Historical Events  Movies
Mickey Mouse Suspenders

Alternate:
Mickey Mouse wore suspenders

Current:
Mickey Mouse did not wear suspenders

What held up Mickey Mouse's trousers?

Mickey Mouse made his full debut in the classic Disney cartoon "Steamboat Willie" in 1928.

Appearing today as a shaky black and white quaint historical curiosity, it's causing a stir amongst many people who are pointing to something it shows as a Mandela Effect. That is - he has no suspenders. They are certain he used to use them to keep his trousers up.

People are reporting that he definitely had them, not only because they saw them but because they distinctly remember what he did with them.  They remember him snapping them in time with the music as he turned the wheel, strutted across the deck and whistled, etc.

Steamboat Willie

Its not strictly true that Mickey Mouse's first appearance was in Steamboat Willie, but that was the first to be publicly released. He'd actually appeared in two earlier ones, Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho, both of which were silent, but they were considered as tests. It is considered a pioneer in the field of animation because it was the first to use fully synchronised sound using a click track, something we all take for granted today. Prior to this, the soundtrack was akin to the live piano accompaniment which went with screenings of the early silent black and white movies - a little hit and miss because the syncronisations drifted. The cartoon was voted number 13 in 1994's The 50 Greatest Cartoons, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1988.

That snapping action

The memory of how he snapped them is very specific. He is described as hooking both thumbs under each one, low down, and stretching his arms out wide before letting go, usually with a whistle. If he never even had suspenders, how come so many remember this exact action?