Disney+’s new documentary dares to ask, “How great is Mickey Mouse?”

While they aren’t known for their documentaries, Disney is making a statement with their latest, Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse. Using new interviews from brave sources, director Jeff Malmberg exposes the cultural phenomenon that’s plagued sociologists, anthropologists, and zoologists for the better part of a decade: Why the fuck do people like Mickey Mouse so much?

Surely skirting the controversial copyright practices that made Disney the multi-billion dollar operation people know and love today, Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse leans into the positive associations with the beloved rodent. Tracking the character’s evolution, from Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Steamboat Willie, Mickey explores the artistic innovations, cultural events, and emotional bonds that made the character such an indelible part of life on Earth.

Here’s the synopsis:

One of the world’s most beloved icons, Mickey Mouse is recognized as a symbol of joy and childhood innocence in virtually every corner of the globe. Dreamed up at a low point in Walt Disney’s burgeoning career, Mickey became an overnight sensation when he starred in the first synch-sound animated short, Steamboat Willie. Through the decades that followed, the character evolved into strikingly different versions of himself that reflect both his creator’s remarkable career and dramatic societal shifts in the nation he came to represent. In the fascinating documentary Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse, director Jeff Malmberg and Oscar-winning producer Morgan Neville (who previously teamed up together for Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) examine the cultural significance of the nearly 100-year-old cartoon mouse.

And what more could you expect from Disney+? It’s not like the company is going to make a case against Father Walt. Mickey is a strange character, especially considering he was more of a mascot than a cartoon-leading man for the better part of a century.

Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse streams on Disney+ on November 18.