Mickey Mouse Follies: Black and White

Welcome To Silly Symphonize

2010-02-12T14:06:00.000-08:00

There's a new blog out there celebrating another facet of Disney animation: Silly Symphonize! A sister site to Mickey Mouse Follies, Silly Symphonize focuses on the Silly Symphonies cartoon series produced by the Walt Disney Company from 1929 to 1939. Full of details and photos from each cartoon, the site promises to give you info about this groundbreaking animated series.

Stop by and enjoy :)

The Grocery Boy - February 11, 1932

2010-02-07T22:48:00.000-08:00

56th in the Mickey Mouse short film library is the gem The Grocery Boy. This toon stars Mickey as a grocery boy delivering food to sweetheart Minnie. Pluto also tags along and causes quite the disturbance.

The toon opens with Grocery Boy Mickey preparing a basket of food for one of his loyal customers. He and pal Pluto delightfully weigh potatoes.

Suddenly the phone rings. On the line is a very agitated Minnie Mouse wondering where on earth her groceries are.

Mickey assures his love that her food is on the way, and just for good measure he "gives" her a kiss through the telephone. By this time, Mickey's and Minnie's relationship has been firmly established by their films together. It's funny and cute to see Mickey act like a love-sick teenager.

Minnie immediately hangs up the phone, appalled by Mickey's crass behavior. Of course, any girl can't help but smile after being given a kiss by Mickey Mouse.

As Mickey hurries over to Minnie's house (it's literally about 3 houses over), Minnie prepares herself for her boyfriend's arrival by putting on her face. The gag used her is great as Minnie pulls a puff out from her...chest.

Minnie is in love with Mickey, but she still enjoys being the diva every now and again. Once Mickey delivers the food, Minnie decides to give him the cold shoulder.

Believing Minnie really does want him to leave, Mickey reaches for what he thinks is the door handle only to find the ironing closet. As the ironing board crashes down on his head, the iron itself smashes his face flat.

Distraught over Mickey's injury, Minnie rushes to her lover's side. Her kiss upon Mickey's head bump allows it to magically disappear.

With their love banter over, Mickey and Minnie can start making dinner. As Minnie stirs the cake mix, Mickey peels beans while the pots on the stove bubble over-- all to music of course!

As the mice are busy, hungry Pluto spots the turkey just sitting in the oven. Minnie immediately catches the dog eying the meal, and her screams cause Pluto to run for his life with turkey in mouth.

The chase is on as Mickey runs after Pluto to save the turkey from certain destruction.

Pluto manages to get the tablecloth wrapped around his body, and as Mickey hangs on for dear life a bust of Napoleon knocks off its pedestal and onto the Mouse's head.

The Grocery Boy is part of the banned toons "From the Vault" because of this scene where the Napoleon head bust becomes a blackface character after Pluto crashes into the furnace.

Finally Minnie and Mickey manage to corner Pluto under the dining table. But the pup gets the upper hand as he pulls the turkey from Mickey's hands. At the same time, Minnie accidentally causes the table to expand, and the beautiful cake she made splats onto Mickey's head.

In the end, the dinner doesn't matter as long as these two lovebirds are together.

The Grocery Boy is a simple story with a lot of heart. The toon greatly showcases Mickey's and Minnie's personalities, and it's always fun to watch the two fall even more in love with each other.

The Duck Hunt - January 1, 1932

2008-12-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Duck Hunt is the 55th film in Mickey's cartoon series. The toon stars Mickey and his best pal Pluto enjoying the thrill of hunting in nature.

The film opens with the Mouse and his pup walking cheerfully and briskly out in the woods. Just look at that beautiful animated reflection on the water.

This toon is full of sight gags such as the inclusion of Pluto's fleas. As Mickey and Pluto march through the forest, so do the fleas from Pluto's back.

Soon the hunters come upon a group of ducks playing in a nearby pond; however, the ducks cleverly manage to make themselves scarce once they sense danger approaching by becoming harmless lily pads.

Luckily Mickey has a plan to lure the unsuspecting ducks into his trap. As he waits in the reeds, he sends Pluto out into the pond with a decoy duck.

Curious of the new stranger, the ducks come out of hiding; one is even brave enough to get close to the decoy.

Meanwhile, Mickey sees his chance and aims his gun; unfortunately, nothing happens when he presses the trigger. Annoyed, the Mouse shakes the weapon vigorously, causing it to fire into the air above.

The bullets manage to hit a tree's branch, which promptly falls into Mickey boat and onto the gun. Unaware he now has a twisted weapon, Mickey shoots and causes a massive hole in his boat.

For a few seconds, it looks like curtains for our hero. Luckily, the pond is only 2 feet or so deep, allowing the Mouse to stand! Still unaware of his broken gun, Mickey again fires. This time the gun breaks in half and flies off.

The broken gun lands on the decoy duck, exposing its true identity. Angered, the real duck calls for an attack.

At once, a gaggle of ducks dives from the sky, picking poor Pluto up and out of the pond by his ears.

Mickey rushes to help Pluto, but his efforts to ground the pup are useless against the strength of the ducks.

The vicious ducks cause all sorts of terrible things to happen to the Mouse. Mickey runs into a flock of geese...

...he is brutally punished as he repeatedly is beaten by a windmill...

...and is dragged across a roof, breaking every tile and eventually running into a chimney.

Finally Mickey is able to stop the duck's attack by wrapping his legs around a weather vane. The ducks manage to twist the Mouse and his pup around and around until the two are thrown off into the sky.

As the pair hurtles towards the ground, perhaps the funniest gag in the film appears when Pluto's fleas parachute off his butt. Hilarious!

All ends well though when Mickey and Pluto safely land in a pair of long underwear. Pluto's fleas also manage to survive the drop as they too land safely back on their host. All together a great cartoon.

Mickey's Orphans - December 9, 1931

2008-11-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

54th in Mickey's cartoon series is Mickey's Orphans. Just in time for Christmas, this toon takes on a holiday theme. This toon is special due tot he fsct it is the Mouse's very first Christmas-themed film.

The film opens dramatically on a hooded figure out in a chilling blizzard. On her arm she carries a covered basket. She soon comes upon a small, lighted house and peers inside the inviting window.

Inside the home are none other than Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto. As Minnie plays Christmas tunes on the organ, Mickey trims the tree jovially while Pluto sleeps by the warm fireplace.

Satisfied with what she sees, the stranger drops her basket on the doorstep and disappears into the night. The present is soon discovered by Pluto and Mickey; the pair are pleased to find a kitten under the blanket. Let's pause here to take in the irony of a pair of mice taking care of a baby kitten...

But wise Pluto soon discovers that the basket doesn't hide just one kitten but an entire litter! The young cats are out of control as they swarm upon Mickey, Minnie, and their humble abode.

The litter descends upon the house, playing with and breaking everything in sight. But even with all this destruction, they still remain to be so cute!

Two kittens set their sights upon poor Pluto. No wonder the pup is no fan of pesky little felines.

One kitten even causes the pet bird grief. Remember how this bird has made various appearances since 1928's Steamboat Willie?

As pesky as these critters are, there is one cute scene when a kitten asks Minnie for a special something. Based on the animation, it looks as though the kitty needs the bathroom pronto. But...

...he actually just wants to satisfy his sweet tooth. Minnie gives him a delicious candy cane straight from the Christmas tree, and the kitten does a great impression of Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character.

Wanting to entertain and surprise the litter, Minnie whispers something to Mickey. The Mouse leaves hurriedly with a grin and a twinkle in his eye, returning moments later, with a bag of toys and a very special "reindeer".

The bag of toys is just too enticing to the kittens, and they rush Mickey Claus. Strangely, the bag is full of dangerous objects such as hammers and saws.

One kitten is brave enough to venture up to Mickey and ask, "are you Santa Claus?" Mickey shyly nods yes, only to get a face full of spit from the nasty little feline. As if that isn't enough, the brat pulls Mickey's beard and runs away, leaving the Mouse dazed and confused.

The other cats turn their evilness on Pluto the "reindeer" by attacking him with a toy cannon. The tables are hilariously turned however when Pluto gains the upper hand... or rear.

Then again the blame could be given to Mickey for giving the destructive cats toys like cannons and toy guns. Tsk tsk.

A seemingly harmless toy construction digger turns into a tool of evil in the hands of a kitten. As one kitten plays up the cuteness factor in order to distract Mickey, his cohort dumps hot coals into the Mouse's shorts. The result is not pretty.

Finally, it comes time to reveal the biggest surprise of all: the tree! Minnie dutifully announces the unveiling by bugle, and Mickey draws back the curtains to reveal a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

All at once the kittens rush the tree and pluck every last ornament from its branches, including the pine needles!

As the litter runs away screaming and laughing, Mickey and Minnie are left gazing at their bare Christmas tree. Perhaps the two ponder how it's possible for hours of decorating to be destroyed in mere seconds. Or perhaps the pair wonder what sort of mother taught her children to act so violently.

One thing's for sure: the kittens must go!

Mickey's Orphans is today certainly an entertaining film, and critics back in 1932 also agreed. The short was nominated for an Academy Award at the 5th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony. The film lost to another Disney short: Flowers and Trees.

Mickey Cuts Up - November 30, 1931

2008-09-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

53rd in Mickey's cartoon series is Mickey Cuts Up, a film featuring Mickey and his lovely Minnie in the garden. Of course Mickey's pooch pal Pluto is present too, making Mickey's chores just a bit harder to complete.

The film begins with the Mouse doing some yard work with his faithful rover. I love how Mickey recruits Pluto to pull the mower thus allowing him to pretty much do no work at all.

It's hard to show here, but there's a fantastic moving shot of Mickey dancing and Pluto mowing. As Pluto moves across the screen, the camera pans along with him. The resulting film shot is simple yet effective.

Minnie is also frolicking in her garden making sure all her lovely flowers receive water. I've always loved Minnie's animation; her style is like a cute and dainty school girl.

The cartoon is very much a typical song-and-dance toon Mickey and Minnie usually star in. For a while Mickey pretends to be a bird and whistles to his sweet love.

Unfortunately for the Mouse, his plan to woo Minnie backfires when a hungry cat spots what he believes to be a tasty white bird.

Things get a bit messy when the cat decides to attack the "bird", giving Mickey the surprise of his life.

Eventually the birdhouse lands in a nearby garden pond. A gag I really enjoy is Mickey coming out of the pond, trapped inside the birdhouse and looking like a turtle.

While all this goes on, Pluto sits quietly off to the side taking in the sights. Notice the large amount of birds surrounding him...

...It's these birds that attract the cat, who pounces over the hedge; this of course only angers Pluto, who finds something new to occupy his time.

