular with audiences{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=178}} and won the inaugural [[Academy Award]] for best [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Short Subject (Cartoon)]] at the [[5th Academy Awards|1932 ceremony]]. Disney had been nominated for another film in that category, ''[[Mickey's Orphans]]'', and received an [[Academy Honorary Award|Honorary Award]] "for the creation of Mickey Mouse".{{sfn|Barrier|2007|pp=89–90}}<ref name="AA: 1932" />

In 1933, Disney produced ''[[The Three Little Pigs (film)|The Three Little Pigs]]'', a film described by the media historian Adrian Danks as "the most successful short animation of all time".<ref name="SoC: 3 Pigs" /> The film won Disney another Academy Award in the Short Subject (Cartoon) category. The film's success led to a further increase in the studio's staff, which numbered nearly 200 by the end of the year.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=184–86}} Disney realized the importance of telling emotionally gripping stories that would interest the audience,{{sfn|Lee|Madej|2012|pp=55–56}} and he invested in a "story department" separate from the animators, with [[storyboard artist]]s who would detail the plots of Disney's films.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=186}}