Disney's Mickey Mouse turns 80 today

He turns 80 this year, but you'd never know it by looking at him. Mickey Mouse is still as sprightly as ever, with not even a laugh line to show his age. Mickey's come a long way since his turn as a deckhand in "Steamboat Willie" on this day in 1928.

Back then, the Disney studio's hopes were pegged to the mischievous rodent. They hoped he would bring the company success after the rights to Walt Disney's first successful character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, were sold to another studio by its distributors.

Walt sketched a mouse -- who looked an awful lot like his predecessor, Oswald -- and his wife, Lilly, christened the mouse Mickey. (Without Lilly's quick thinking, we'd be celebrating the 80th birthday of Mortimer Mouse.)

Mickey was a hit, and soon he had a band of buddies with whom he got into all kinds of scrapes and messes. (He never officially married Minnie Mouse, but they're still the world's most famous animated couple.)