Mickey first appeared animated in color in '' Parade of the Award Nominees '' in 1932 , however , the film strip was created for the 5th Academy Awards ceremony and was not released to the public . Mickey 's official first color film came in 1935 with '' The Band Concert '' . The Technicolor film process was used in the film production . Here Mickey conducted the '' William Tell Overture '' , but the band is swept up by a tornado . It is said that conductor Arturo Toscanini so loved this short that , upon first seeing it , he asked the projectionist to run it again . In 1994 , '' The Band Concert '' was voted the third-greatest cartoon of all time in a poll of animation professionals . By colorizing and partially redesigning Mickey , Walt would put Mickey back on top once again , and Mickey would reach popularity he never reached before as audiences now gave him more appeal . Also in 1935 , Walt would receive a special award from the League of Nations for creating Mickey
5th Academy Awards
5th Academy Awards
Mickey Mouse