The only problem of course is the fact that wherever Pluto goes, so does the lawn mower. Another gag I like is when Pluto manages to not only shave half a tree, but an unsuspecting owl as well.

The chase manages to find itself on a nearby hill where the mower manages to get ahead of Pluto and mow right over the frightened feline.

The chase finally ends in Minnie's kitchen where Pluto and the cat manage to ruin an entire case of dishes. But even with all this trouble, Mickey is still able to love his best friend Pluto.

The Beach Party - November 5, 1931

2008-09-24T00:08:00.000-07:00

The Beach Party is Mickey's 34th cartoon film. The toon features Mickey and the Gang spending a relaxing and fun day at the beach.

The toon begins with Mickey, Minnie, Clarabelle, Horace, and Pluto on their way to the sunny and playful beach. The animation of the Gang just frolicking in the sun is simple, yet so very well done.

This toon has some interesting gags. One I like is when Mickey uses Pluto as a pump to fill his inner tube. Another good one is Horace's failed attempt at diving into the ocean. This gag in particular is very similar to later stunts performed by the yet to be created Goofy.

Another clever gag occurs when Clarabelle accidentally loses her swim trunks. The hilarity goes even further of course when Mickey accidentally finds them.

Clarabelle, still trunkless, finds her bottoms washed up on the shore; however, when she grabs for them she is shocked to discover they move! After thwacking the trunks with a nearby plank, Clarabelle is amazed to see it was Mickey in her bloomers. The look on her face in the last panel is priceless as she leaves Mickey dazed and confused.

One gag I enjoy again and again is the use of Clarabelle's cow bell as a dinner bell. The gag originated in 1930's The Shindig in which Horace uses Clarabelle's tail as a doorbell.

A picnic on the beach is the perfect way to spend the day. Horace tackles the corn and is especially fond of the watermelon.

It seems Clarabelle has a soft spot for olives. It's hilarious the way she pops the olive jar in order to pop an olive into her mouth. The scene turns even funnier when she accidentally pops the entire jar into her throat, and Horace is forced to kick the jar out. Perfect slapstick comedy.

Pluto has his fun too when Mickey plays fetch with his pooch. Unfortunately, the sausages Pluto thinks he fetches turn out to be the tentacle of an angry octopus.

As the octopus goes on a rampage, the Gang fights back with whatever they can find. Remember Horace's fondness for watermelon? He puts his seed-spitting skills to use against the octopus.

Clarabelle too puts her skills to use as she pops olive after olive at the angry sea creature. In another example of hilarity, the Gang uses the cow as a makeshift olive jar shooter.

It isn't until Mickey manages to throw a nearby anchor at the octopus that the problem is solved and the day returned to peace.

The toon ends with the octopus being sent back to the depths from which it came and the Gang laughing and waving goodbye on the beach.

The Barnyard Broadcast - October 10, 1931

2008-08-11T14:35:00.001-07:00

33rd in Mickey's cartoon series is the entertaining The Barnyard Broadcast. The film features Mickey and the gang putting on their own radio show and is, in my opinion, one of the better toons to come from this period.

The film begins with Mickey addressing his home audience from his very own radio station (located in his barn of course). This short is great because it features a lot of Mickey talking, a sign that Walt (the voice of Mickey for these early films) was becoming more and more comfortable with his character.

I find it amusing also that the name of Mickey's station is ICU.

ICU features an in-house band made up of Minnie on the harp and sax, Clarabelle on piano, and Horace on violin and occasionally the ever-interesting saw.

Pluto also makes a brief appearance in this short. No dogs are allowed within the radio barn it seems, so Pluto remains outside chained to his doghouse.

During the broadcast, a lone cat wanders into the open barn door and proceeds to ruin the show with its meowing. Mickey quickly shoos the feline away (how ironic...a mouse chasing a cat), but...

...the wily cat returns through a loose board in the door. It seems this cat is a mother of four, and all five felines manage to scatter around the barn no matter how hard Mickey tries to keep them out.

The four kittens play with the knobs and switches of the radio board, destroying bits of wire along the way. A funny little scene shows the kittens sucking on various knobs of the board thinking milk will come out.

Soon Mickey becomes so fed up with the cats that he goes on a rampage in order to get them out once and for all. As Clarabelle tries to get through her piece, Mickey suddenly thrashes the piano in half with his broom.

Mickey's chase takes him and the mother cat out onto the radio wires above the barn. There the Mouse swings and misses the pesky feline, and Mickey falls down through the water tower and the barn roof. The resulting crash completely ruins the broadcast.

Completely drenched and exasperated, Mickey tiredly signs off to his audience for the night, thus ending the toon.

Fishin' Around - September 25, 1931

2008-08-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Fishin' Around is Mickey's 32nd short film. The toon stars Mickey and his best pal Pluto.

The film opens with Mickey and Pluto enjoying the day in their rowboat. Notice the fantastic water reflection.

Once the Mouse and his pup find a nice quiet place, they worm up their hooks and begin trying to catch some fish. However...

...the fish have a different plan in mind. It seems the lake is full of smart, mischievous guppies who like to play pranks.

Pluto ends up falling into the lake in chase of the fish. This results in an interesting scene where the pup seems to be weightless. There is some great animation here as Pluto really does look like he is moving underwater.

One interesting scene is shown when Pluto uses his nose to sniff out the guppies' trail. The scene reuses animation from both 1930's The Chain Gang and The Picnic. Of course the scene is also interesting because Pluto seems to magically have the power to sniff while underwater!

Soon the law catches up with Mickey as it turns out he is fishing in a no fishing zone. The old sheriff tries to take the Mouse into custody, but...

...Mickey and Pluto are able to speed away and avoid any fines. Even with the sheriff in hot pursuit, the pair are able to live to fish another day.

One last scene worth mentioning is this one which features a sign in Hebrew saying no fishing.

Blue Rhythm - August 18, 1931

2008-07-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Blue Rhythm is Mickey's 31st toon, and though it is a typical song-and-dance film it is musically entertaining.

The film begins with pianist Mickey onstage entertaining a packed theater. The use of shadows is impressive, though by now it's apparent that the Disney animators have mastered that technique. One of the visuals I found interesting was Mickey playing in the dark with nothing able to be seen except his eyes and gloves.

Minnie later joins Mickey and performs an interesting scat number. The song is an odd choice for usually cute and prissy Minnie, and the animation of the mouse is enjoyable yet a bit out of character.

After Minnie finishes her number, a stage rises from the floor to reveal a thriving orchestra. Besides random barn animals, the band also includes Clarabelle on cello, Horace on drums, and strangely Pluto on trombone. This toon is a bit unusual because it may be the only one to showcase Pluto uncharacteristically in white gloves.

Though it's hard to call anything in these early toons a true blooper, I thought it was worth mentioning that Clarabelle is seen in a few scenes playing a flute rather than her cello.

The toon ends on a high note as the orchestra literally brings down the house. All in all, Blue Rhythm is anything but blue and is an entertaining film.

Mickey Steps Out - July 7, 1931

2008-07-02T18:30:00.001-07:00

30th in Mickey's cartoon series is the simple yet charming Mickey Steps Out. The short is a standard song-and-dance but does include an interesting piece of dialogue spoken by a certain pup.

The short opens with Mickey getting ready for a day out. The Mouse's routine includes shaving, a funny little gag in itself.

On the way over to Minnie's, Mickey is knocked over by the ever playful Pluto. By this time, it has been firmly established that the pup belongs to Mickey.

Minnie of course is playing her piano, and Mickey can't resist the urge to dance and perform tricks for his sweetie.

Unfortunately Pluto happens to spy a black cat, and soon the chase is on inside Minnie's humble abode. After wrecking the piano, the two animals take the Mice on a wild rug ride around the house.

The chase ends with the cat tricking Pluto into running headfirst into the stove, which causes soot to fly everywhere. Covered in soot from head to toe, Pluto bursts from the stove and shouts "Mammy!" a reference to Al Jolson. This marks Pluto's second time talking, the first having been in The Moose Hunt.

The Delivery Boy - June 13, 1931

2008-04-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Mickey's 29th toon is The Delivery Boy. The toon features Mickey and Minnie as well as the emerging character Pluto in his fourth cartoon.

The toon opens with Mickey as a delivery boy traveling along the road with his trusty pal Pluto in tow.

Along the same road, we see Minnie happily washing her laundry. Unfortunately as she dries her unmentionables, a nearby goat promptly gobbles them up.

Seeing Minnie, Mickey is unable to pass up the chance to have a little fun. He tries startling his love, but the joke soon turns in Minnie's favor.

The two lovemice frolic off under an apple tree and sing a rousing version of "Sitting Under the Old Apple Tree".

Meanwhile, a curious Pluto gets into a sticky situation when his nose leads him to a puddle of tar. A funny gag is seen as Pluto mimics the dancing of Mickey and Minnie.

Mickey soon gets a bit carried away in the song and causes a beehive to land on his mule. The mule kicks the delivery wagon, and the entire load of instruments is sent into the air.

The instruments rain down upon the apple orchard, allowing the mice to play another tune: "Stars and Stripes Forever".

The nearby farm animals also join in on the fun and play various instruments. I particularly enjoy the caterpillar drummer gag.

One of Mickey's specialties in these early song-and-dance toons is using various animals as instruments; here he uses a turtle to play a drum and a mule to play cymbals. Mickey and Minnie seem to be master musicians as they can both play horns while pounding on the piano with their feet.

As the song plays on, curious Pluto begins to sniff around even more. As he moves along, he passes a string of signs warning (in different languages) of explosive danger ahead.

This toon is placed in the From the Vault section of the DVD for the joke included here. The Hebrew sign not only is shaped like a stereotypical Jew, but the "hat" atop the sign becomes a turtle who does a stereotypical Jewish dance.

Pluto makes his way to the dynamite site where, funnily enough, Peg-Leg Pete can be seen in a brief cameo. As the dynamite is thrown, Pluto decides to play a game of fetch and brings the explosive back to Mickey and Minnie.

In a funny gag, all of Pluto's fleas flee the dog in order to avoid the explosive blast.

Right on cue, the dynamite explodes in perfect unison with the music. As the dust settles we see Mickey, Minnie, and a now hairless mule still playing on with just as much joy.

The Moose Hunt - April 8, 1931

2008-03-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

28th in Mickey's short film series is the strange yet entertaining The Moose Hunt. While the film showcases solid animation and is the first of many Mickey and Pluto buddy films, its gags and premise are a bit... fanciful.

The toon begins with Mickey and Pluto gallavanting through the woods in search of a moose. The Moose Hunt is important for two reasons: (1)The toon is the first where Pluto is called by his name, and (2) it is the first to establish Pluto as Mickey's dog. Previously Pluto was seen as Minnie's pup in 1930's The Picnic.

Of course, technically that pooch was called Rover, so it would be correct in saying Pluto has always belonged to Mickey.

The Moose Hunt is labeled as "From the Vault" on the Mickey Mouse in Black and White: Volume 2 DVD due to the scene shown above. Mickey asks Pluto to perform a series of dog tricks, one of them to "speak". Pluto obeys by kneeling down on one knee and shouting "mammy", a parody of the famous performer Al Jolson's blackface routine in the movie The Jazz Singer. The gag was a fairly common one for the time, having also been seen in 1929's The Haunted House. Of course, today it is morally wrong to allude to such a rascist act.

Coincidentally, the scene also marks Pluto's first speaking role. In fact, part of the fanciful nature of this toon is the fact that Pluto speaks not one, but three times.

After Pluto literally speaks, Mickey plays fetch with his pooch. Pluto runs wildly into the forest and, unable to decide which stick is the original, picks up an oddly shaped branch.

Meanwhile, Mickey spots the "moose" running through the trees. He fires and becomes excited once he realizes he hits the creature; however, upon closer inspection it appears that the Mouse has accidentally shot and killed his pal Pluto.

Mickey, distraught over what he has done, cries over the fallen body of Pluto. This scene is remarkably moving and adds so much humanity to Mickey's personality. Even though Pluto looks to the camera and lets the audience in on his little joke, Mickey's cries of "is there a doctor in the house?" are still heart-breaking.

As Mickey begs his pooch to speak, Pluto jumps up and utters "kiss me!"

Happy to have his pal alive, Mickey once again sets out to find a moose. He blows his moose caller and immediately hears a call back. Pluto runs to investigate and seems to find the moose's scent among a small patch of trees; however, as the camera pulls back, the trees become the legs of a very large moose.

Oblivious to the fact he inadvertently found the moose, Pluto leads the animal straight to Mickey, who also fails to realize its presence. Finally, Pluto feels the hot breath of the moose behind him, and the dog nervously shouts, "The muh...the muh....the MOOOOOOSE!!!!"

Mickey instinctively readies his gun to shoot, but his nerves get the best of him as his violent shaking completely destroys his weapon. He and Pluto both run in fear with the moose in tow.

Our heroes run all the way to a cliff where, in what has to be the most fanciful moment in the entire film, Pluto magically flaps his ears and flies to safety. Apparently Pluto had his eyes set on Dumbo's job years before the elephant was even born.

The Moose Hunt is a fun cartoon which marks Pluto's first (but not last) "talkie". In later years the film will be somewhat re-imagined with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in 1937's Moose Hunters, though that film includes no flying nor talking dogs.

The Moose Hunt can also be seen (with editing) daily at Disneyland's Main Street Cinema.

The Castaway - April 6, 1931

2008-03-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

Mickey's 27th cartoon is The Castaway, a film featuring the Mouse's adventures on a deserted island.

The film opens with Mickey aboard a tiny raft out in the middle of the ocean. As the waves rock the raft to and fro, Mickey suddenly sees land ahead.

With an improper sail, Mickey has no way of getting towards the island; thankfully the Mouse is smart fella. He cleverly tricks a swordfish into becoming a motor.

Once on dry land, Mickey finds an odd box awash on the beach. The unforgiving waves crash down on both Mickey and the box, revealing a wet piano. Of course this is a dream come true for our hero.

As Mickey inspects the piano, he is accompanied by three seals. Not one to displease his audience, the Mickey decides to play some tunes.

From here the toon turns into a typical song-and-dance Mickey Mouse cartoon. An interesting note is that The Castaway re-uses animation of the seals dancing from 1929's Wild Waves. As you can tell, the animation is identical in both films (with a scenery change of course).

This film also re-uses animation of a gorilla from 1929's Jungle Rhythm. Unlike the re-used seal animation, the gorilla animation in The Castaway is just half of the scene from Jungle Rhythm. The gorilla is attracted by Mickey's fantastic piano playing.

As the curious gorilla inspects the piano, he carelessly breaks the instrument much to the chagrin of Mickey. An annoyed Mickey picks up a boulder in anger, but later regrets his hasty decision.

As Mickey sheepishly discards the boulder, he unfortunately is thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire. It seems what he thought was just a pile of rocks and a bush are actually the body and mane of a ferocious lion!

A chase ensues with Mickey running for his life from the hungry lion. Once Mickey thinks he is safe atop a rock in the river, he again is dealt another blow when a crocodile rises from the depths. But luck is on our hero's side: the lion leaps for Mickey but instead lands inside the croc's mouth. Mickey is saved from certain death.

As the lion and croc swim down the river, the rock Mickey thinks is under his feet becomes the shell of a turtle. The suprised but relieved Mouse waves goodbye as he heads off down the tropical river and ends The Castaway.

Traffic Troubles - March 17, 1931

2008-03-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Mickey's 26th cartoon is the highly entertaining Traffic Troubles. The toon features great animation, fast-paced music, and a solid story.

Traffic Troubles features Mickey as a cab driver in the big city, a change of pace for this countryside critter. It was an interesting choice to give a face and personality to Mickey's cab, a characteristic also given to Mickey's train in Mickey's Choo-Choo. The technique gives life to a normally lifeless object and provides for more comic relief. Mickey's taxi here is like a mute Benny the Cab from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

It's not too long before Mickey finds his first customer of the day.

Because the customer is rather rotund, it's a hassle trying to load him into the cab. Mickey finally succeeds, but only after causing a major traffic jam.

The traffic jam does not go unnoticed by the street constable, played by Pete. After reprimanding Mickey, Pete sends the Mouse on his way.

The streets are jam-packed with various critters in cars. Sharp-eyed viewers will of course spot Horace Horsecollar in a quick cameo.

Like I said, it was a good choice to allow the cab to have a personality. The addition of facial expressions gives these scenes so much more life.

A great gag I enjoy occurs due to the many bumps in the road. Mickey notices his fare calculator keeps malfunctioning, adding more and more money to the cab cost. He's delighted, until another bump causes the fare to jump down to a measley $0.60! The look on the Mouse's face is priceless.

Even that $0.60 looks good after an extremely large road bump causes Mickey's customer to go flying out of the cab, leaving the Mouse with no profit. Of course you have to admire the irony that this well-to-do swine ends up covered in filthy mud.

With an open cab, Mickey is then able to pick up a frantic Minnie. Along the way, the two entertain themselves with some tunes.

Unfortunately, the cab comes to a screeching halt once its back tire is unexpectedly blown out. The license plate gag here is my favorite in the whole toon.

Mickey manages to find a nearby pig to use as a makeshift pump; however, the pig pump idea is nothing more than a bunch of hot air.

In enters Dr. Pep, a character also played by the talented Pete (notice how Pete dons his peg-leg for the part). Seeing a potential customer in Mickey, Dr. Pep gives the cab a free sample of his very own Snake Oil.

The Snake Oil has a horrible effect on the cab, causing it to sputter and spew about. Soon it bolts from the road and into the countryside.

The cab drives through the grass so quickly that it fails to notice the large rock in its path. Soon Mickey and Minnie are on a crazy ride inside a warped cab atop a terrified cow.

The resulting camera chase is very thrilling and funny. It is very similar to the cow chase in 1929's Plane Crazy.
The spooked cow manages to break through the back of a barn, emerging with frightened chickens in tow.

The chase finally comes to an end when the cow runs headfirst into a silo, and the screen is momentarily filled with feathers.

As the feathers settle, everyone seems to be ok; however, Mickey's cab is no more, reduced to a pile of shambles.

Traffic Troubles is definitely an entertaining and funny cartoon. As a side note, the film is available for viewing inside Disneyland's Main Street Cinema.

Background Art: Mickey's Choo-Choo

2008-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

It's easy to admit that by today's standards the early Mickey Mouse cartoons were primitive. Lush drawings and animation didn't really begin to appear until later years. Yet even though these films may not look as sophisticated as some of the Mouse's later toons, the animation art presented is still unique.

Below are background paintings from Mickey's Choo-Choo accompanied by actual screen shots from the finished cartoon. One thing you should notice is that at times the film does not make full use of the background, opting instead for a close-up shot. Enjoy taking a looking at the art behind the action.

The Birthday Party - January 7, 1931

2008-02-24T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Birthday Party is Mickey's 25th cartoon in his black and white film series. The toon is a decent one and features the celebration of the Mouse's birthday.

The film opens with Mickey joyfully whistling on his way home. Unbeknowest to him, Minnie and some friends are waiting eagerly inside to suprise the Mouse for his birthday.

Of course, all Mouseketeers should know that the Mouse's recognized birthday is November 18, 1928 (the same day Steamboat Willie premiered).

As Mickey steps through the door, everyone screams suprise! Mickey is amazed and truly suprised.

If the above frame looks strange, it's probably because the animators used a mirror effect to create a larger group of animals by simply reusing animation. The technique saves time and money as well as creates two of every guest. Just behind Mickey stand two Clarabelles and two Horaces.

Next, a delicious-looking cake is brought out complete with candles. It's too bad no one is able to taste the chef's creation.

Notice how there are two candles on Mickey's cake. This leads me to think that perhaps this toon was originally planned for release in 1930 (Mickey's 2nd year) and for whatever reason was pushed back to the beginning of 1931. In any case, I suppose the film can be seen as a belated birthday party for the Mouse.

Minnie presents Mickey her gift, which is a brand new piano. A strange gift, considering that Mickey already has a piano in his home.

With two pianos to play, Mickey and Minnie get the party hopping with some delightful tunes.

The cartoon ends with Mickey playing his xylophone (which seems to appear from nowhere).

Though not very special, The Birthday Party is an entertaining toon and goes on to inspire a few remakes involving not only Mickey and Minnie, but other yet to be seen Disney characters as well.

Pioneer Days - December 5, 1930

2008-02-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

The 24th film in Mickey's cartoon shorts series is the gem Pioneer Days. This toon is a great example of the fantastic progress the Disney Studio was making in refining their animation techniques.

The film opens with pioneers Mickey and Minnie heading their group's wagon train. The pair joyfully sings about not being afraid of Indians.

Unbeknowest to the wagon train, a lone Indian scout watches them as they pass through the desert.

The scout hurries back to his tribe and tells them of the strangers in the valley. Pioneer Days is a favorite toon of mine because of its extensive use of detailed animation techniques. Just look at the shadows of the Indians.

By the light of the moon, the tribe dances around their fire and prepares for battle. This short war dance sequence is so well staged; it clearly demonstrates the animators' advanced skills.

Back at the pioneers' camp, another type of dance is going on. After a long day's wagon ride, the camp relaxes by enjoying some folk music.

