Disney Africa to celebrate Mickey Mouse's 90th birthday in November in South Africa with exhibition of statues customised by local artists, Mickey's 90th Spectacular TV special on M-Net.

The Walt Disney Company SA will celebrate the 90th birthday of Mickey Mouse on 18 November in South Africa with a nationwide exhibition of 10 localised Mickey Mouse statuettes by local artists, as well the American TV special, Mickey's 90th Spectacular, that will be broadcast on M-Net (DStv 101).

18 November marks 90 years since the first appearance of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie in November 1928 with a series of worldwide celebrations that will also include South Africa to mark the 9 decades of the Mouse House's most iconic character.

Disney will broadcast special programming Mickey Mouse's birthday on 18 November across its set of Disney channels on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform and in the days leading up to it on the Disney Channel (DStv 303), Disney XD (DStv 304) and Disney Junior (DStv 309).

Disney currently has the Mickey Mouse cartoon series on the Disney Channel and Mickey and the Roadster Racers on Disney Junior.

The 20-hour American TV special, Mickey's 90th Spectacular that will be broadcast in the United States on 4 November, will also be shown later this year on M-Net (DStv 101) with the special to celebrate the character's 90-year history that will be filled with star-studded musical performances, tributes and never-before-seen short films.

In a local design project, Disney Africa asked 10 South African artists to apply their own inspiration and artistic interpretation to 182 centimetre high Mickey Mouse statues.

These 10 statuettes, once revealed to the public as part of Disney Africa's "Mickey the True Original South African Exhibition, will form part of a nationwide exhibition that will be at Sandton City centre court (28 September - 14 October) in Johannesburg, the Gateway Theatre of Shopping's Expo explore court (19 October - 11 October) in Durban, and the Canal Walk's centre court (16 - 26 November) in Cape Town.

In Edgars Disney will have a new special collection of fashion, accessories and footwear for families, inspired by Mickey Mouse.

"Binding generations together more than any other animated character, Mickey Mouse is the true original who reminds people of all ages of the benefits of laughter, optimism and hope," says Christine Service, the senior vice president and country manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa.

"With his universal appeal and ability to emotionally connect with generations all over the world, no other character quite occupies a similar space in the hearts and minds of a global fan base and we are thrilled to be sharing these local festivities."

Disney says South African fans can share their Mickey Mouse moments on social media during November with the hashtag #Mickey90Africa.