Pioneer Days - December 5, 1930

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

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

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

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

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.