Mickey: Sixty Years with You

(1987-Early 1990s)
Nicknames: "Sixty Years of Mickey with You", "Happy Birthday, Mickey!", "Mickey's 60th Birthday"

Logo: On a gray/white gradient background, we see a closeup of a blue filmstrip with circles forming into Mickey Mouse in the center of it. As Mickey animated and morphs into various incarnations of himself, the right and left of the strip shows the text "1928" counting up by itself until it reaches "1988", and the background changes into a green/white gradient background and a pink/white gradient background.The strip goes blank and zooms out to reveal a pink circle with a green banner at the center of it, and the strip below it, all on a yellow background. We see Mickey, in a tuxedo and a top hat, jump on the top of the filmstrip. He swings his hat out of the frame and winks at the audience. The words "SIXTY·YEARS WITH YOU" fade in the circle, while the banner reads "MICKEY", and the filmstrip shows a frame of Mickey from Steamboat Willie. Mickey then blinks his eyes twice.

Trivia: The animated bits of Mickey in his various forms are lifted from Steamboat Willie (1928), Thru the Mirror (1936) and The Little Whirlwind (1941).

Variants: This exists as both filmed and videotaped. This logo was repurposed for a Walt Disney Television ID (see the 4th logo on said page). A sped-up version appeared on a trailer for Oliver & Company, ending with Tinker Bell appearing, waving her wand to make the logo disappear. A short version exists that starts with Mickey just about to pose with the text on the circle and banner starting to fade in. After 1988, the logo was altered; the sides of the filmstrip at the beginning no longer have year marks and the pink circle now reads: "MICKEY•MOUSE". Below that reads: "PRESENTS A" (in a light blue color), and below that text: "COLORFUL Disney CLASSIC" ("Disney" in its corporate font in pink, the rest in rainbow colors).

FX/SFX: The entire logo, all hand-drawn animation.

Music/Sounds: An instrumental synth orchestral fanfare based on the Mickey Mouse Club theme song.

Music/Sounds Variants: The last note is held out longer in most versions; Mickey's Magical World being an exception. As this logo was repurposed for a Walt Disney Television ID, the long or short 1988 Walt Disney Television music was sometimes heard. On an Italian Super 8 print of Bambi, the logo is silent.

Availability: Ultra rare. The "Sixty Years" variant can be seen on a 1988 VHS of Mickey's Magical World and an Italian Super 8 print of Bambi. The post-1988 version was seen on a Japanese laserdisc of Mary Poppins and a Japanese VHS of Dumbo.

Editor's Note: Its excellent hand-drawn animation and monumental fanfare makes this a perfect way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse.