The Beach Party - November 5, 1931

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

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.

Blue Rhythm - August 18, 1931

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.

The Birthday Party - January 7, 1931

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

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.