"Mickey Mouse": This One I Can Answer

[Linwood]

The expression "Mickey Mouse" with the meaning "unimportant, trivial,
simple" is not a reflection on the character of the character (play on
words intentional).  It originated with reference to the Mickey Mouse
watch about 50 to 60 years ago, the one where Mickey's arms and gloved
hands are the watch's hands that move around the dial to tell the time.
In the United States, at least, the watch was a relatively inexpensive
novelty, but popular.  The expression "Mickey-Mouse watch" was at first
a good-natured reference to anything relatively cheap, and then became a
cliché for a low-quality imitation, good or bad.

It's obvious to those familiar with the expression, therefore, that the
title "No Mickey-Mouse Artist" is a multi-level pun.  Barks is
"quality," he is Disney-related, and he is the "Duck man," not a mouse
artist.

Ironically, a Mickey Mouse watch today, with the same moving arms, can
actually be quite expensive.

Linwood Kemp