The best clues to Walt Disney, the creator of Mickey Mouse, are to he found in a large building of white stucco located on the outskirts of Les Angeles just off Hollywood Boulevard. Mickey himself, his hand stretched out in welcome, is perched on top of an electric sing which announces that this is the Walt Disney studio. The courtyard is divided, in California style, into little sections of green grass. There is a ping-pong table in one corner, where, if it is the lunch hour, some people are playing. At the extreme right is a two-car garage; a miniature garage in which two very small sedans are kept. Name-plates proclaim that Mickey owns one of the cars and Minnie, his playmate and leading woman, the other.
The sound of a piano comes through an open windows. Somebody is playing the “Spring Song" with an exaggerated rhythm (taa-ta-ta-ta-tee-ta-ta-ta-taa-ta-tee) which would make Mendelssohn wince. On the walls inside the studio, in private offices as well as in conference rooms, are framed drawings of Mickey Mouse in every conceivable pose. Painted on one door in red and gold is a shield bearing Mickey’s coat of arms. The mystic words "Ickmay Ousmay" are inscribed on this heraldic emblem and they have puzzled studio visitors a good deal. But guests who recall a jargon almost universal among American children grin and translate the gibberish into “Mickey Mouse." This was the language whereby dark secrets were kept from inquisitive adults.
As a matter of fact, the two small automobiles are entirely serviceable and are used by the studio staff. The personification of Mickey Mouse, through coats of arms or by the use of his picture on every letterhead which leaves the studio, is of definite financial value. Walt Disney is that way; a curious blend of practicality and make-believe. One moment he will speak of the animated cartoons in which Mickey cavorts as a “product" offered for sale. The next he will be taking part In a conference at which some new story for Mickey is being evolved. He has a refreshingly unusual mind.
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