After the dance, an old codger sings tearfully about his deceased wife. The song is actually "Darling Nellie Gray", a tune composed in 1856 by American composer Benjamin Hanby. Hanby's most famous work is probably the Christmas classic "Up On the Housetop".

This scene is also one of the few to show pioneers Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow.

The touching song is suddenly and abruptly interrupted by an arrow that lands very close to Minnie's head. The Indians have attacked!

The next shot is my favorite in the whole toon. Anyone who has been a fan of this blog knows that I love shots where the action is coming straight towards the camera. Here we have Indians racing every which way towards the audience.

In another POV shot, the pioneers shoot a few rounds at the Indians in hopes of stopping their attack.

Bent on capturing and destroying the invaders, the Indians quickly encircle the pioneer camp.

It's hard to demonstrate here, but a great rechnique is used in this scene. The camera stays on the Indians as they ride around the wagon camp, and the wagons actually turn as the camera does. The result is an almost 3-D rendering of the wagons. The technique is extraordinary for a cartoon made in 1930.

A nice gag is seen when Mickey scares a trio of Indians away by using a porcupine as a bow and arrow.

Minnie is soon captured by a tough Indian and taken back to the tribe's camp. Mickey follows in hopes of rescuing his love and finds Minnie tied and gagged. Suddenly the Indian turns his fury against the Mouse.

The following scuffle is brilliantly staged by the animators. It's the first real physical scene in a Mickey Mouse short, and its superb execution creates tension, excitement, and drama.

Luckily the Indian has no idea how to tie tight knots, and Minnie easily escapes. She uses an extremely hot coal from the nearby fire to chase the native away.

Back at the camp, the battle between the pioneers and Indians continues. A funny gag is shown involving a pig pioneer. He offers his toupee to the Indian in order to avoid being scalped.

The fight finally ends when the Indians see and hear the cavalry coming around a sand dune. They promptly run away to avoid being killed in the massacre. However, the "cavalry" turns out to be just Mickey, Minnie, and a large log.

Pioneer Days is an excellent cartoon full of solid animation, suspense, drama, and fun. I recommend viewing it again if you happen to have it in your library.

The Picnic - October 23, 1930

2008-02-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

23rd in Mickey's film series is the charming cartoon The Picnic. Not only is this toon a solid film, but it also marks the true debut of Pluto... sorta.

The toon opens with Mickey whistling happily on his way to Minnie's house. An interesting note here is that the tune Mickey whistles is actually "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo", the same song he infamously crooned in 1929's Mickey's Follies. The song served as Mickey's theme song (until what year we have yet to find out) and can be heard at the beginning of most of the Mouse's early toons.

Mickey makes it safely to Minnie's, where he is greeted lovingly by his sweetheart. It appears that the two mice are going out for a peaceful picnic. Before they leave, Minnie asks if she could bring along her "little Rover".

Her Rover turns out to be Pluto, with a name change of course. It's very interesting to me that Pluto, known as Mickey's best pal, began as Minnie's faithful dog. Well, technically Rover was Minnie's dog, so I suppose it's correct to say Pluto has always been Mickey's pet.

Mickey ties Rover up to the bumper of his car, and the trio are off for a relaxing day in the sun (luckily, Rover does not suffer the same fate as the dog in National Lampoon's Vacation).

Rover is a very curious dog, and soon two mischievious bunnies catch his attention. The dog runs after the rodents, bringing Mickey and Minnie along for the ride.

Rover is able to break free from Mickey's car and chases the rabbits all the way to their rabbit holes. In a gag that reminds me of Roger Rabbit's portable hole, Rover's pride is deeply bruised.

Mickey and Minnie find a beautiful place to set out their picnic blanket. With the addition of lovely music from Mickey's record player, the pair have a relaxing dance through the woods. Unfortunately, the forest critters decide to have a relaxing lunch at the mice's expense.

The sky begins to turn a nasty black and it seems that the lovely picnic day has been ruined. I love the lightning bolt as a corkscrew gag here. Very inventive.

With Rover acting as a much needed windshield wiper, the trio decides to head home, thus ending their picnic day and this toon.

One last little thing I'd like to share is this frame comparison from The Picnic and The Chain Gang. Remember how that toon is known for the appearance of the character that would eventually become Pluto? Well there you have it; with a few minor changes, a random bloodhound becomes a named dog with superstar in his future.

The Gorilla Mystery - October 10, 1930

2008-02-03T13:22:00.001-08:00

Mickey's 22nd film is the very entertaining The Gorilla Mystery. This toon is a favorite of mine because it fantasticly showcases the animation talents of the Disney Studio as well as provides a thrilling story. It's definitely a perfect cartoon for the October month.

The short begins with a shot of a newspaper article highlighting the escape of a "mankiller" gorilla. Fearing for his beloved, Mickey calls Minnie in order to warn her of the dangerous creature; however, Minnie thinks Mickey is worrying too much.

Unbeknowest to Minnie, the ferocious gorilla has managed to find her home and is right outside her window. The scene where the gorilla peers into Minnie's home is heightened by the superb animation of the character as well as the great use of lighting and shadows.

Trying to calm Mickey down by playing a gay piano tune, Minnie is completely oblivious to the approaching evil behind her. The use of the gorilla's shadow is a very thrilling story device, one that I think helps to make this short one of the best from this period of Mickey's career. Audiences at the time were no doubt scared just a bit for Minnie.

The scene reminds me of Dracula, though that movie would premiere a year later in 1931; perhaps the Disney animators were taking inspiration from 1922's Nosferatu.

The gorilla snatches Minnie from her piano stool, and the scared mouse's screams are heard by Mickey through the telephone.

Mickey of course rushes quickly over to Minnie's home, where he thinks he hears his beloved's screams for helps behind a locked door. After he breaks down the door, Mickey discovers to his dismay the screams of help were coming from Minnie's pet parrot (who we have not seen in a while).

Mickey decides to throw a book at the tricky parrot, once again demonstrating his undying love for all animals.

Finally Mickey is able to discover the whereabouts of Minnie. With the use of a fantastic camera view through a keyhole, we see that Minnie is tied up and gagged in a room.

Unfortunately Minnie is not alone in the room, and Mickey soon comes face to face with the gorilla. A great shot follows of the gorilla stalking towards the camera and eating the audience whole.

Luckily the Mouse is able to distract the gorilla long enough to untie Minnie. Together the two mice trap and ensnare the ape, ending their nightmarish ordeal once and for all.

Before I end this post, I want to point out a very interesting "Hidden Mickey". In the beginning of the toon when Minnie is running to answer Mickey's telephone call, two bookends shaped like the two mice can be seen briefly in the background.

Interesting, isn't it?

The Chain Gang - September 5, 1930

2008-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

The Chain Gang is Mickey's 21st cartoon. The film is significant due to the appearance of the character who would eventually become Pluto.

The toon opens on a somber note as we see a chain gang pass sadly from one end of the screen to the other. Bringing up the rear is the oddly happy Mickey banging away on his prison ball. To keep the Mouse company we also see Clarabelle Cow as well as a group of Pete look-alikes playing the prison guards.

It seems the life of a prison guard is too boring for Pete, so he promptly takes a nap during his shift. Mickey and the other prisoners take this opportunity to have some fun and play some happy tunes.

The catchy rhythm causes one prisoner to get a little carried away. His tobacco spit lands on the dozing Pete and wakes the guard up.

Startled by the sudden intrusion of his nap time, Pete starts screaming and drwas the attention of his fellow guards. The guards think a riot is afoot and begin bombarding the prison yard with bullets, causing a mass panic.

In the chaos, Mickey manages to jump over the prison wall and escape safely through the woods.

Unfortunately for the Mouse, a pair of bloodhounds are sent to track him down and recapture him. Leonard Maltin and Disney maintain that this character eventually becomes Pluto in later toons. It's hard for me to believe this, since the dog has nothing really in common with Pluto's personality (the dog in Mickey's Choo-Choo is much more Pluto-like), but there's no sense in arguing with Disney, right?

To escape the hounds, Mickey steals a pair of horses who cause more trouble for the Mouse than he would like (a great gag, especially for men).

The horses prove to be horrible luck for Mickey, and I'm sure the Mouse would agree as he is thrown off a cliff. A great shot follows with the Mouse heading straight towards the camera. Oh, if only 3-D had been invented in the '30s.

It turns out that the cliff is above the prison. Mickey crashes right through the roof and lands in cell, bringing his short prison escape to an end.

The Shindig - July 29, 1930

2008-01-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

The Shindig is the 20th toon in the Mickey Mouse shorts series. The film is one of my favorite purely for its upbeat tone and music.

The toon opens with a great panning shot of a very long car full of various barnyard animals on their way to a barn dance. Perched on the back are Mickey and Minnie, joyfully tooting on trumpets.

We next see Horace Horsecollar chugging along on his faithful motorbike to call on the lovely Clarabelle Cow. This toon really marks the turning point in Horace's (as well as Clarabelle's) career. Previously he had always been cast as Mickey's horse, but here we get to see him as Mickey's friend.

As a side note, notice Clarabelle's name printed above her door. This is the first time we the audience have gotten a name for the character.

Clarabelle is seen reading in her hay loft when Horace arrives. One thing I love about these cartoons is the fact that they are time capsules of a bygone period of time. Clarabelle's book, Three Weeks, was banned in 1907 for distasteful reasons. It's unclear why she's seen here reading it.

Once Clarabelle hears Horace at her door, she quickly dresses and is ready for a night out. Since Clarabelle is technically naked, this scene has been censored by Disney when aired on TV.

The Shindig is full of lively tunes and great animation of animals dancing. While Mickey and Minnie play on their fiddle and piano, Horace and Clarabelle become the center of attention on the dance floor. This is yet another way the two characters were beginning to be pushed into the spotlight alongside Mickey and Minnie.

The toon ends with Mickey dancing joyfully with a rather rotund lady. I'm sure the Mouse had bruises the next morning.

The Fire Fighters - June 25, 1930

2008-01-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Fire Fighters is Mickey's 19th film. This toon stars both Mickey and Minnie as well as the rising star Horace Horsecollar. The plot is fairly simple, but the toon definitely makes up for it with a host of funny gags.

The film opens with a shot of the town firehouse where Fire Chief Mickey, Fire Fighter Horace, and the rest of the team are fast asleep.

Out on the outskirts of town, a citizen rings the fire bell to alert the fire department of an apartment building ablaze.

The fire house soon becomes alive as each fire fighter wakes up and gets dressed. A gag I enjoy is this one of the ostrich as the fire pole.

An even funnier joke occurrs when the fire ladder wakes up and descends itself to reach the fire wagon.

