<Tr> <Th> Country </Th> <Td> United States </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The Gallopin' Gaucho </Td> </Tr> <P> Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks . It was produced in black - and - white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Celebrity Productions . The cartoon is considered the debut of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie, although both the characters appeared several months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy . Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but was the first to be distributed because Walt Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to producing the first fully synchronized sound cartoon . </P> <P> Steamboat Willie is especially notable for being the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound, including character sounds and a musical score . Disney understood from early on that synchronized sound was the future of film . It was the first cartoon to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack which distinguished it from earlier sound cartoons such as Inkwell Studios' Song Car - Tunes (1924--1927) and Van Beuren Studios' Dinner Time (1928). Steamboat Willie became the most popular cartoon of its day . </P>

Who pioneered animated movies with his short feature steamboat willie in 1928