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The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by the late Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised for four seasons, from 1955 to 1959, by ABC. This original run featured a regular, but ever-changing cast of mostly teen performers. ABC broadcast reruns weekday afternoons during the 1958–1959 season, airing right after American Bandstand. The show was revived three times after its initial 1955–1959 run on ABC, first from 1977 to 1979 for first-run syndication as The New Mickey Mouse Club, then from 1989 to 1996 as The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (also known to fans as MMC from 1993 to 1996) airing exclusively on cable television's The Disney Channel, and again in 2017 with the moniker Club Mickey Mouse airing exclusively on internet social media. It ended in 2018.
The character of Mickey Mouse appeared in every show, not only in vintage cartoons originally made for theatrical release, but also in the opening, interstitial, and closing segments made especially for the show. In both the vintage cartoons and new animated segments, Mickey was voiced by his creator Walt Disney (Disney had previously voiced the character theatrically from 1928 to 1947 before being replaced by sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald).
Before the TV series
The first official theater-based Mickey Mouse Club began on January 11, 1930, at the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park, California, with 60 theaters hosting clubs by March 31. The Club released its first issue of the Official Bulletin of the Mickey Mouse Club on April 15, 1930. By 1932, the club had one million members, and in 1933 its first UK club opened at Darlington’s Arcade Cinema. In 1935, Disney began to phase out the club.
1955–1959 show
The Mickey Mouse Club was hosted by Jimmie Dodd, a songwriter and the Head Mouseketeer, who provided leadership both on and off the screen. In addition to his other contributions, he often provided short segments which encouraged younger viewers to make the right moral choices. These little homilies became known as "Doddisms". Roy Williams, a staff artist at Disney, also appeared in the show as the Big Mouseketeer. Williams suggested that the Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears should be worn by the show's cast members. He helped create these ears, along with Chuck Keehne, Hal Adelquist, and Bill Walsh.
The main cast members were called Mouseketeers, and they performed in a variety of musical and dance numbers, as well as some informational segments. The most popular of the Mouseketeers constituted the so-called Red Team, which was kept under contract for the entire run of the show (1955–1959).
Music
The opening theme, "The Mickey Mouse March", was written by the show's primary adult host, Jimmie Dodd. It was also reprised at the end of each episode, with the slower "it's time to say goodbye" verse. A shorter version of the opening title was used later in the series, in syndication, and on Disney Channel reruns. Dodd also wrote many other songs used in individual segments throughout the series.
Show themes
Each day of the week had a special show theme, which was reflected in the several segments. The themes were:
Monday – Fun with Music Day
Tuesday – Guest Star Day
Wednesday – Anything Can Happen Day
Thursday – Circus Day
Friday – Talent Round-up Day
Scheduling and air times
The series ran on ABC Television for an hour each weekday in the 1955 and the 1956 seasons (from 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET), and only a half-hour weekdays in 1957, the final season to feature new programming. Although the show returned for a 1958 season and these programs were repeats from the first two seasons, recut into a half-hour format. The Mickey Mouse Club was featured on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Walt Disney's Adventure Time, featuring reruns of The Mickey Mouse Club serials and several re-edited segments from Disneyland and Walt Disney Presents, appeared on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Cancellation
Although the show remained popular, ABC decided to cancel it after its fourth season ended, because Disney and the ABC network could not come to terms for its renewal. The cancellation of the show in September 1959 was attributed to several factors: the Disney studios did not explain high profit margins from merchandise sales, sponsors were uninterested in educational programming for children, and many commercials were needed to pay for the show. After canceling The Mickey Mouse Club, ABC also refused to let Disney air the show on another network. Walt Disney filed a lawsuit against ABC, and won the damages in a settlement, the following year; however, he had to agree that both the Mickey Mouse Club and Zorro could not be aired on any major network. This left Walt Disney Presents (initially titled Disneyland, later retitled Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color when it moved to NBC) as the only Disney series which was left on prime time until 1972 when The Mouse Factory went on the air. Although it would not air on ABC again, Disney ran it on the Disney Channel's "Vault Disney" block from 1998 to 2002.
