Grew up in the 90s and Mickey was not a significant character in their movies that decade and the old Mickey cartoons were rarely shown. Mario became more famous than Mickey by then, but the mouse logo is ubiquitous, and most people had at least seen Fantasia or clips of the old cartoons.

> Mickey was not a significant character in their movies that decade and the old Mickey cartoons were rarely shown.

My grandparents had several tapes of Disney cartoons; they don't have to be broadcast for people to be familiar with them.

Mickey’s silhouette is still used in various Disney logos, so it’s not too wild a connection to make.

(It's the ears.)

Mickey Mouse clubhouse? Lots of Disney branding still has him. Just asked my 6yr old who the most famous Disney Character is.

It's the ads.

https://www.google.com/search?q=disney&tbm=isch

Where I grew up Donald Duck magazines were super popular (this was during Don Rosa so they were quite good as well). I got a magazine delivered weekly. I remember being a kid and always skipping the Micky Mouse stories as they were always really boring.

First I would read all the Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck stories, then I would read the weird stories (like Goofy [but only if it didn’t involve Micky], Chip ‘n’ Dale or even the Big Bad Wolf), and only if I had nothing else to do, I would first re-read the Donald and Scrooge stories and then finally read Micky.

Growing up I never understood what the big deal was around Micky, objectively the worst of the Disney characters.

Scandinavian, right? It blew my mind to hear about the enduring popularity of Donald Duck at the top of the Disney food chain.

Yes