Mickey and the gang reach the burning building and discover Minnie trapped and screaming on the very top floor.

Quick-thinking Mickey manages to reach Minnie via a clothesline attached to a nearby building. Just as Minnie is saved from a deadly fall, the fire burns straight through the rope!

Luckily the large pair of trousers holding the mice works perfectly as a parachute, and the pair lands safely on the ground. Overjoyed to be rescued, Minnie smooches Mickey and ends the toon.

Toons In the Parks: Disneyland's Main Street Cinema

2008-01-21T22:38:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, Disneyland. As I was strolling down Main Street USA the other day, a thought occurred to me that concerns this blog. Part of what I love about The Happiest Place On Earth (and all the Disney parks) is the fact that they sometimes take inspiration from beloved Disney movies...and sometimes cartoons. Therefore, I thought this blog would be the perfect place to debut a series I call Toons In the Parks in which I'll catalogue the many different cartoon influences within Disneyland and the other Disney parks. Since Mickey Mouse Follies: Black and White is all about Mickey's earliest cartoons, all the theme park influences posted here will also deal with those same films.

The Main Street Cinema is a place I remember visiting whenever I went to Disneyland as a child. As the years passed, I went there less and less, but I recently re-discovered its charm and its importance to MMF.

The Main Street Cinema continuously runs 6 Mickey Mouse cartoons, all in black and white. Though none of the toons were released as silent films, they all are projected without their soundtracks except Steamboat Willie. What follows are pictures of the posters advertising the different cartoons in the lobby of the cinema.

1928's Steamboat Willie is the only toon projected with its soundtrack. It's very satisfying to hear small children and even adults giggle at Mickey's early personality and antics. I find it interesting that jokes meant to crack up audiences 80 years ago still manage to delight the audiences of today.

1931's Traffic Troubles is the toon where Mickey plays a cab driver who gets into all sorts of mischief.

1931's The Moose Hunt stars Mickey and Pluto and is the cartoon in which Pluto utters his first words.

1936's Mickey's Polo Team is one of my favorites because it contains so many celebrity caricatures. Although this toon was originally released in color, it is projected in black and white.

1928's Plane Crazy was originally intended as a silent film though it was released with a full soundtrack. Ironic that it can be seen daily as it was once intended.

1934's The Dognapper is Mickey's second-to-last black and white film appearance. Next to most of the other films presented in the Cinema, this toon looks extremely advanced animation-wise.

Disneyland's Main Street Cinema is unique because it so far has not suffered the same fate as its sister cinema located in the Magic Kingdom. That area unfortuantely was recently turned into a shop, something I would hate to see happen over here in California. So next time you visit Disneyland, take a break in the Cinema and watch a toon or two.

The Cactus Kid - May 5, 1930

2008-01-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

18th in Mickey's black and white cartoon series is The Cactus Kid, an entertaining remake of 1928's more primitive The Gallopin' Gaucho.

The toon begins with gaucho Mickey riding through the Mexican desert on his trusty steed, Horace Horsecollar. It's nice to see Horace being featured more and more in these cartoons even though he is still stuck with playing bit parts.

Minnie stars alongside Mickey as a beautiful cantina gal. Though her role in this toon is the same as her role in The Gallopin' Gaucho, it's amazing how much better the animation is here. It had only been two years, and yet the Disney Studios clearly had made leaps and bounds in the animation process.

Soon Peg-Leg Pedro shows up looking for some love in all the wrong places. An interesting note here is that Pete speaks for the first time when he says to Minnie, "You give me little kiss, yes?"

Luckily for Minnie Mickey is right there to defend his love; however, Pedro is not amused by the Mouse's act of bravery.

What follows is a sporadic gun fight between Mickey and Pedro, one that takes place in the pitch black darkness of the cantina. I marvel at this short sequence because it's such a fantastic use of special effects and shadows.

Pedro manages to escape in the dark with Minnie and a short chase ensues, ending with Pedro hanging on for dear life on the side of a cracking cliff.

The cliff's edge soon gives way and Pedro is sent tumbling down the side with a huge boulder behind him.

New Year Resolutions

2008-01-03T12:11:00.001-08:00

Hopefully none of you Mickey Mouse Follies readers thought I dropped off the face of the planet since I haven't made a post in a while. No, it was just the holiday rush that kept keeping me away from the blog. Today though I have a special post all about what's to come from me in the coming months of 2008.

After I finish all the toons from Mickey's black and white era, the next set of films I'd like to tackle belong to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. As many of you probably know, Oswald was created before Mickey but was taken away from Walt through a series of dirty deals. Recently the Walt Disney Company had re-acquired the character and created a special Walt Disney Treasures DVD full of many of the rabbit's shorts. I was given this DVD for Christmas, and I must say it's fantastic! I can't wait to show you the parallels between Oswald and Mickey, not just in design but in their individual toons as well.

Next I'll be starting up the second version of this blog titled Mickey Mouse Follies: Vibrant Technicolor. This blog will focus on Mickey's color toons.

Another blog I'd like to begin (though it won't get up and running until way down the line) is one featuring my favorite Disney character, Donald Duck. This blog is called The Donald Duck Chronicles and will focus on all of Donald's films.

Last but not least, I'd like to start a blog all about Mickey's pup Pluto. This blog will be called The Yellow Planet (the above picture is the blog's logo) and will focus on all of Pluto's cartoons, both color and black and white.

Well that's what I'd like to accomplish this year, and hopefully you'll be there to read about my thoughts on various cartoons. Have a great year!

Storyboard To Screen: Steamboat Willie

2007-12-17T23:38:00.000-08:00

Storyboard To Screen is a series of posts which will compare actual storyboard sequences created for various toons to their screen counterparts. These posts are meant as pure galleries, as there is really nothing I can comment on that you can't already see for yourself.

As you scan these images, you'll notice that in most cases, besides the crude character sketches vs. the refined film versions, the screen mirrors its storyboard; however other cases are a bit different. Some storyboards show slightly different staging compared to their final screen appearances while others are drastically different.

Today's post compares the storyboards for Steamboat Willie to that film's finalized screen version. All pictures are shown in sequential order, and you can always click on them to view a larger size.

Just Mickey - April 21, 1930

2007-12-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

17th in the Mickey Mouse shorts canon is Just Mickey. If you couldn't already tell, this film stars just Mickey with no appearances by any other characters.

The film has a great opening with violinist Mickey walking from one end of the stage to the other. The resulting effect looks a bit amateur compared with today's standards of course, but it's still a great piece of almost 3-D animation.

The toon basicly showcases Mickey playing different tunes on his violin. The animation of the Mouse is done exceptionally well; a favorite part for me is another almost 3-D scene with Mickey's bow.

Another great effect is the use of shadows as created by the spotlight. It's just another example of how more and more detailed these toons are starting to become.

The toon ends with Mickey playing the finale from the "William Tell Overture" to thunderous applause.

While nothing really special, Just Mickey is a decent toon with very convincing animation.

The Barnyard Concert - April 10, 1930

2007-11-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

The Barnyard Concert is Mickey's 16th cartoon and is also historic in its own way. This toon was the first to showcase the Mickey Head with a sunburst behind it; with the advent of color in later years, this opening would go on to become one of the character's most popular cartoon trademarks.

The toon also showcases a brand new title card design. Comparing the new title card with the old one used for the toon Jungle Rhythm, it's easy to tell the major difference: Mickey and Minnie's design. The original title card used the designs for the mice seen in Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho, which is strange since by Steamboat Willie both characters were redrawn with pupil-less eyes.

The Barnyard Concert opens with Mickey passionately conducting his orchestra made up of various farm animals.

One thing I really enjoy is the fantastic animation of Mickey. His movements and facial expressions are so fluid that you really can tell the Disney animators have started to refine their craft.

Making an appearance as a flutist is Clarabelle Cow. Like Minnie, Clarabelle is seen sometimes with and sometimes without her flowered hat. We have yet to see Clarabelle in any form of clothing, like Mickey and Minnie, and I have to say that I'm excited to find out which cartoon marks that debut.

Also naked as can be is percussionist Horace Horsecollar, who seems to be using one of Clarabell's cousins as a musical instrument.

Because this toon has a very limited story (the animals just play music and nothing more), it is very gag-driven. One of the funnier gags is this one of a pig trumpeter who keeps losing his wig.

Another clever gag centers around another pig trumpeter who keeps playing the wrong, sour note. A frustrated Mickey tries to figure out the problem, and upon closer inspection it is discovered that a fly pretending to be a note is the cause of the confusion.

It must have been hard on the storymen to constantly think up fresh gags, which is why recurring gags are sometimes seen. This one of Mickey pulling the tails of piglets harkens back to Steamboat Willie.

The Barnyard Concert is certainly not one of Mickey's best shorts; it's just an ok cartoon. The film probably seems familiar to most people because it bears much resemblance to 1935's The Band Concert, Mickey's first color cartoon (and one which I suspect is a remake of this toon).

Wild Waves - December 21, 1929

2007-11-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

Wild Waves is the 15th cartoon in the Mickey Mouse shorts series. While the toon features great animation, the overall story leaves me wanting more.

Wild Waves opens with Mickey as a beach lifeguard singing to the various beach critters. The animation of Mickey singing and rocking here and there to his musical beat is fantastic and telling of the increased flexibility and freedom of his design. Whether it was a minute change in Mickey's body structure or the Disney animators found their niche, this toon sees a Mickey bursting at the seams with personality and vigor.

Minnie enters as a lovely beach-goer ready for a nice day of playfulness and basking in the warm sun. I'm always partial to these older cartoons because they act in some ways as time capsules, preserving thoughts, fashions, and attitudes of the time period. Minnie's very '20s-'30s bathing suit is just one example of this.

Though all she wants is to have fun, Minnie unfortunately is caught up in a oversized wave and taken out to sea.

Thankfully lifeguard Mickey is on duty to save the day, but after being rescued from a frightful situation, Minnie breaks down and cries.

Here Mickey and Minnie share a short conversation in which Mickey tells his beloved to calm down. An interesting thing I noticed in this toon and a few previous ones is that whenever the two mice converse all music and sound effects stop. This was probably done to better hear the voices, which is understandable, but in later toons the conversations flow much more naturally.

From there, Mickey decides to lead all the beach animals in a happy melody to cheer Minnie up. Seal lions, a walrus, and even beach penguins (?) all dance merrily as Mickey plays a lovely tune on his net-harp.

In the end Minnie is delighted by her lover's attempts at making her happy and plants a wet one on Mickey.

Wild Waves is a decent cartoon with good animation but just an ok story, especially when compared to its predecessor The Haunted House.