Australian tour
Although the series had been ended in America, many members of the cast assembled for highly successful tours of Australia in 1959 and 1960. The television series was very successful in Australia and was still running on Australian television. The cast surprised Australian audiences, as by then they had physically matured and in some cases, bore little resemblance to the cast of youths with whom Australians were so familiar. Mainstream television did not reach Australia until 1956, so the series screened well into the 1960s when the back catalog expired.
Syndication
In response to continuing audience demand, the original Mickey Mouse Club went into edited syndicated half-hour reruns that enjoyed wide distribution starting in the fall of 1962, achieving strong ratings especially during its first three seasons in syndicated release. Because of its popularity in some markets, a few stations continued to carry it into 1968 before the series was finally withdrawn from syndication. Some new features were added such as Fun with Science or "Professor Wonderful" (with scientist Julius Sumner Miller) and Marvelous Marvin in the 1964–1965 season; Jimmie Dodd appeared in several of these new segments before his death in November 1964. Several markets expanded the program back to an hour's daily run time during the 1960s repeat cycle by adding locally produced and hosted portions involving educational subjects and live audience participation of local children, in a manner not unlike Romper Room.
In response to an upsurge in demand from baby boomers entering adulthood, the show again went into syndicated reruns from January 20, 1975, until January 14, 1977. It has since been rerun on cable specialty channels Disney in the United States and Family in Canada. The original Mickey Mouse Club films aired five days a week on The Disney Channel from its launch in 1983 until the third version of the series began in 1989. The last airing of the edited 1950s material was on Disney Channel's Vault Disney from 1997 to September 2002. During the baseball seasons in 1975 and 1976, WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois, aired the show on a delayed basis due to Cubs baseball coverages.
Streaming
In early 2020, the first week of the Mickey Mouse Club and the first Spin and Marty serial have been added to Disney's new streaming platform Disney+.
In 1977, Walt Disney Productions revived the concept, but modernized the show cosmetically, with a disco re-recording of the theme song and a more ethnically diverse group of young cast members. The sets were brightly colored and simpler than the detailed black and white artwork of the original. Like the original, nearly every day's episode included a vintage cartoon, though usually in color from the late 1930s onward. The 1977 Mouseketeers were part of the halftime show of Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977.
Serials
Serials were usually old Disney movies, cut into segments for twice-weekly inclusion. Movies included Third Man on the Mountain, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and its sequel The Monkey's Uncle (both starring Tommy Kirk), Emil and the Detectives (retitled The Three Skrinks), Tonka (retitled A Horse Called Comanche), The Horse Without a Head (about a toy horse), and Toby Tyler (starring Kevin Corcoran). In addition, one original serial was produced, The Mystery of Rustler's Cave, starring Kim Richards and Robbie Rist. Often shown were scenes from animated Disney films, from Snow White to The Jungle Book billed as "Mouseka Movie Specials".
Theme days were:
Monday: Who, What, Why, Where, When and How
Tuesday: Let's Go
Wednesday: Surprise
Thursday: Discovery
Friday: Showtime (at Disneyland, with performers usually at Plaza Gardens)
Syndication
The series debuted on January 17, 1977, on 38 local television stations in the United States, and by June of that same year, when the series was discontinued, about 70 stations in total had picked up the series. Additional stations picked up the canceled program, which continued to run until January 12, 1979; 130 new episodes, with much of the original material repackaged and a bit of new footage added, and a shortened version of the theme song, was produced to start airing September 5, 1977. Since the 1970s, the series has aired only briefly in reruns. Like its 1950s predecessor, the 1989/1990s series had DVD releases of select episodes in July 2005. On November 20, 1977, "The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World" was shown on The Wonderful World of Disney. WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois, also aired this version on a delayed basis in 1977 and 1978 during the Cubs baseball season due to game coverages. Action for Children's Television successfully got the show canceled because of their objections to the types of commercials that aired during the program.
