STEAMBOAT WILLIE, the 1928 debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, remains one of Disney's most enduring and iconic short films, even today. Finding an original take nearly a century later can be difficult. We brought in one of our favorite artists, JJ Harrison, and he pulled off the feat magnificently, giving new life to a legendarily familiar scene. Beautifully presented in full color as well as black and white, we hope you like this one as much as we do.
From JJ: "My approach to illustrating a piece meant to honor anything beloved, especially something as iconic as STEAMBOAT WILLIE, begins with treating the source material with reverence before building anything new. As fate would have it, when Mondo rang me up about this project, I was in the middle of reading a Disney book about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Reading through the early Disney history and each of their pivotal short films, something that struck me was the illustrated posters. Although the cartoons were silvertone, the posters were full of vibrant colors and very well-designed. Immediately, I knew I wanted to make a poster for Steamboat Willie that was indicative of the era that film was made. I didn't want to go the easy route and just put Mickey behind the ship wheel. There's a hilarious moment in the cartoon when Mickey snags Minnie with a crane hook and that was the springboard for the idea of the poster: a remix of the proud fisherman posing with his catch on the docks. I sketched it out and it made me laugh and laugh. Hopefully, we've wound up with a poster that fans of the film can get a kick out of while still commemorating Mickey's wonderful legacy."
STEAMBOAT WILLIE by JJ Harrison will go on sale Thursday January 30th at a random time at mondotees.com. Be sure to keep your eyes on our social media for any updates and on sale information.
STEAMBOAT WILLIE by JJ Harrison. 18" x 24"Screenprinted Poster. Hand Numbered. Edition of 225. Printed by Lady Lazarus. Expected to Ship in May 2020. Ships to Addresses in the United States, Canada, & Puerto Rico. $50
STEAMBOAT WILLIE (Variant) by JJ Harrison. 18" x 24" Screenprinted Poster. Hand numbered. Edition of 125. Printed by Lady Lazarus. Expected to Ship in May 2020. Ships to Addresses in the United States, Canada, & Puerto Rico. $65
From JJ: "My approach to illustrating a piece meant to honor anything beloved, especially something as iconic as STEAMBOAT WILLIE, begins with treating the source material with reverence before building anything new. As fate would have it, when Mondo rang me up about this project, I was in the middle of reading a Disney book about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Reading through the early Disney history and each of their pivotal short films, something that struck me was the illustrated posters. Although the cartoons were silvertone, the posters were full of vibrant colors and very well-designed. Immediately, I knew I wanted to make a poster for Steamboat Willie that was indicative of the era that film was made. I didn't want to go the easy route and just put Mickey behind the ship wheel. There's a hilarious moment in the cartoon when Mickey snags Minnie with a crane hook and that was the springboard for the idea of the poster: a remix of the proud fisherman posing with his catch on the docks. I sketched it out and it made me laugh and laugh. Hopefully, we've wound up with a poster that fans of the film can get a kick out of while still commemorating Mickey's wonderful legacy."
STEAMBOAT WILLIE by JJ Harrison will go on sale Thursday January 30th at a random time at mondotees.com. Be sure to keep your eyes on our social media for any updates and on sale information.
STEAMBOAT WILLIE by JJ Harrison. 18" x 24"Screenprinted Poster. Hand Numbered. Edition of 225. Printed by Lady Lazarus. Expected to Ship in May 2020. Ships to Addresses in the United States, Canada, & Puerto Rico. $50
STEAMBOAT WILLIE (Variant) by JJ Harrison. 18" x 24" Screenprinted Poster. Hand numbered. Edition of 125. Printed by Lady Lazarus. Expected to Ship in May 2020. Ships to Addresses in the United States, Canada, & Puerto Rico. $65
