Happy 70th Birthday, Mighty Mouse

Growing up I think just about everybody had a favorite cartoon character. Me, well I was a little confused. I spent much of my childhood trying to have a favorite, from Tazmanion Devil to Woody Woodpecker, I just could never settle on a favorite. I found I was always on the lookout for a certain character though. Mighty Mouse. Why? Because he was my dad's favorite character, so I loved him too. Today we celebrate Mighty Mouse's 70th birthday!

My dad was my role model growing up, so naturally I liked what he liked. He always talked about Mighty Mouse, had me watching Mighty Mouse videos, and even took me with him as he got a Mighty Mouse tattoo. Plus, there was a mystique about Mighty Mouse. He wasn't overly popular like some cartoon characters, so when you found a piece of Mighty Mouse memorabilia it was like finding buried treasure. From T-shirts, airplanes, and even a Mighty Mouse dollar bill, it was always a joy to find these things and give them to my dad as gifts.

It was on this day back 70 years ago in 1942 that Mighty Mouse was born. Originally called Super Mouse, in "Mouse Of Tomorrow," the superhero in the unlikely form of a mouse would go on to star in in 80 theatrical films produced between 1942 and 1961. These films later appeared on American television from 1955 through 1967 on the CBS television network on Saturday mornings. The character went through two later revivals, once by Filmation Studios in 1979, and again in 1987 at the hands of animation director Ralph Bakshi, who had worked at the Terrytoons studio during his early career.

Mighty Mouse also appeared in comics, in a television commercial about cheese, and has graced the front of Tom Scholz's (lead guitarist for Boston) guitar.

Even though he is over 44 years older than me, Mighty Mouse had quite an impression on my life, and I will always look at him with a smile. So for that, thank you Mighty Mouse, and happy 70th birthday!