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.
1 comment:
Another blooper is when mickey "shortens" Pluto's trombone by breaking it. When the camera pulls back after that, the trombone is at full length again!
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