Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a comic animal cartoon character who has become a symbol for The Walt Disney Company. Created in the 1920s by Ub Iwerks, the mouse has evolved from being simply a character in animated cartoons and comic strips to become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.

Firsts

First encounter with Horace Horsecollar

Mickey returned to civilian life with The Plow Boy, first released on May 9, 1929. As the title implies he was depicted as a farmer alongside Minnie. He is first seen with his horse while ploughing a field. Then Minnie comes along with her cow. She has Mickey milk the cow for her. As he does, the cow starts licking him in an apparent sign of affection. Mickey does not seem pleased and replies by rolling up its muzzle with its own tongue. Mickey eventually manages to present Minnie with a full be short is considered mainly notable for the livestock it featured. Minnie's cow is considered to be Clarabelle Cow making her second appearance, and Mickey's plow horse is considered to be Horace Horsecollar making his debut. Though depicted as non-anthropomorphic animals during this short, later that same year both would become as anthropomorphic as their former owners.

Related Topics:
The Plow Boy - May 9 - Farmer - Plough - Muzzle - Livestock - Clarabelle Cow - Anthropomorphic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First speaking appearance

During his first eight appearances Mickey would whistle, laugh, cry and otherwise vocally express himself. But he would not actually speak until his ninth appearance. This short was The Karnival Kid, first released on May 23, 1929. Mickey's first spoken words were "Hot Dogs!". The short featured Mickey selling hot dogs at a carnival. Much of the humor in this short came from the interaction between Mickey and his hot dogs, with the latter tending to act like actual dogs in relation to their owner/trainer. Three other recurring characters of the series also appear. The first of them was Clarabelle Cow in a cameo. The second was Kat Nipp, making his third and last appearance. A barker at the carnival, he briefly gets into an argument with Mickey. The third was Mickey's recurring love interest: Minnie Mouse "the Shimmy Dancer" of the carnival. Having purchased one of Mickey's hot dogs, she is surprised to see it run away. The short ends at night time. Mickey apparently attempts to draw Minnie's attention by playing guitar singing outside her window. He only manages to draw the attention of two alley cats who decide to join him and then that of an irate neighbour of Minnie's who starts throwing things at these three annoyances in an attempt to silence them. This marks the finale of the short.

Related Topics:
The Karnival Kid - May 23 - Hot Dog - Carnival - Dog - Cameo - Guitar

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First singing appearance

This following Mickey short to be released was Mickey's Choo Choo, first released on June 20, 1929. As the title implies, Mickey is depicted as the engineer in charge of an unusually anthropomorphic locomotive. His only passenger seems to be Minnie, cast as a fiddle player for this short. At some point Mickey loses control of the locomotive. Clarabelle has another brief appearance as a cow running out of its way. It was soon followed by Mickey's Follies, first released on June 26, 1929. The short featured a barnyard show including various numbers. A female pig singing opera is considered to be Patricia Pig making her only animated appearance. She would be a recurring character early in Mickey's comic strip series. But the short is more notable for Mickey's main act. It has Mickey singing Minnie's Yoo Hoo for the first time. This humorous little song is considered to have a historical importance of its own. For one thing "the guy they call little Mickey Mouse" for the first time addresses an audience to explain that he has "Got a sweetie" who is "Neither fat nor skinny" and proudly proclaims that "She's my little Minnie Mouse". For another this would serve as the new theme song for the series. The music to the song was written by Carl Stalling and the lyrics by Walt Disney. Finally, animation historians have pointed that it seems to be the first song with original lyrics created by Walt's studio.

Related Topics:
Mickey's Choo Choo - June 20 - Locomotive - Fiddle - Mickey's Follies - June 26 - Opera - Patricia Pig - Comic strip - Carl Stalling

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From comedy to musical

The ninth Mickey short to be released that year was The Jazz Fool, first released on July 5, 1929. The title was probably intended to be reminiscent of both The Jazz Singer, and also The Singing Fool, first released on September 19, 1928. Both musical films featured Al Jolson as their star and had proved commercially successful. This film followed the originals in having minimal plot and focusing on musical performances. Mickey and his friend Horace Horsecollar, the later in his first anthropomorphic appearance, are cast as the sole two performers of "Mickey's Big Road Show". The former plays the piano and the later the xylophone. The soundtrack of the film reportedly contained elements of both ragtime and Dixieland jazz. This short is considered to be representative of a change of focus early in the series. The preceding shorts already featured their share of song and dance numbers as part of their comedic plots. Many of the following ones can better be described as animated song and dance shows with little to no plot.

Related Topics:
The Jazz Fool - July 5 - The Singing Fool - September 19 - Musical film - Xylophone - Ragtime - Dixieland - Jazz

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First encounter with ghosts

This was not the case however with the next Mickey short to be released: Haunted House, first released on August 1, 1929. The short begins at night time. Mickey is seen caught up in a storm with an umbrella serving as his only protection from the rain. Mickey is naturally seeking a refuge for himself. He soon discovers an apparently deserted house and proceeds to enter it. The door suddenly shuts behind him and seems to be locked. Mickey is somewhat unnerved and his encounters with bats and large spiders only increase his growing fear. At this point, Mickey finds out that the house is indeed inhabited ... by ghosts in skeleton form. Mickey has entered a haunted house. The figure of the Grim Reaper orders him to play music to entertain them. Mickey is surprised but clearly too scared to argue with it. Skeletons are seen dancing to Mickey's tune. At some point, Mickey attempts to escape but any room he attempts to enter contains more skeletons. The finale has a terrified Mickey crashing through a window to escape.

Related Topics:
Haunted House - August 1 - Storm - Umbrella - Bat - Spider - Ghost - Skeleton - Haunted house - Grim Reaper

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The short is clearly similar to The Skeleton Dance, first released on August 22, 1929, which was the first short of the Silly Symphonies series. Both feature elements generally found in horror fiction and particularly in horror films effectively combined with music and dance. A series of creative and rather morbid gags provide comedic elements. The result is often described as surreal and at points impressive. Consequently both shorts have been considered among the highlights of their respective series and animated classics.

Related Topics:
The Skeleton Dance - August 22 - Silly Symphonies - Horror fiction - Horror film - Surreal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Earliest adventure at sea

Another Mickey short was released in between them: Wild Waves, first released on August 15, 1929. Mickey and Minnie are featured spending a day at the beach. They are at first singing and dancing at the shore but at some point Minnie is swept by a wave into the sea. She panicks and seems to start drowning. Mickey discovers a rowboat placed upside-down on the beach. He lifts it to discover an amorous couple who were using the boat as their cover from prying eyes. Mickey proceeds to place it into the water and then rows the boat forward until he reaches Minnie. He manages to rescue her and return her to the shore but Minnie is still visibly shaken from the experience. Mickey starts singing the tune of Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep, a maritime ballad written in 1832 by Emma Hart Willard (February 23, 1787 - April 15, 1870), in an apparent effort to cheer her up. Soon seals, walruses, penguins, pelicans, and other water birds start dancing to Mickey's tune. Minnie cheers up and the short ends. Mickey was depicted acting much like a lifeguard during the short. Otherwise it is only notable as the first of Mickey's adventures at sea.

Related Topics:
Wild Waves - August 15 - Beach - Drowning - Maritime - Ballad - 1832 - Emma Hart Willard - February 23 - 1787 - April 15 - 1870 - Seals - Walrus - Penguin - Pelican - Lifeguard

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~