Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse has been discovered on Mercury!NASA's Messenger probe has been orbiting Mercury since last March and delivered more than 100,000 images of the planet -- and this is the one we get excited about. Messenger is the first spacecraft ever to orbit the planet closest to the sun. As NASA notes, this groundbreaking mission has given scientists information on the topography of the planet and the mysterious deposits at its permanently shadowed poles, as well as data on the structure of the planet's core.

A hand-drawn, black-and-white Mickey Mouse animated short film will debut June 11 at the Annecy Animation Festival in Annecy, France, Walt Disney Animation Studios announced Tuesday. The vintage-feeling short, which is called "Get a Horse," features the voice of Walt Disney as Mickey Mouse. The Burbank studio released a logline describing the short as "never before seen," but a studio spokeswoman, when asked if the short is newly made, refused to comment.  PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments "Get a Horse," the release said, "follows Mickey, his favorite gal pal Minnie Mouse and their friends Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow as they delight in a musical wagon ride -- until Peg-Leg Pete shows up and tries to run them off the road.

Disneyland had to close its gates for several hours during its 24-hour Leap Day celebration when after-work crowds overwhelmed the Anaheim theme park. Traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway was backed up for four miles Wednesday night as the main Disneyland parking structure swelled to near-capacity and frustrated visitors sat in gridlock on streets leading to the park. The 24-hour Leap Day event, which ran from 6 a.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday, saw more than 3,000 Disney fans lining up 10 hours before the gates opened in hopes of getting free commemorative Mickey Mouse ears.

Annette Funicello, the dark-haired darling of TV's “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s who further cemented her status as a pop-culture icon in the '60s by teaming with Frankie Avalon in a popular series of “beach” movies, died Monday. She was 70. Funicello, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1987 and became a spokeswoman for treatment of the chronic, often-debilitating disease of the central nervous system, died at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, Walt Disney Co. spokesman Howard Green said.

Breaking a wicked stepmother's curse, Disneyland's fairytale princesses will be whisked away from their crowded one-room temporary home in 2013 and magically transported to a spacious new storybook village more befitting of their royal lineage. Blame Rapunzel for the extreme home makeover after Disney's newest princess moved into her own brand-new Fantasyland home in 2010 and immediately drew hour-plus lines to her "Tangled" meet-and-greet location. In a fit of jealous rage, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty demanded an upgrade from their windowless, doorless and roofless slapdash digs in an old converted theater.

That's no moon -- it's a space station! Disney's more than $4-billion acquisition of Lucasfilm topped the Consumer Confidential segment on KTLA-TV today. Is this a good thing for "Star Wars" fans? Could be. Or it could be a new set of mouse ears on R2-D2. We also looked at the cost of Sandy, and how the storm prompted a surge in Netflix viewing.    

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - California's delegates to the RNC began trickling into their balmy beachfront resort here Friday, finding gift bags full of swag upon their arrival. Among the contents: rice, walnuts and olive oil from California producers, a campaign Barbie, a flag pin in the shape of Mickey Mouse and a red T-shirt sporting a large sequined elephant. And some practical aids to get them through the next six days that will include not only official Republican Party business but many, many parties - packets of Ibuprofen and vials of 5-hour Energy.

Wayne Allwine, a Walt Disney Studios voice-over artist who was the voice of Mickey Mouse for more than three decades, has died. He was 62. Allwine, an Emmy Award-winning former sound effects editor and foley artist, died of complications of diabetes early Monday morning at UCLA Medical Center, said his voice-over artist wife, Russi Taylor. The Glendale couple had a unique distinction: In 1991, Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, married Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse.

So Anaheim City Councilman William D. Ehrle thinks that accepting free Disneyland and game tickets, parking and who knows what else is an extension of his duties as an elected official ("Officials Were Warned About Gift Limits in Anaheim," April 4). Well, after I finished laughing, I figured what the heck. Put me on the list for all of these freebies. I'll look on them as an extension of my duties as a voter and taxpayer in the city of Anaheim. By the way, does Jackie Autry know she's giving out all these free passes?