Theme song and soundtrack
The lyrics of the "Mickey Mouse Club March" theme song were slightly different from the original, with two additional lines: "He's our favorite Mouseketeer; we know you will agree" and "Take some fun and mix in love, our happy recipe".
A new rendition of the "Mickey Mouse Club March" was made later on in 1999 by Mannheim Steamroller, a contemporary band, in hopes of connecting new-age children and their parents who watched the Mickey Mouse Club.
Distribution
This incarnation was not distributed by Disney only; while Disney did produce the series, it was co-produced and distributed by SFM Entertainment, which also handled 1970s-era syndication of the original 1950s series (Disney since re-acquired only distribution rights).
1989–1994 revival: The All-New Mickey Mouse Club
Reruns of the original The Mickey Mouse Club began airing on The Disney Channel with the channel's 1983 launch. While the show was popular with younger audiences, the Disney Channel executives felt it had become dated over the years, particularly as it was aired in black-and-white. Their answer was to create a brand-new version of the club, one targeted at contemporary audiences. Notably, the all-new "club-members" would wear Mouseketeer varsity jackets instead of iconic Mickey Mouse ears. This show was called The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (also known as "MMC" to fans).
This version of the series is notable for featuring a number of cast members who went on to achieve global success in music and acting, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, future NSYNC band members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, Keri Russell, Deedee Magno, future En Vogue member Rhona Bennett, Nikki DeLoach, and Chase Hampton. Nick Carter was selected to join the program at the age of 12, however, he decided to join the developing boy band, Backstreet Boys.
Throughout the run, Fred Newman was the main adult co-host from the beginning of the series until season 6. In the first season, Newman was joined by other co-host Mowava Pryor. She was then replaced by Terri Eoff from the fourth season until the sixth season. By the show's final season, two original members Chase Hampton and Tiffini Hale became the co-hosts.
This was the first version of the club to have any studio audience, though a moderately small group.
Skits
The show was known for its sketch comedy. Some of the sketches played off famous movies, musicals, and even cartoons, as well as holiday-related skits. During the final season, some of the skits showed everyday occurrences experienced by teens, often teaching viewers a lesson on how to handle real-life situations.
Music videos
The series featured music videos of the Mouseketeers singing their versions of popular songs in front of a live studio audience or the Walt Disney World Resort. This became one of the most popular segments.
Live concerts and performances
A unique feature of the show was the Mouseketeers performing concerts on different days (which were usually taped the day before or in the summer, when the kids had more time). During the final season, the concerts were replaced primarily by live performances that featured singing and dancing in front of the audience.
Theme days
This version maintained the "theme day" format from the previous two versions. When Disney decided to revamp the show for its final season, the show was reduced to a single weekly airing, shown only on Thursdays. Although still produced as a daily series during the final season taping in 1994, The Disney Channel, after canceling the series once season 7 production had ended, decided to air the final season in a weekly format, therefore stretching the first-run episodes into early 1996. The final season premiered in May 1995, almost a year after production had started and more than 6 months after the series finale was taped.
2017–2018 American revival: Club Mickey Mouse
The Mickey Mouse Club was rebooted under the name Club Mickey Mouse with a new set of Mouseketeers in September 2017, and for the first time, the series was made available on Facebook and Instagram, rather than its original half hour to full hour format on television, and is more like a reality show than a variety show, with about 90% of its content being behind the scenes. This incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club featured eight Mouseketeers who ranged in age from 15 – 18. The series was produced by Disney Digital Network. No new episodes or music videos have been produced since 2018.
International revivals
A new version of the series debuted on July 23, 2015, on Disney Channel Korea. The format of revival included musical performances, games, and skits, as same as the original one in the US. The series had two pilot episodes and ten regular episodes.
The show ended on December 17 the same year.
(Wikipedia)
The Disney Store is an international chain of specialty stores selling only Disney related items, many of them exclusive, under its own name and Disney Outlet. Disney Store was a business unit of Disney Consumer Products with the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment of The Walt Disney Company conglomerate.
