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It was no accident that Mickey arrived with sound and music because music became the metaphor for his inner muse and the sine qua non of his existence. In his early cartoons, some of which are musical revues, he is wholly a musical creature—as much Fred Astaire as Charlie Chaplin. Hearing notes, Mickey cannot help but dance, sing, and make music himself, turning everything he spots into an instrument and converting reality into happiness. Even his relationship with Minnie Mouse is musically inspired; they literally make beautiful music together and bring joy and harmony, even fluidity, out of what is often threat and chaos. And this is also why the cartoons typically end with Mickey beaming or laughing, a chipper spirit, no matter what has befallen him. For all the subliminal attractions of his shape or his size or his sexuality, Mickey’s secret, the appeal of which is obvious and not limited to Depression America, is that he can always make things right in his head—just as Walt Disney, the escape artist, could. In the end Mickey Mouse was the eternal promise of cheerful solipsism.
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