Dozens of children playing in a courtyard here froze in their tracks when the adult voice rumbled down from an upper-story apartment: "It's time for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck." Moments later the courtyard was empty of both adults and children. They had rushed to tune in to the week's adventures of their favorite cartoon characters. The scene repeats itself across China every Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

Disney's frenetic live-action/animated comedy "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, earning more than $156 million. The comedy won three Academy Awards and transformed its lead, British actor Bob Hoskins, into a bona fide Hollywood star. But more importantly, the film marked the first time beloved animated characters from rival studios - such as Disney's Mickey Mouse and Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny - appeared together. The traditionally hand-drawn animated film heralded a renewed appreciation of the Golden Age of animation and spawned the modern-era of animation, especially at Disney.

Mickey Mouse will serve as a mischievous tour guide on a musical journey through a magical map in a new stage show coming May 25 to Disneyland's Fantasyland Theatre. "Mickey and the Magical Map" casts the title character in his classic role of sorcerer's apprentice from "Fantasia" in a 25-minute musical featuring songs from half a dozen Disney animated films. Spoiler alert: What follows is a fairly detailed summary of the show. For those who wish to be surprised when the musical opens at the renovated outdoor amphitheater, consider yourself forewarned.

Bonnie Lynn Fields, who danced and sang her way into pop-culture posterity as one of Walt Disney's Mouseketeers, died Saturday in Richmond, Ind. She was 68. Fields, a heavy smoker earlier in her life, was diagnosed with throat cancer about two years ago, according to her friend and former student Emily Kay Tillman. The South Carolina native was 12 when she was offered a prized slot on "The Mickey Mouse Club," the children's variety show that launched the careers of Annette Funicello and others.

That's no moon -- it's a space station! Disney's more than $4-billion acquisition of Lucasfilm topped the Consumer Confidential segment on KTLA-TV today. Is this a good thing for "Star Wars" fans? Could be. Or it could be a new set of mouse ears on R2-D2. We also looked at the cost of Sandy, and how the storm prompted a surge in Netflix viewing.    

It's hard to fathom that Saddam Hussein inspired a fashion trend. But he did for Madeleine Albright, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and secretary of State under President Clinton. It was after the first Gulf War, after she criticized Hussein during U.S. sanctions against Iraq, that a poem published in the government-controlled Baghdad press referred to her as an "unparalleled serpent. " She wore a golden snake pin to her next meeting with Iraqi officials, and a tradition was born.

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - California's delegates to the RNC began trickling into their balmy beachfront resort here Friday, finding gift bags full of swag upon their arrival. Among the contents: rice, walnuts and olive oil from California producers, a campaign Barbie, a flag pin in the shape of Mickey Mouse and a red T-shirt sporting a large sequined elephant. And some practical aids to get them through the next six days that will include not only official Republican Party business but many, many parties - packets of Ibuprofen and vials of 5-hour Energy.

For about an hour Saturday, a group of a dozen persons picketed the newsstand on the northwest corner of Van Nuys and Victory boulevards, protesting that young children can stand there and read pornography. It was a small battle in a long war, fought almost out of sight. As usual, it was to no conclusion.

Mickey Mouse has been discovered on Mercury!NASA's Messenger probe has been orbiting Mercury since last March and delivered more than 100,000 images of the planet -- and this is the one we get excited about. Messenger is the first spacecraft ever to orbit the planet closest to the sun. As NASA notes, this groundbreaking mission has given scientists information on the topography of the planet and the mysterious deposits at its permanently shadowed poles, as well as data on the structure of the planet's core.

Disneyland had to close its gates for several hours during its 24-hour Leap Day celebration when after-work crowds overwhelmed the Anaheim theme park. Traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway was backed up for four miles Wednesday night as the main Disneyland parking structure swelled to near-capacity and frustrated visitors sat in gridlock on streets leading to the park. The 24-hour Leap Day event, which ran from 6 a.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday, saw more than 3,000 Disney fans lining up 10 hours before the gates opened in hopes of getting free commemorative Mickey Mouse ears.