The Haunted House - December 2, 1929

2007-11-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

Mickey's 14th cartoon is the gem of a film entitled The Haunted House. By this time in 1929, the Disney Studio really began to fully understand its craft and started to experiment more and more with different animation techniques and special effects. The Haunted House is such a great Mickey toon because although it relies somewhat on a familiar formula (song-and-dance), it is a major step in good storytelling as well as a showcase for the best animation could be at the time.

The story of The Haunted House is very simple: Mickey weathers a storm and seeks shelter inside a nearby house. Taking a look at just this frame of Mickey, you can clearly see how well defined and animated the character is. I think this is telling of the major growth taking place in the Disney Studio.

Once inside the house, Mickey soon discovers that he is not alone. He stumbles upon skeletons and a cloaked figure which try to scare him.

In a strange twist, the cloaked figure orders Mickey to play the nearby organ so that the entire household can dance to the happy melody. From this point, the toon turns into a song-and-dance routine.

Much of the fun in the cartoon comes from the skeletons themselves and the stellar animation of them dancing. The gags are all great to watch, and they add so much to the short.

An interesting note is that one piece of animation featuring the skeletons dancing is lifted straight from 1929's The Skeleton Dance, the very first Silly Symphony.

Once Mickey finishes his music, he tries to escape the house but seems to run into seletons everywhere! Finally, however, he is able to get away and leave the house forever.

The Haunted House is currently on the banned Mickey shorts list, or Vault Disney. Towards the beginning of the film, Mickey is seen mimicking actor Al Jolson's now infamous black face routine in 1927's The Jazz Singer. Mickey's playful cries of "Mammy" are certainly not out of the ordinary for cartoons and movies from the late 1920s, but the depiction of black face is still considered rascist and morally wrong.

Another reason why this toon is banned is for another rascist depiction featuring two skeletons caricatured as Hasidic Jews. Again, this is not a gag uncommon in films from the this time period; in fact, many more depictions like this occur in other Disney shorts.

The Haunted House is full of great animation and special effects. The use of sillhouette, shadows, flickering candlelight, lightning, wind, rain, and bats flying straight towards the camera are prime examples of the growing sophistication Disney started to give its cartoons. This toon is certainly one of Mickey's best and a stepping stone for further more complex films.

Jungle Rhythm - November 15, 1929

2007-11-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

Jungle Rhythm is the 13th Mickey Mouse short. As you probably can tell, the cartoon takes place in the jungle and is a typical song-and-dance toon from Mickey's early years; however, it is enjoyable and features some interesting animation gags.

Before Pluto, Mickey was paired up with a large elephant serving as his exotic hunting "dog". The cartoon begins with the two out in the jungle searching for game while playing a few merry tunes on an accordion.

Unfortunately for hunter Mickey, he stumbles across an unfriendly bear and a ferocious lion. Teeth bared, the hungry animals scare Mickey out of his wits!

Luckily for Mickey a parrot and a monkey find his accordion and play a happy little jig. The music distracts the bear and lion, and soon the entire jungle is dancing to the beat. I like Jungle Rhythm for its visual gags, especially the funny ostrich dance seen above.

It's a habit of Mickey's to use nearby animals as musical instruments, and he does not fail to amuse here. Whether it's using tiger whiskers as a harp, tiger screams for melody, or a lion's tongue for an instrumental plucking, Mickey certainly is creative.

My favorite gag in this toon is the lion who does the hula. He uses his mane as a skirt and a nearby snake as an inventive lei.

All in all Jungle Rhythm does not present anything notable storywise, but its gags make it one of the better films in Mickey's early career.

The Jazz Fool - October 15, 1929

2007-11-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

12th in Mickey's cartoon series of shorts is The Jazz Fool, a rather boring short featuring Mickey playing musical tunes.

The toon starts with Mickey riding into town advertising for his big road show. He sits playing a joyful tune on his calliope as the entire town follows him down the street.

Also included in Mickey's Big Road Show is a hatless Horace Horsecollar playing percussion instruments as Mickey dances and entertains the crowd.

Mickey steps out from behind the curtain and sets his piano up to play for the audience. The rest of the cartoon just features Mickey playing piano tunes, which is why I tend to find the short a bit boring and unoriginal.

As I watched The Jazz Fool, it for some reason seemed very familiar to me, as if I had seen Mickey do all this before. I went back to Mickey's previous shorts and discovered that The Jazz Fool borrows heavily from Mickey's piano performance in The Opry House. Both include Mickey banging on the piano keys...

...both feature the piano itself becoming personified with a face...

...and both feature the piano retaliating against Mickey. So because half of The Jazz Fool is basicly a remake of an earlier Mickey short, I find it to be repetitive and unimaginative. Solid animation, but nothing remarkable.

Mickey's Choo-Choo - October 1, 1929

2007-11-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

Mickey's Choo-Choo is 11th in the mouse's cartoon series. I personally really enjoy this toon because I see it as a small yet significant advancement in character personality for both Mickey and Minnie. The toon itself is also just plain enjoyable to watch.

Mickey is the operator of a personified steam engine, or "choo-choo". While watching this cartoon, the train reminded me immediately of Casey Jr. from Dumbo. Though the two characters are separated by about 12 years, I just find it funny how they both act similarly. More than likely the characters are based on the train from "The Little Engine That Could" (a good example of this will be discussed later in this post) which is why they seem alike.

In any case I found it interesting.

Another funny coincidence is this dog, a playful friend of Mickey at the train station. Am I crazy for pointing out that the character looks like a primitive Pluto? This dog even has that familiar bump on its head like Pluto, not to mention a similar bodily form. Officially animation historians cite The Chain Gang as the toon which introduces the character that eventually evolves into Pluto, so I'll agree with that; however, I'll always see this dog as a distant cousin of the famous yellow pup.

Like I said, Mickey's Choo-Choo develops Mickey's and Minnie's personalities a little more by allowing them to converse with each other. While this may not sound that important, consider that in previous cartoons the pair never really talked to each other. Instead they either sang or pantomimed everything. In this toon they exchange a few words and their first real conversation is held.

Mickey asks Minne to play a song on her fiddle (the same instrument she carries in Steamboat Willie) and we get to hear a rousing rendition of "Look Away, Look Away, Dixieland".

Whenever Mickey and Minnie go into one of their song and dance routines in these early shorts, it's interesting to see how the characters use their environment. Mickey especially has a habit of using nearby objects and animals as musical instruments.

One gag I like is when Mickey uses the floorboards of the train depot as a giant keyboard. It reminds me of the playfulness in a classic scene with Tom Hanks from the movie Big. Totally unrelated, but interesting nonetheless.

That example I mentioned earlier that tied Mickey's choo-choo train and Casey Jr. to the train in "The Little Engine That Could" is this scene they all share. All three trains have trouble climbing a steep mountain, and all three trains manage to overcome their struggle.

Unfortunately for Minnie, the caboose unlatches from the train with her on it. A great POV shot follows with Minnie atop the runaway car going through tunnel after tunnel.

Thrown in for good measure is a great gag that I've always enjoyed in any cartoon where something fast goes by stationary characters that lose their clothes (or feathers as the case may be).

Along the way, Minnie and the caboose find a cow on the tracks. In a gag that is reminiscent of the "gochig" one from The Plowboy, the petrified cow runs into a tree (along with the caboose) and is squashed.

Mickey's Choo-Choo ends with a happy Mickey and Minnie playing on a makeshift see-saw as they roll off into the sunset. A great little cartoon.

Mickey's Follies - August 28, 1929

2007-11-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

Mickey's Follies is Mickey's 10th short, and although its name might seem related to the name of this blog, the occurence is purely coincidental. Having said that, Mickey's Follies is a favorite toon of mine not for its compelling storyline, but rather for its interesting animation.

The short is one of the standard "music and dance" toons that were so common in the early days. Mickey decides to put on a talent show of sorts featuring a live orchestra of barnyard animals.

The talent is comprised of a duck chorus line, a pair of dancing chickens, and a singing pig who is booed offstage by hecklers.

Like I said, my favorite part about this cartoon is its animation. Mickey decides to sing his theme song, "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo", and the animation paired along with it is simply the strangest of Mickey I have ever seen. What with the wacky movements, bizarre poses, and just plain grotesque facial expressions, it's a rare chance to see Mickey act completely out of character.

As for the song itself, "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo" was the melody played over the title cards of almost all of Mickey's early shorts. The song was the very first piece of sheet music released by Disney in 1930, and went on to be a hit. Once the 1950s came along, Mickey received a new theme song with the all-popular "Mickey Mouse Club March". For those interested, the lyrics of the song can be found here.

Minnie appears in her own, literal box seat to sing the last line of the song to Mickey, "yoo-hoo". Now technically Minnie said this word in Steamboat Willie, though it was more of a squeal that sounded like "yoo-hoo". She for sure said "who me" in Plane Crazy, so Mickey's Follies marks her 3rd (or possibly only 2nd) speaking line.

Besides Mickey's burst into song and Minnie's first word, Mickey's Follies is a pretty uneventful toon. I thought I would mention another design mistake that appears on a mouse that isn't Mickey. Not only does this mouse bear Mickey's shorts, but it's actually the size of a real mouse. That's a little strange considering Mickey is his regular size in this toon, making him seem like a giant compared to this smaller creature.

The Karnival Kid - July 31, 1929

2007-11-16T14:07:00.001-08:00

The Karnival Kid is the 9th short in the Mickey Mouse series and a landmark one at that. In previous films, Mickey had always laughed, cried, and made small noises, but he never actually spoke coherent words; however, this cartoon premieres Mickey's speaking voice.

The Karnival Kid takes place at a country carnival where Mickey is selling hot dogs to the crowd. Ever wonder why one of Mickey's catchphrases is "Hot Dog"? It's because these were his very first words!

Mickey's speaking voice has always been the subject of fascination because most people know that Walt Disney himself provided it for many of the mouse's early shorts. What's interesting though is the fact that musical director Carl Stalling, not Walt Disney, was the voice of Mickey in this toon. Fans can immediately note the difference: Stalling's voice is rougher and deeper than the one Walt used for Mickey.

Minnie also appears in the toon as "Minnie the Shimmy Dancer", another example of her sometimes overt sexuality in these early films. Later of course Minnie becomes much sweeter and more mouse-next-door.

The Karnival Kid is full of the wackier cartoon style seen previously with Disney's Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. Gags, like the one above where Minnie stretches her leg skin to fish out a coin, were bizarre and extremely cartoony. In later years less and less of this was implemented as the animators went for a more realistic, yet still cartoonish, style.

Another such gag was also the inspiration for a merchandising milestone. At one point in the cartoon, Mickey actually takes off his ears and tips his "hat" to Minnie. Storyman Roy Williams used this gag as inspiration for the extremely popular Mickey Ears that are sold in Disney parks around the world today.