Disney Store was the first "retail-tainment", or entertainment store. The company had operated a number of store chains beyond its flagship Disney Store chain such as ESPN-The Store and the short-lived Mickey's Kitchen restaurant. Currently, the company operates the stand-alone stores, Disney Baby, Walt Disney Gallery and Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store. Disney Store was a partner for Disney at Harrods, which included a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon.
North America stores were owned and operated by The Children's Place's subsidiary Hoop Holdings from 2004 to 2008. The Oriental Land Company's subsidiary Retail Networks Co., Ltd. owned and operated the Japanese stores from 2002 to 2010. Since 2012, Disney departments exist in JCPenney in about 520 Penney locations.[2] In India, two licensed chains, Disney Jeans and Disney Artist, are owned and operated by Indus Clothing and Ravi Jaipuria Corporation respectively. At the 2019 D23 Expo, it was announced that Disney departments were opening at Target stores across the United States starting in October prior to the release of Frozen II. Disney Store items are also being sold on Target.com in addition to the ShopDisney.com website.
History
The first Disney Store opened in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California on March 28, 1987.
The first overseas Disney Store opened in November 1990 in London, England. Doug Murphy was hired by Disney Store as manager of new business development in September 1991, then promoted to head business development in April 1993. The first Japanese location opened in 1992 as did the first Australian store. In 1992, Disney Dollars were available at Disney Stores.
A showcase 11,000 square feet location was opened in the third quarter 1994 at the Post and Powell corner of San Francisco's Union Square. On October 24, 1994, its Disney Store (Hong Kong) Ltd. opened its first location in a New Territories shopping center. In 1996, Disney Store opened its flagship location in New York City. A Disney Store location opened next to the El Capitan Theatre in its building in 1998.
The first Walt Disney Gallery opened outside of the park next to the Disney Store at Main Place Santa Ana mall in California on November 4, 1994 and was operated by Disney Store. Doug Murphy was appointed vice president of the Walt Disney Gallery for Disney Store in December 1994.
In 2000, its Germany store in Munich was closed. In September 2000, Disney Store remodeled two stores, showing off prototype designs in Costa Mesa and Cherry Hill, N.J. These stores had more space and a high-tech look where theme park tickets could be bought via computer stations. When Disney indicated that this new model would be rolled out to 350 stores, they also indicated the closure of 100 locations worldwide. Analysts had indicated that Disney had overbuilt stores. By April 2001, 20 stores were redone in the high tech style when a new president, Peter Whitford, was hired.
In late 2002, two new prototypes were rolled out in Canoga Park and Torrance. In March 2002, Disney Stores Worldwide announced that the chain would be split into two types of stores, Disney Play and Disney Kids at Home. They also continued closing stores to reach 350 by 2005. The Disney Play stores would stock Disney character toys, plush dolls and costumes aimed at young children, while Disney Kids at Home targeted parents looking to purchase home furnishings, clothing and bed & bath products for their children. Some were expected to be a hybrid of both concepts. This roll out of the two store brands was expected to take 3 years. On March 31, 2003, its 16 Australian locations closed.
With lackluster films, high-priced and high-margin items, sales dropped while continuing to overly open stores. The company closed hundreds of stores in order to make a slim profit. Whitford left in 2003.
Licensed out North American and Japanese operations
Even though the Disney Stores maintained strong sales, mounting costs of sales and operation, and the loss of key executives who had driven the Disney Stores to success led The Walt Disney Company to convert the Disney Stores into a licensed operation. The Japanese stores were sold to The Oriental Land Company in 2002, while most North American stores were sold and licensed in November 2004 to The Children's Place.
The Walt Disney Company decided to keep the stores in Europe, along with the flagship store in Manhattan, which was converted into a World of Disney store run by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2004, while The Children's Place got the Chicago flagship location. On June 2, 2005, the Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store opened up in the El Capitan Building on the ground floor replacing a Disney Store.
