In 1928, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks worked together to create the famous character, Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney's very first animated cartoon was called Steamboat Willie using the character of Mickey Mouse. He was inspired by watching other movies like the The Jazz Singer and Steamboat Bill.

The 1920s was the decade of "The Beginning" for Walt Disney, marked by rapid innovation and the birth of his most legendary characters. In the early 20s, he created the Alice Comedies, a series of shorts featuring a live-action girl in an animated world. Following this, in 1927, he and Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, though Walt famously lost the rights to this character in a contract dispute. This setback led directly to the creation of Mickey Mouse in 1928. Mickey's first released film, Steamboat Willie (1928), was revolutionary as the first cartoon with fully synchronized sound. In 1929, Disney launched the Silly Symphonies series, starting with The Skeleton Dance, which allowed for more experimental animation and musical storytelling. This decade transformed Walt Disney from a struggling Kansas City artist into a Hollywood pioneer, setting the foundation for the Walt Disney Company (founded in 1923) to become the global entertainment juggernaut it is today.