The History of Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse made her debut alongside Mickey Mouse in 1928’s Steamboat Willie. According to a 1993 interview, Walt Disney considered Minnie and Mickey to be a married couple, but depending on what the storyline called for in each film or short, the team would sometimes position her as Mickey’s girlfriend or simply his leading lady. In the1936 short, Mickey’s Rival, Minnie’s ex is revealed to be Mortimer Mouse. Minnie Mouse never had her own cartoon series, but appeared in around 70 cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Pluto. Following 1952’s Pluto’s Christmas Tree, Minnie took a decades-long break from Disney movies and didn’t return until 1983’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol. In 1986, Minnie finally got some special recognition when the Disney company declared it to be “Minnie’s year.” Since then, she’s appeared in a feature film, starred in several shorts, and been in video games. Interestingly, Minnie was originally voiced by Walt Disney himself, but the role was soon given to Marjorie Ralston, an artist who worked in the Ink and Paint department. However, several sources note that she was very shy and didn’t like playing the role, so fellow Ink and Paint department artist Marcellite Garner took over as the voice of Minnie Mouse. According to Disney records, her first performance was in the 1929 short, The Barn Dance. Garner provided the first consistent voice for Minnie Mouse and was later succeeded in her role by several other voice actresses, including Russi Taylor, who played Minnie Mouse from the mid-1980s until her passing in 2019, and Kaitlyn Robrock, who currently voices the famous female mouse. Today, Minnie Mouse remains one of the most iconic and beloved Disney characters and not only has she shaped Disney cartoons and media, but she is also a big part of the Disney Parks experience (some parks even feature an attraction called Minnie’s House!).