Disney sold the chain for the cost of inventory to the Children's Place's subsidiary Hoop Holdings and signed a 15-year licensing agreement. Under the licensing agreement, a "royalty holiday" period existed until October 2006 to allow revamping of the stores. The royalty thereafter was 5% of store sales while online sales give Disney a 9% to 10% royalty. Hoop Holdings had to write off the cost ($48 million) of the equipment and property received in the purchase. On the weekend of March 24, 2005, Hoop Holdings opened its first Disney Store Outlet location.
The Children's Place intended to reinvigorate the Disney Store brand in the United States by expanding the number of stores, reducing initial selling prices. Previously, Disney Stores have been well known for inflated initial prices, which would be marked down substantially after just a few weeks. Also, The Children's Place opened Disney outlet stores, which have lower operating costs and typically have a high profit margin even though they have reduced prices versus mall stores. However, Disney's strict licensing agreement, which included the burden of being required to invest significantly in store remodels, contributed to the eventual decision by The Children's Place to exit the business.
Hoops saw progress with its strategy as open stores in 2006 for 11 month saw 15% increase in sales assisted by a better Disney box office results, and the success of Disney Channel's hit made-for-TV movie High School Musical. A store website would be up and running in April 2007. Hoops Retail Stores, DBA Disney Store and a subsidiary of Children's Place, commenced a 13-year lease of the Royal Laundry Complex in 2006.
On June 8, 2007, Disney Consumer Products and Children's Place settled a licensing agreement dispute, in which Disney indicated 130 unfixed breaches. Children's Place agreed to have a new prototype store design approved by Disney by the end of June with the prototype to rolled out to 234 existing stores by January 31, 2012, while 18 new prototype store would be opened by early 2009. At the Chicago flagship and about 165 other locations, Hoops would get maintenance up to date by June 30, 2008. Restrictions on Disney to give direct merchandising licenses to other specialty retailers was loosened.
In 2005, DCP has begun working with various Indian retail outlets to establish Disney Corners within the outlets to sell licensed merchandise. On 26 September 2006, the Disney Jeans brand was launched under license to Indus Clothing, who planned to open 30 Disney Jean stores by the end of 2007. In October 2006, DCP licensed the rights to Ravi Jaipuria Corporation for five years to set up 150 Disney Artist brand stores and wholesales under the Disney Artist brand, which sold Disney character-branded greeting cards, stationary, arts, crafts and party products in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives.
Reunited operations
Hoop Retail, the Children's Place subsidiary operating the Disney Stores, announced on March 20, 2008, that they were in talks to sell the Disney Store brand back to The Walt Disney Company. Hoop Retail filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. On May 1, 2008, 231 Disney Stores in North America once again became the property of Disney, operating under the Disney Consumer Products arm. James Fielding was named president of Disney Stores Worldwide. In Europe at the time, the chain had 107 locations. The San Francisco showcase location was closed in 2008.
Furthermore, Disney announced in November 2009 that they were planning a massive "re-launching" and re-branding of all Disney Store locations, spearheaded by Apple's Steve Jobs, who pioneered the Apple Retail Store concept. The new store look and feel was designed by New York-based design firm Pompei A.D. and was referred to as 'Imagination Parks', which was under consideration as a new name for the stores. This model was to be high tech and have several interactive activities. $1 million was the expected outlay for converting to this concept. The first of these stores were opened in May 2010 in Long Island, Madrid and Southern California. 40 more of this format were to open in 2011.
With the shuttering of the Disney Parks and Resorts-run World of Disney store in Fifth Avenue New York City in January 2010, a Disney Store replaced it on Broadway and became the flagship store. It opened late in the year capping off a 20-store opening.
The Oriental Land Company announced that it would sell its Japanese Disney Stores back to The Walt Disney Company. Disney took over Retail Networks Co., Ltd., an Oriental Land Company subsidiary owning the Disney Stores in Japan, beginning on March 31, 2010. Ireland's first store opened on May 18, 2011.
With president Fielding leaving, he was replaced by Molly Adams and Paul Gainer as executive vice presidents in charge of the global retail operation from their Disney Store senior vice president positions in May 2012. On September 6, 2012, the first flagship Disney Baby Store opened in Glendale, California. Regular stores were expected to add a Disney Baby section. In November 2013, Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store replaced DeWar with Ghirardelli Chocolate Company operating the soda fountain half of the shop.