There are a few gags I really enjoy in The Karnival Kid. Mickey's hot dogs actually act like real dogs, barking and obeying Mickey's commands. When one runs away after being sold, Mickey teaches it a lesson by dropping its "drawers" and spanking it.

Another clever and complicated gag is this one involving a party blower coming towards the camera. It's a great in-your-face gag. As simple as it seems in today's cartoon universe, the gag really showed at the time just how talented the Disney Studio animators really were.

Making a brief appearance at the beginning of the toon is Clarabelle Cow. While still not up to par with Horace Horsecollar's emerging personality, Clarabelle's added flowered hat does indicate the Disney animators' growing interest in her. It's almost relatable to live-action stars who guest star and cameo here and there in various movies and television shows before they are finally noticed and given a starring role. Clarabelle still is a cameo star, but soon she too will gain a starring role.

Though loaded with gags, The Karnival Kid is not one of Mickey's best shorts. Curiously the cartoon is split into two stories, one involving Mickey selling his hot dogs and one where he serenades Minnie with the help of two annoyingly tone-deaf black cats.

In any case, The Karnival Kid is an important cartoon for Mickey because it is the one in which he finds his voice.

The Plowboy - June 28, 1929

2007-11-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

8th in Mickey Mouse's series of shorts is 1929's The Plowboy. The toon gets back to Mickey's and Minnie's country roots and features the pair working on a farm.

The Plowboy also features Horace Horsecollar in his second cartoon appearance (his more primitive version was seen in The Barn Dance). Horace's design has changed minutely in this short with the addition of his bowler hat, giving him that rough-and-tough wise guy look. Yet even though he has gained more personality, Horace is still portrayed as an animal rather than a "person" like Mickey; this would change in future toons.

Minnie is dressed in her farm bonnet singing away while playing her one-stringed guitar (or perhaps it's meant to be a ukelele). The ukelele was previously seen in Steamboat Willie when Minnie was running to catch the boat. It's nice to see the Disney animators get some use out of the prop.

Though ultimately this cow will become her in later toons, I hesistate to call her Clarabelle because she lacks so much personality. Whereas Horace is presented with so much vigor and clear attitude, this cow is nothing more than just a cow. A similar cow appeared in Plane Crazy, but that cow was even more generic than this one. In any case, I thought it would be important to at least document that very primitive forms of Clarabelle are present in these early shorts.

The toon really begins to gain momentum once an angry bee decides to have a little fun by stinging Horace directly on the rump.

What follows is an interesting shot that is basically the reverse version of the POV shot from Plane Crazy. Horace, aching with pain, runs toward the camera with a helpless Mickey in tow.

A funny and rather bizarre gag is seen when a goat, chicken, and pig get spooked by Horace and run into a tree. Strangely the animals all blend together to form a "gochig".

In the end Horace manages to break Mickey's plow on a rock, leaving the poor mouse with no way to finish his work.

Always the thinker, Mickey decides to use a helpless pig as a living plow in order to finish his work. It seems Mickey is not yet above animal cruelty.

The Barnyard Battle - April 25, 1929

2007-11-14T23:23:00.000-08:00

The Barnyard Battle is Mickey's 7th cartoon and one that Minnie does not appear in at all. The film is one of the more enjoyable for me because it's very rooted in history and is essentially a time capsule. The battle that occurs in the barnyard takes much inspiration from World War I, and the animators must have felt close to that source. Walt Disney especially was fascinated by WWI (having served as an ambulance driver in France), and he no doubt was very involved with the toon's production.

The cartoon opens with Mickey visiting the recruitment office in order to enlist in the Mouse Army. The fact that Mickey is cast as a soldier really establishes his everyman quality that he is so famous for today. Audiences at the time, especially war veterans, must have been able to relate well to the mouse because they were seeing him in familiar situations. The key to Mickey's success was (and is) his large amount of tangibility to the audience.

It also helped that Walt Disney wanted to make his character a funny and amusing one with jokes such as the above pop-gun.

The enemy of the Mice is naturally the Cat Army. Made up entirely of Pete's extended family, the Cats are gruesome characters clearly meant to represent the Germans from WWI.

Taking a look at the battle itself, we can see the Cats and Mice engaging in trench warfare. This is yet another inspiration taken from WWI.

Though the toon deals with war, there are plenty of fun gags present. My favorite is this one involving Mickey and a machine gun. When he runs out of bullets, Mickey substitutes piano keys instead which wreak havoc on the Cats while playing a catchy tune.

Once again we see a design mistake on another mouse that is not Mickey. The bandleader is sporting Mickey's trademark buttoned shorts.

In the end, Mickey single-handedly defeats the Cats by bopping them on the head and throwing them into a pile of defeat.

When the Cat's Away - March 3, 1929

2007-11-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

When the Cat's Away is the sixth toon in the Mickey Mouse series. The film is interesting because it is the first of a handful which portray Mickey and Minnie as the size of mice.

The cartoon begins with the introduction of Tom Cat, sort of a variation on Pete. Instead of being a villain, Tom actually serves no real purpose in the story except to be the cat who goes away.

Of course when the cat's away, the mice will play (hence the title of the cartoon). Mickey rounds up all his mice friends, breaks into Tom's shack, and begins with the merry-making.

Like I said, When the Cat's Away is interesting because Mickey and Minnie are the actual size of the creatures they are supposed to be. The pair appear like this in only a few toons until their proper height is fully established.

Some truly clever gags are incorporated in this film. My favorite is the way Mickey and Minnie use the Swiss cheese as a piano roll to play music. It'll take a while to get through Mickey's other cartoons, but I'm pretty sure this gag is used more than once.

Another fun gag is the very inventive mouse record player. This gag for sure is used numerous times in various Disney cartoons; one of my favorite versions involves Pluto in the cartoon Pluto's Blue Note in which he manages to make all the girl dogs swoon over his "crooning".

As a side note, notice the mouse with the shorts in the picture above. During this portion of the toon, Mickey and Minnie are on the piano while these three mice find the records. Apparently some cartoonist made a mistake and drew one mouse with Mickey's costume. The problem is understandable since at the time the Disney animators were not as careful about such things; in fact the same thing can be seen in a later Mickey cartoon. In the coming years such mistakes would not be made in an effort to keep Mickey as identifiably unique as possible.

This saxaphone gag is another example of the creativity of the Disney animators. Notice again the design mistake of not one but two mice this time.

Once again our parrot friend makes a cameo in this toon. Previously he belonged to Minnie, but it seems she grew tired of him and sold him to Tom Cat instead.

When the Cat's Away is a fun little cartoon and the first to feature Mickey and Minnie with other creatures like themselves. The film ends with a nice kiss between the pair.

The Opry House - March 28, 1929

2007-10-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Opry House is Mickey Mouse's fifth cartoon. The short is not one of my favorites, but it does mark the appearance of an important addition to Mickey's design: gloves.

The Opry House in The Opry House is apparently owned and operated by Mickey, and the toon opens with him getting ready for the big show. This short is Mickey's first solo film, though Minnie makes a cameo in a poster advertising the theater's own Yankee Doodle Girls.

One of my favorite parts about studying different animation shorts from yesteryears is the sense of by-gone culture found within many of them. The Opry House focuses on Mickey's Vaudeville act, an entertainment venue popular in the late 1920s but completely forgotten today. It's very interesting as a 21st Century viewer to discover these time capsules within animated films.

As I said this is Mickey's first solo cartoon, which means that hoochie Arabian belly dancer is not Minnie. Mickey is obviously a very talented mouse as he dresses in drag to charm a snake as well as the audience. Notice also how he has gained gloves over his hands, a characterstic of his design which in time will become standard not only for him but almost all Disney characters. Even some Warner Bros. characters, such as Bugs Bunny, will adopt Mickey's hand wear.

Taking a closer look at Mickey's gloves, we can see exactly what inspired them. Ever wonder what those 3 lines on the back of each glove were for? Gloves in the late 1920s-'30s were made with 3 distinct lines over the back of the hand. The Disney animators were simply copying an already fashionable style.

It's not entirely clear why Mickey was redesigned with gloves on his hands, but the most widely accepted and logical reason the choice was made was to make the character's hands distinguishable against his black body. In any case, Mickey (and Minnie) are seen wearing gloves in both the title and end cards of each short preceding The Opry House, beginning with the pair's first toon Plane Crazy.

Mickey as the Arabian belly dancer performs many "cartoony" effects like squishing, squashing, and stretching. You'll find a lot of this type of animation in these early shorts because animation itself was still being explored and rules were still being created. As time progressed and animation became a little more refined, Disney eventually decided to stick to more realistic performances. In some cases the cartoony stretching effects were used, but for the most part they were phased out.

Mickey also does a short jig as a Hisidic Jew. Though considered rascist by many today, back then such caricatures were commonplace in cartoons.

The cartoon ends with Mickey's rousing piano performance. An interesting note is that one of the tunes he plays is "Hungarian Rhapsody". The song can be found in many other shorts from different animation studios as well as the Disney movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (performed by Daffy and Donald Duck).

The Opry House is very a much a gag-driven short like many of these early cartoons. My favorite gag is method Mickey uses to help a rather rotund audience member fit through the theater's entrance. Classic.

The Barn Dance - March 14, 1929

2007-10-08T23:52:00.000-07:00

The Barn Dance is the fourth Mickey and Minnie cartoon. While there is nothing truly important about the short, it is entertaining and enojable to watch.

The toon opens with Mickey in his old-fashioned horse-drawn buggy on his way to Minnie's house to take her to the local Barn Dance. Does the horse look familiar? This cartoon marks the first (and primitive) appearance of Horace Horsecollar. While never really a popular character, Horace is featured more and more in later Mickey shorts before he is phased out altogether. He will also begin to walk on two legs, talk from time to time, and even gain a bowler hat.

Of course Mickey's outdated buggy is no match for Pete's modern horseless carraige. Pete too wants to take Minnie to the dance, and surprisingly Minnie accepts his offer.

It's interesting to compare Minnie's personality in these early shorts to her present persona. She is easily swayed by flashy, expensive things (such as Pete's car), and it will be some time before she comes into her own and transforms into the lovable sweetheart of Mickey. In a way it reminds me of Popeye and Olive Oyl. Their early toons (and even much later ones) usually feature Popeye and Bluto fighting over Olive Oyl, with Olive being nothing more than an item. In much the same way Olive eventually gains more facets to her personality, Minnie also evolves into a more complex character.

Like any girl, however, Minnie does not appreciate it when Pete's modern car turns out to be a dud.

