Here's Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, which was released 80 years ago today. It was the first cartoon with a full, synchronized soundtrack and introduced Mickey Mouse to the world. This is the full version, complete with the scene of Mickey swinging a cat around by its tail and making music by squeezing some piglets. (These scenes were cut out in later years because of suggested animal cruelty.)

I was never crazy about Mickey Mouse as a kid; his helium voice kinda freaked me out, and he seemed boringly unfunny, and lacking in personality, compared to other characters like Donald Duck and Goofy. (And, let's face it: Minnie was a nag and a tramp.) But, this is where it all started, 80 years ago.

Cartoons have gotten a lot better.