In January 2012, Disney Stores indicated that the company would open 25 to 40 locations in China over the next three years, with the first store originally scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012. On October 25, 2013, Disney announced that the first Disney Store in Shanghai, China would open in 2015. On May 20, 2015, this Chinese flagship Disney Store opened.
On September 21, 2012, Disney announced a partnership with JCPenney (JCP) to open a Disney department with 750-to-1,100 square feet in about 520 Penney locations. JCP's online version opened on September 6 and the store within a store locations opened on October 4. With the success of these Disney shops and its exclusive merchandise in 2014, Penney added 44 additional stores and add 116 more in 2015 for a total of 620. The JCP locations were also promoting the Disney live action Cinderella film. This actually marked the second time Disney and JCP had team up on promoting a movie, while the first was with the animated movie.
Disney Stores reopened in Germany on November 9, 2017, with a single store on Neuhauser Straße in Munich where Disney Germany is headquartered. The store was permanently closed in June 2020. As a promotion for its sleep shop launch in August 2018, Disney Store operated, during the month, a bedtime hotline where Mickey Mouse and friends share a short bedtime message. In mid-November 2018, the Disney Stores USA headquarters moved out of the Royal Laundry Complex in Pasadena to Grand Central Creative Campus, Glendale, California.
With the announced closing of the only store in West Virginia in the Huntington Mall on May 26, 2019, family rallied at the store in an organized "cash-mob" event to save the store. However, The Herald-Dispatch reported that the mall rent was not the issue, but that the chain was systematically closing its stores.[53]
At the D23 Expo in August 2019, Disney announced that it would be partnering with Target to open 25 "shop-within-shops" inside of Targets on October 4.
Closure
In early March 2021, Disney announced that it would close at least 155 Disney Store locations in North America (USA and Canada) and focus more on its e-commerce operations. On May 5, 2021, Disney announced that it would close all the Disney Store locations in Europe (with the exception of a handful of stores such as the flagship store at Disney Village in Disneyland Paris). On June 18, it was announced that the original Glendale Galleria location would close on July 14, 2021 (among other 16 stores). On July 23, it was announced that most Canadian stores (with the exception of Toronto Eaton Centre, Vaughan Mills, and Scarborough Town Center) would be closing on or before August 18, 2021. The final 1990s "pink and green" location at Chicago Ridge Mall in Chicago Ridge, Illinois was also announced to be part of these closures. On August 23, it was announced that 59 stores would close on or before September 15, leaving only twenty-three stores remaining in the United States. It was also announced that the last three Canadian stores would close as well.
Disney Stores are located in malls and commercial areas in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Australia and Japan. A small number of stores were opened in Hong Kong however, the Australian stores were closed in 2003, and the only Disney Store in Hong Kong at this time is located in the Hong Kong International Airport, which was renamed The Magic of Hong Kong Disneyland and managed by Hong Kong International Theme Parks. Disney also operated approximately 15 smaller-scale locations in airports throughout the United States, which were all shuttered in the early 2000s.
Disney Store came back to Germany with a flagship store in Munich in November 2017.
In 2010, Disney started rolling out a themed retail business model and redesign led by Steve Jobs for its stores dubbed Imagination Parks. At the overhauled stores, shopping is more interactive with a large castle that has a mirror in which Disney princesses appear, and projectors have the leaves in the trees changing to Disney characters. The store's perimeter is a lined skyline with local landmarks and added Disney themes for the appearance, and the store is the center of "this big, magical world." Inside there is a pixie dust trail leading throughout the store. Many revamped stores get localized products and design touches. For example, Las Vegas has 35 items including showgirl Minnie and Elvis costumed Stitch.
Also, a daily opening ceremony takes place with music. A Cast Member selects a child to unlock the store by placing a giant key into giant padlock. This triggers Tinker Bell flying about inside as the darkened store's interior gradually increases its lighting as projected pseudo fireworks are set off.
(Wikipedia)