Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Pal Pluto, directed by Burt Gillett, is released. Pluto rescues several tiny kittens from drowning but then becomes jealous of the way they are welcomed into Mickey's home. It is the first appearance of Pluto's shoulder angel and devil (who'll pop up again in future shorts). Animation credits include Johnny Cannon, Les Clark, Frenchy de Tremauden and Norm Ferguson.
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Disneyland's Satellite View of America, originally called Space Station X-1 when the park first opened in 1955, closes. It will be replaced by The Art of Animation the following May.
The brand new cruise ship Disney Fantasy sets sail for New York with a fireworks salute on its first voyage after sea trials in January. The Fantasy was built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenberg, Germany, the second of two new ships for the Disney Cruise Line, to be based in Port Canaveral, Florida. The ship will make its inaugural voyage from Port Canaveral to the Caribbean on March 31.
Disney's animated feature film Cinderella is released. The twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. When Cinderella's wicked stepmother Lady Tremaine prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother. Ilene Woods supplies the voice for Cinderella and Eleanor Audley (the future voice of Madame Leota for the Haunted Mansion attraction) is the voice of Lady Tremaine. Mike Douglas (future talk show host) is the un-credited singing voice of Prince Charming. For the first time, Disney has turned to Tin Pan Alley song writers to write the music, which includes "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" and "So This Is Love." (Cinderella will be one of the top grossing films of 1950 and be nominated for 3 Academy Awards.)
The Disney Mickey Mouse short The Little Whirlwind is released. Minnie wants Mickey to clean up the yard or else he won't get a piece of her freshly baked cake. Mickey cleans the yard but then wrecks it trying to get rid of a pesky tornado! This short features Thelma Boardman as the voice of Minnie for the first time. Check out the link below to view the short. Disney debuts its new Disney XD with the launch of the Disney XD network and DisneyXD.com. The new brand is aimed at boys ages 6-14 and features content focusing on the themes of adventure, accomplishment, gaming, music and sports. Among the action-adventure series premiering on this day is Aaron Stone starring Kelly Blatz as a teenage boy who masters an online game.
Walt Disney Productions files an application for a trademark of "Mickey Mouse" for use in books and newspaper comic strips.
Mickey's Toontown Fair at Walt Disney World, a section of the Magic Kingdom that started as Mickey's Birthday Land in 1988, shuts its gates for good at the end of this day. The area is needed for the ongoing Fantasyland expansion project. The Barnstormer attraction is scheduled to remain (but with a new name and theming), but the rest of Toontown will fade into Disney history.
Robert A. Iger is born on Long Island, New York. After finishing his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College, Iger began his career in entertainment media at the American Broadcasting Company, where he worked from 1974 to 1999. On February 25, 1999, Disney named Iger president of Walt Disney International. In 2005 he was named President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company (the sixth CEO in Disney history).
The Walt Disney Company re-acquires the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit back from NBC Universal. ESPN's parent company traded the contract of NFL play-by-play analyst Al Michaels to NBC Universal in exchange for various sports considerations and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
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