Mickey Mouse is top money-spinner

Mickey Mouse was created in 1928

A top 10 of fictional characters, including Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob SquarePants, made more than $25 billion dollars (£13.7m) in 2003.

The list, by finance magazine Forbes, of top-earning fictional characters puts Disney's Mickey Mouse at the top of the pile, grossing $5.8bn (£3.17bn).

Winnie the Pooh and friends are close behind with $5.6bn (£3bn).

Spider-Man, the X-Men's Wolverine, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings' Frodo Baggins also made the top 10.

TOP-EARNING FICTIONAL CHARACTERS 1. Mickey Mouse and Friends 2. Winnie the Pooh and Friends 3. Frodo Baggins, Lord of the Rings 4. Harry Potter 5. Nemo, Finding Nemo 6. Yu-Gi-Oh! 7. SpongeBob SquarePants 8. Spider-Man 9. Wolverine, X-Men 10. Pikachu, Pokemon Source: Forbes magazine

Box office takings increased the chances of characters making the list - fictional faces from films such as Star Wars and Monsters Inc made the list for 2002 but dropped off without a film release to back them in 2003.

In order to qualify for the Forbes list, characters must have debuted in a narrative story on screen, in print or in a videogame.

Japanese comic-book star Yu-Gi-Oh! made $1.6bn ($87m) with the help of trading cards and videogames. Pikachu from Pokemon, who was created in 1996 and has a TV show, made $825m (£450m).