Mickey and Minnie have the same birthday

In 1933, Walt Disney stated that Mickey’s birthday was October 1, 1928, since that was “the day on which his first picture was started,” waltdisney.org reports.

But in 1978, Dave Smith, founder of the Disney Archives, changed the date to November 18, 1928, the premiere of Steamboat Willie. The 1928 animated short officially debuted Mickey and Minnie Mouse to the world, which meant that date was Minnie’s birthday, too.

Tom and Jerry originally called Jasper and Jinx

In his first appearance in the 1941 cartoon “Puss Gets the Boot,” Tom was called “Jasper” by his owner, Mammy Two Shoes. Although Jerry is unnamed in the short movie, creator Willian Hannah stated that the original name of the mouse was Jinx.

The name “Tom and Jerry” was a suggestion by another MGM animator, although some say that the names were inspired by WW II, when the British soldiers were called “Tommies” and the Germans, “Jerries.”

While “Tom and Jerry” was certainly an improvement over “Jasper and Jinx”, no one seemed to have thought of changing the name “Mammy Two Shoes” to something more resembling a real name.

Tom’s name is, in fact, Thomas. In the second episode, “The Midnight Snack,” Tom is only called “Thomas” by Mammy, although in the title card he is identified as Tom. It is not known if Jerry is similarly a diminutive of Gerald or Jerome, as no one calls him by his name.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 22nd, 2020