Why did Walt Disney create Mickey Mouse?
Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse after he (temporarily) lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
He needed to create a cartoon character that would be as popular as, if not more successful than, Oswald. This led him to creating Mickey Mouse.
As the story goes, he came up with the idea for a cartoon mouse while on a train. Mickey was originally going to be called Mortimer Mouse, until Walt Disney’s wife Lillian suggested Mickey instead.
The character of Mortimer Mouse later appeared as Mickey’s rival.