There is so much love for all the Disney characters, but Minnie Mouse is a favorite for many. She's so adorable and lovable. She's also the only female in the Fab Five classic Disney characters. The others are Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Here are a few of our favorite things about Minnie Mouse.
Name:
Minnie is just a nickname; her full name is Minerva Mouse. This was revealed in 1942 in the comic story The Gleam. Minnie does have more of a ring to it, and it's easier to remember. She is rarely referred to as Minerva.
First Appearance:
Minnie made her first public appearance with Mickey. It was on November 18, 1928, in the short Steamboat Willie. This film is just under eight minutes and is currently available on Disney+. This wasn't their first appearance together, though. They had appeared together before that in a short called Plane Crazy, but that was a test film and not released to the public at the time.
Family:
We don't have much information about her immediate family, but we do know that her parents were farmers and her father’s name is Marcus. Her mother's name was never given. Minnie has an uncle named Milton Mouse, and her grandparents are Marvel and Matilda Mouse. She has another uncle named Mortimer Mouse, which was actually the original name that Walt Disney gave to Mickey. Minnie also has twin nieces; Millie and Melody Mouse.
Pets:
Did you know that Minnie had a cat named Figaro? Originally Pluto was also Minnie's dog, not Mickey's, in the short, The Picnic. He was a Minnie's dog named Rover.
Married or Not?:
Walt Disney did an interview in 1933 where he said Mickey and Minnie were married. In most movies, they aren't though. We will never know for sure, but we do know that Mickey and Minnie each have their own house.
Voice:
When you hear Minnie Mouse's voice, it is so cute, but the original voice was actually done by a man. That man was Walt Disney. He had so many talents and continued to be her voice for about a year. After that, Marjorie Ralston took over as her voice actor. Minnie has also been voiced by Russi Taylor, Marcellite Garner, Thelma Boardman, Ruth Clifford, Janet Waldo and Kaitlyn Robrock.
Russi Taylor:
The current voice actress of Minnie is Kaitlyn Robrock. She replaced longtime voice actress Russi Taylor. Russi was actually married to Wayne Allwine, who voiced Mickey Mouse for 32 years. Wayne Allwine died in May of 2009. Russi Taylor died in 2019 but was able to have her final appearance as the voice in Minnie in Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney's Hollywood Studios.