Most older people remember "The Mickey Mouse Club" variety television show that aired on ABC from 1955 to 1996. That was more than 40 years of seeing teens dance and sing as they spelled Mickey Mouse together. The show returned from 1977 to 1979 on the same network and the Disney Channel from 1989 to 1996 as the network's first television show. It seems like the club will continue to be around because it returned on social media last month.
Evolution of 'The Mickey Mouse Club'
Most people don't know that prior to the television version of the club, there was a theater-based club in the 1930s with performances in more than 30 theaters.
After Walt Disney brought the club to television, he made enough money to finance the building of his first Disneyland theme park.
It was formatted to be a variety show for children consisting of a newsreel, a cartoon, music, and a talent show. What was really fascinating was the roll call where the teens wearing Mickey Mouse ears and shirts with their names printed in big bold letters would introduce themselves with so much pride. At first, the voice of Mickey Mouse was that of Walt Disney before it was replaced by sound effects.
When the show premiered on television in 1955, one of the original club members was the late Annette Funicello. She became the most popular Mouseketeer and was the only one selected by Walt Disney himself.
She died at the age of 70 in April 2013.
When the series appeared on television in 1994, it launched the careers of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera and some others. They are adults now, and most of them are married and have children of their own. More importantly, they all have successful careers.
The 2017 version of the club
The classic show was revived on September 8, 2017, with a new name and a new group of Mouseketeers. It is now called "Club Mickey Mouse." The name is not the only thing that changed. The series is more like a reality show instead of the variety show that most of the older generation had become accustomed to seeing.
The new club can be followed on Facebook and Instagram. Social media wasn't in existence during the Annette Funicello era.
"Club Mickey Mouse" can be seen on both social media and the Disney Digital Network. It has a new generation of eight members that include performers you have probably never heard of. However, you will get to know them just as you got to know Spears, Timberlake and their co-stars of the 1994 version.
What do think of the classic television variety show, "The Mickey Mouse Club" being on social media as "Club Mickey Mouse" reality show?