Lucky for her, there's another beau waiting for her company. Again, I think this portrays Minnie in a particulary bad light as she seems a bit shallow. This of course will change in time.

Mickey, Minnie, and even Pete reach the Barn Dance, which is in full swing. Animals are dancing to the lively music...

...but unfortunately Mickey's dancing skills are not the best. Minnie again is more than happy to leave Mickey for Pete.

Always the thinker, Mickey devises a plan to win Minnie back. Using a balloon, he literally becomes light on his feet.

However, Pete is not willing to give up. Using a pin and his sock garter as a slingshot...
...Pete easily ruins Mickey's chances at impressing Minnie. The two fall on the floor in a crash.

Seeing no potential in Mickey, Minnie once more goes back to Pete. In a cruel twist, the toon ends with Mickey sobbing.

The Barn Dance is an interesting short because it shows Pete, Minnie, and Mickey in very different ways than audiences are used to. Minnie is entirely unloyal to her true love, Mickey seems to do one wrong thing after another, and Pete is shockingly portrayed not as a menacing villain but rather a proper gentleman. The whole story bears some resemblance to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow where Brom Bones, the gentlemanly villain of the story, battles with Ichabod Crane to win the affections of Katrina Van Tassel. Though Ichabod meets his demise differently than Mickey, the villains of both stories get the girl in the end.

To put a cap on this Mickey short, I wanted to point out this parrot. He previously made fun of Mickey in Steamboat Willie, and it seems Minnie decided to take him in as a pet for The Barn Dance.

Steamboat Willie - November 18, 1928

2007-10-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

Steamboat Willie has long been known as the quintissential Mickey cartoon, and for very good reason. It was this toon which caught the interest of audiences all over America and sent the lovable mouse on his journey to mega-stardom.

The film is also a historical work of art for its use of sound. 1927's The Jazz Singer was the first film ever to use a soundtrack, yet the process was still seen as a novelty. Truth be told, Steamboat Willie was not the first cartoon to have sound; in fact popular animator Max Fleischer (creator of Popeye and Betty Boop) experimented with sound effects in seven of his films before 1928. These cartoons were mostly silent except for a few sounds placed here and there. Needless to say, they were not well-received.

It wasn't until 1928 that Walt Disney decided to try creating a cartoon with a synchronized soundtrack throughout the entire film, a first of its kind. What came out of this idea was Steamboat Willie.

Ah yes, the iconic black and white image of Mickey Mouse as captain. So much of Mickey's personality is shown is just this opening scene. Here we have a lovable character that is very relatable. His design has changed from his appearance in Plane Crazy. Besides gaining shoes (yet still gloveless), Mickey's eyes have turned to oval buttons.

Deciding to change Mickey's eyes to pupil-less buttons was an interesting choice animator Ub Iwerks made. From listening to animators like South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker and The Simpsons' Matt Groening, one of the most important features of an animated character is its eyes. Notice how Homer, Marge, Cartman, and Stan all have very large round eyes. This helps the character to express much more emotionally, which is a characteristic that became troublesome for Mickey in later years; in fact, it is the reason why he eventually regains his pupils for 1940's Fantasia. While this early Mickey can certainly evoke happiness, sadness, and other simple emotions, it must have been a challenge for the Disney animators to create a confused, worried, or thinking look.

Steamboat Willie also sees the first appearance of Mickey and Pete together onscreen. Though this toon is Pete's first appearance in a Mickey Mouse film, the character had previously been introduced in the Alice Comedies of the 1920s. In this toon Pete is the captain of the steamboat and curiously has no interest in Minnie at all. His villainous role further cements Mickey as the character worth rooting for and the true star of the film.

Minnie is introduced as a maiden trying to catch the boat before it leaves the dock. Here we see a revised design of the character. She gained her shoes as Mickey did in The Gallopin' Gaucho, but for this toon she is given her trademark flowered hat.

The last character of importance seen in this toon is the parrot. While he never becomes a star in his own right, he does appear in several other Mickey shorts down the road.

Steamboat Willie is another Mickey cartoon which isn't up to Disney's present, family-friendly standards, though it's important to note that it was perfectly fine in 1928. While it is void of any racial stereotypes, it does have a scene featuring tabacco chewing.

Minnie and especially Mickey are also showcased in a rascally light. Whether it be cranking on a goat's tail...

...defiling an innocent cat....

....torturing a nearby goose...

...using a cow's teeth as a xylophone...

...or terrorizing both a group of piglets and their mother, Mickey was certainly a devilish character.

Steamboat Willie remains one of the most important cartoons in animation history today. It was voted #13 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time and was even selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. It's not the greatest Mickey cartoon ever made, but it is very entertaining.

The Gallopin' Gaucho - December 30, 1928

2007-10-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Gallopin' Gaucho is the second Mickey and Minnie Mouse cartoon and, like Plane Crazy, it was first a silent film. The cartoon was never released as a silent film due to its predecessor's poor performance. After Steamboat Willie however, it was finally released with sound, making it the second Mickey cartoon made but third released.

Done as a parody of the Douglas Fairbanks film The Gaucho, The Gallopin' Gaucho is a small improvement over its predecessor. The toon is not very notable for anything in particular, but I do have to say that it is enjoyable and even funny to watch.

The cartoon opens in Argentina with Mickey, as the notorious "El Gaucho", riding into town with his trusty emu (emus, not ostriches, are native to South America). That right there is comedic gold. It's interesting that Mickey plays this outlaw role, which of course is completely out of character today. Notice how now Mickey has gained shoes.

In the town cantina, Gaucho Mickey spots the charming dancer Minnie. Here she is portrayed as much sexier than in her previous film, what with her hips gyrating from side to side. As the character evolves over time, she will become less sensual and more mouse-next-door. Minnie also has gained shoes along with a bra.

Though The Gallopin' Gaucho is only the second of the mice's films, already you can see improvements in animation. A great example is the short tango sequence between Mickey and Minnie, in which the two dance in perfect unison and move very fluidly.

This cartoon also marks the first appearance of Pete in a Mickey Mouse film. While Pete eventually becomes Mickey's arch-nemesis (and later the enemy of Donald, Goofy, and others), his true history extends beyond even that of Mickey and Minnie. Pete first appeared in the Alice Comedies of the 1920s, and once the production on those silent films ceased he found a home with the mice.

Pete's formula in these early shorts is almost always the same: he steps in to steal Minnie away for himself. That's exactly what he does here, and the storyline allows Mickey to be seen not as just a mischevious character but also as a true hero. As more and more cartoons are made, Mickey will ultimately pursue this hero personality and leave his naughty ways behind.

In the end Gaucho Mickey of course saves the beautiful Minnie, and they both share their first onscreen kiss atop a running emu. Romantic, isn't it?

Like Plane Crazy before it, The Gallopin' Gaucho showcases a Mickey we today are not used to seeing; in fact, in this cartoon he is perhaps even more devilish than before. Mickey is seen smoking, which today is just plain crazy to see.

Mickey also downs a hearty mug of beer, which again is a true rarity today.

An interesting thing I noticed while watching this cartoon was Mickey's design. In the beginning, Mickey is drawn the same as he appeared in Plane Crazy (with shoes); once Pete is introduced, Mickey's facial design changes to his more familiar button eyes. Not only does this mark the first time this design is seen, but it's interesting that it occurs at the moment Mickey becomes a hero. It's amusing to think that Mickey changes not only his personality (which up to this point has been naughty) but also his appearance to reflect his more heroic and "everyman" design that becomes so popular later in his cartoon series.

Plane Crazy - May 15, 1928

2007-10-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Plane Crazy is perhaps one of the most forgotten cartoons starring Mickey and Minnie Mouse. It's completely understandable... the toon isn't the best featuring the pair nor is it particularly memorable; however, what most people do not know is that Plane Crazy is truly Mickey and Minnie's film debut.

Plane Crazy was created in complete secrecy at the Walt Disney Studio. At the time of its creation, Charles Mintz had just gained the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as well as convinced Walt's staff to walk out on the studio, leaving only Ub Iwerks. Walt decided to launch a new character, that of Mickey Mouse, by creating a new cartoon to interest potential distributors. Iwerks actually drew the entirety of Plane Crazy with Walt and Roy Disney's wives, Lillian and Edna, inking and painting (along with Walt's sister-in-law Hazel Swell).

The toon premiered May 15, 1928 at a theater on Sunset and Gardner in Hollywood. It seemed to be received well by audiences; the trouble was distributors panned Mickey or just never saw the toon. Without a distributor, Walt couldn't afford to make a Mickey Mouse series.

It wasn't until later in 1928 that Mickey and Minnie gained their stardom thanks to sound and a steamboat named Willie. Now that his characters were popular, Walt wisely re-released Plane Crazy with sound on March 17, 1929, and it suddenly became a hit.

Plane Crazy is a simple toon involving Mickey flying an airplane. Mickey's design was created by Ub Iwerks, and as you can see it's very different from today's version. Here Mickey has no gloves nor shoes, though he does wear his trademark shorts. His eyes are interesting because they include pupils; this of course changes with Steamboat Willie where he is seen with oval, button-like eyes.

In the cartoon, Mickey wants to be like his idol Charles Lindberg, the famous aviator who was the first to complete a non-stop flight from New York to Paris.

So, he builds a plane and of course asks his girlfriend Minnie to take a ride with him. Here we see the first design for Minnie Mouse, which doesn't differ too much from Mickey's. In subsequent cartoons she will gain shoes, gloves, and a flowered hat (from time to time). Her eyes will also make the change to oval buttons in Steamboat Willie. An interesting fact here is that Minnie says the only words in the toon, "Who, me?". Her voice was provided by Walt himself.

Now, while watching Steamboat Willie, I believe Minnie does yell "yoo-hoo" while running to catch the boat; then again, she could just be making a noise that sounds like "yoo-hoo". For that reason, it's hard to tell whether or not her line here is the 1st or 2nd time she speaks.

Besides being Mickey and Minnie's very first cartoon, Plane Crazy is also notable for being the first animated film to use a camera move. As Mickey loses control of his plane, he runs down a cow. To achieve the shot, the Disney animators piled books under the spinning background to move the artwork closer to the camera, thus creating a sense of moving in.

Plane Crazy shows the raw side of the Mickey shorts, before he was refined to become the Disney corporate symbol he is today. Gags like turning animals into machinery or instruments are my favorite in these early films because today they are simply not seen.

Mickey is shown as a mischevious and sometimes malicious character, which is an interesting contrast to his persona today. For example, ripping off a turkey's tail to use as a plane's tail is something Mickey would NEVER do in a present day cartoon.

While watching Plane Crazy, it's easy to see the untapped potential in the two mice. Who at the time could even guess at the characters' future popularity?