# Mickey Mouse--why Topolino? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675 "2011-11-12T07:36:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Nth\_Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9e8a1a/32.png) [@The\_Nth\_Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Nth_Doctor)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/1 "2011-11-12T07:36:41Z")
In most languages, Mickey Mouse is simply called “Mickey Mouse”. In some languages “mouse” is translated. But in Italian he has a completely different name: Topolino. Does anyone here know why? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/2 "2011-11-12T07:44:12Z")
I can’t speak for the translator, but at the time it was much more common to translate characters’ names than it is now. Why is Daffy Duck _el pato Lucas_ in Spain? Most Spaniards have no idea that _Piolín_ should have been a _Piolina_ (because it’s female), much less that its original name is Tweety Bird, but there actually is a relationship of sorts between both names: to tweet (as in birds, not internet) = _piar_. Oh, and _topo_ is Italian for mouse, so the name is linked to his being, well, a mouse. Note that _il Topo Michele_ has too many more syllables than Mickey Mouse for dubbing purposes: this may have been part of the reason it got changed, and back then leaving it “in English in the original” just wasn’t done. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/3 "2011-11-12T07:51:11Z")
I’m pretty sure Tweety Bird is male. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/4 "2011-11-12T08:22:00Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I’m pretty sure Tweety Bird is male. Yes, me, too. In fact, I can cite the cartoon “[Bad Ol’ Putty Tat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h36Zcj0__vw)” in which Sylvester tries to lure Tweety by making his finger look like a female of Tweety’s species. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/5 "2011-11-12T08:26:02Z")
Tweety is definitely male. He was named Orson in the first cartoon, a belligerent, mean, nasty little bird. Censors complained he appeared to be naked because he was [pink](http://desenelecopilariei.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/tweety-orson.jpg)and by the second cartoon they added yellow feathers and toned down his aggressive personality. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/6 "2011-11-12T21:44:12Z")
Shrug, that thing has long lashes, but maybe that’s only so it can flutter them. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/7 "2011-11-12T21:50:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yes, me, too. In fact, I can cite the cartoon “[Bad Ol’ Putty Tat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h36Zcj0__vw)” in which Sylvester tries to lure Tweety by making his finger look like a female of Tweety’s species. Perhaps Sylvester thinks that Tweety’s a lesbian. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/8 "2011-11-12T22:40:46Z")
Pilots’ inside joke: [Here’s the chart](http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/1111/00678R16.PDF) for the GPS approach to Runway 16 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Waypoints have 5-letter names. On this approach, in order, they’re ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, and TTATT. The missed-approach waypoint? IDEED. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/9 "2011-11-13T03:33:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Pilots’ inside joke: [Here’s the chart](http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/1111/00678R16.PDF) for the GPS approach to Runway 16 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Waypoints have 5-letter names. On this approach, in order, they’re ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, and TTATT. The missed-approach waypoint? IDEED. I had read that somewhere and was dying to find a thread in GQ to post it. Hats off. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/10 "2011-11-13T05:51:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Pilots’ inside joke: [Here’s the chart](http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/1111/00678R16.PDF) for the GPS approach to Runway 16 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Waypoints have 5-letter names. On this approach, in order, they’re ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, and TTATT. The missed-approach waypoint? IDEED. The other thing that strikes me about that chart is Satan coming in from the top right… You got a lot going on in New Hampshire! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/11 "2011-11-13T08:03:23Z")
Has anybody besides me ever noticed this? I saw some really old Tweety cartoons somewhere, not too long ago, and to my surprise, the cat’s name was Thomas. It was clearly the same cat we’ve all come to know as Sylvester. Does anybody know the story behind the story here? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/12 "2011-11-13T12:51:16Z")
Since this has evolved into a purely cartoon related thread, let’s move from General Questions to Cafe Society. **samclem** , Moderator ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/13 "2011-11-13T20:52:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Has anybody besides me ever noticed this? > > I saw some really old Tweety cartoons somewhere, not too long ago, and to my surprise, the cat’s name was Thomas. It was clearly the same cat we’ve all come to know as Sylvester. Does anybody know the story behind the story here? As far as I can tell, it was just an early name for him. It wouldn’t surprise me if they thought it was too obvious. I seriously doubt it was official. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickey-mouse-why-topolino/602675/14 "2011-11-13T21:46:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As far as I can tell, it was just an early name for him. It wouldn’t surprise me if they thought it was too obvious. I seriously doubt it was official. It’s worth noting that the proto-Tweety was introduced two years after _Tom & Jerry_. Apart from being unimaginative, they may have had some trademark-ish concerns about leaving him as “Thomas.” (Not that they might have necessarily feared Hannah-Barbera coming after them, but that especially in light of another hapless feline named “Tom” in public consciousness, they may have anticipated “Thomas the Cat” being a difficult trademark to defend.)