Mickey Mouse’s first feature-length film appearance was in Fantasia, released in 1940.
Fantasia premiered in New York on November 13, 1940. It is an anthology film built from animated segments set to classical music, with live-action introductions and commentary by conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mickey stars in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, one of the film’s most famous segments.
In that sequence, Mickey plays an apprentice who uses enchanted magic to make a broom carry water. He loses control of the spell and creates a flood of magically animated brooms before the sorcerer returns. Mickey’s apprentice costume and pointed hat became strongly associated with the character.
Mickey had already appeared in many short films before Fantasia. The film therefore marks his first feature-length appearance, not his first appearance on screen. Fantasia was also unusual for its ambitious use of stereophonic sound and its presentation as a concert-like cinematic experience.