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"A Mickey Mouse Cartoon"
Synopsis
- Mickey takes Minnie to a vaudeville show, then out for a wild drive in an antique car.
Characters
- Mickey Mouse
- Minnie Mouse
- Goofy (cameo)
- Donald Duck (cameo)
- Daisy Duck (cameo)
- Huey, Dewey, and Louie (cameo)
- Fred and Ward
Credits
- Director : Riley Thompson
- Animation
- Effects Animation : Art Fitzpatrick
- Layout : Charlie Connors
- Background vocals : The Sportsmen
Cut Scenes
- A slide show in the vaudeville house to the old tune "Father, Dear Father" - in which a drunken husband is shown refusing to come home from the bar - was cut at one time. It has since been reinstated.
Inside Jokes
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Some of the names on the theater curtain refer to people at Disney. One says "Walter D's Hats that Please," an obvious reference to Walt Disney himself. Another says "Wilfred Jaxson Feed and Fuel," a reference to Wilfred Jackson, one of Disney's earliest animators. There may be others, but the video I was watching on was blurred. Later, Mickey and Minnie pass by a barn with the sign "Riley's Livery Stable", probably referring to director Riley Thompson.
The second act "Fred and Ward, Two Clever Boys from Illinois" are caricatures of Fred Moore and Ward Kimball, two of Disney's top animators.
From J. D. Weil : "In "The Nifty Nineties" you mentioned the in-joke "Walter D's Hats" as being directed at Walt Disney, which is true, but there is another aspect to that gag. It seems there is a hat manufacturer that uses the Disney name (I spotted their ads in the New Yorker Magazine, and it seems they been making hats longer than Walt has making cartoons) and probably Riley Thompson (or his gagmen) knew of this. So that gives that joke an extra edge. (Of course I'll never know if Walt ever wore Disney hats.)
From Peter Hale : The other names in the ads on the backdrop are "Clark's Confectionery" for animator Les Clark, "T. Hee Shoes" for storyman T. Hee, "Gen. J. Sharpsteen Dentist" for director Ben Sharpsteen, "Rileys Livery Stable" possibly for Art Riley but maybe for Riley Thompson who directed 'Nifty Nineties', and three I can't identify: "'Breezy' Allens Haberdashery", M. Flanigan Imported Coffee" and "R. B. Martch Guns". (The top left hand space says "For Rent.")
Videos
- United States
- Cartoon Classics : Limited Gold Editions : Minnie
- Sweetheart Stories
- Germany
- Italy
Laserdiscs
- Japan
DVD
- Region 1 : United States
- Pollyanna
- Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color : Volume 2
- Mickey and Minnie's Sweetheart Stories
- Cartoon Classics Favorites : Best Pals: Mickey and Minnie
Television
- The Ink and Paint Club : #22 : Classic Mickey
- The Ink and Paint Club : #39 : Minnie Mouse
Technical Specifications
- Color Type : Technicolor
- Animation type : Standard
- Sound mix : Mono
- Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1
- Negative format : 35mm
- Print format : 35mm
- Cinematographic process : Spherical
- Original language : English
- Production Number : 4109
Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
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From Ryan : This is one of my favorite Mickey Mouse shorts. I absolutely love the scene in the vaudeville theater with Fred and Ward, the "Two Clever Boys From Illinois." The first joke that they told was the oldest one in the book: Why did the chicken cross the road? The animation was nicely done. So what do I have to complain about this wonderful short? Well... if I can recall, I first saw this cartoon on a video that I had rented back when I was about 8 or 9 years old. When Mickey and Minnie entered the vaudeville theater, a slideshow entitled "Father Dear Father" came on. It was about a poor woman (actually I don't remember whether or not she was actually poor) trying to get her alcoholic father to come home and help her and her mother take care of their dying child. I don't remember much about the images that I saw in that sequence, but I remember that I saw someone frozen in a bathtub. This scene is now censored on the Disney Channel, which really ticks me off! I believe that this scene should NOT have been censored for two reasons:1.) The alcoholic in the show was not a regular Disney character, so he would not be considered a role model that some kids might try to copy.
2.) This may not be true for some of the older kids (like 4th grade age), but the younger kids (like kindergarten-age) would not understand it and it would just go over their heads.
From Roberto González : This is an awesome cartoon. I watched it for first time in the DVD and I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked. No matter what you think of Disney's cuteness this cartoon is so well drawn you just have to enjoy it. I mean, I myself am more of a Looney Tunes fan but I really love the music, art and humor in this one. It's also very nice to see Goofy, Donald and his gang in those brief cameos.
From Austin Long : This short portrays the 1890's masterfully. The part with Freddie Moore and Ward Kimball as part of the show is among my favorite cameos in any short. 11 out of 10.
From Baruch Weiss : Mickey goes on a date with Minnie then takes her for a ride in his automobile which ends up in a wreck when a cow gets in the way. Truly one of my favorite Mickey cartoons and I enjoyed the cameo appearances by the other Disney Characters. This didn't happen often in the classic Disney cartoons where other characters would make cameos.
From Mick Mouse : One of my all time favorite shorts! I absolutely love those cute romantic Mickey and Minnie moments. I also found a hidden gag on the curtain at the vaudeville show. One of the advertisements is " Walter D's, Hats to please". I thought that it was a cute little tribute to the one and only Walt Disney himself.
From Billy Joe : In my opinion, this is one of the Disney studio's greatest shorts. The opening theme included a song about the 1890s, the time this cartoon takes place. Mickey and Minnie meet each other in the park, and then see a show titled "Father, Dear Father."
"Father, Dear Father" was sad. Minnie cried. A young girl's father was drunk, not caring about his family. He was in a bar. There was even an image of a nude woman hanging on the wall. After the show ended, a card read, "P.S. He did come home.", or something like that.
There was also a comedy skit done by two of Disney's top animators. On the couple's car ride after the show, they pass by familiar faces such as Goofy, Donald, and his nephews. I especially liked it when Mickey and Minnie run into a cow and kiss at the end. This cartoon inspired by Walt Disney's favorite time period is well done. It gets a perfect 10!
From Margos : This short was brilliant, and the animation was very well-done. It's kind of odd, I'd heard a lot about this one, but I never actually bothered looking it up until I saw that it was the featured short of the week on this website. The references to the Disney staff were quite clever! The only thing that I wasn't crazy about were Mickey and Minnie's strangely elongated ears. They didn't look like themselves with the ears out of proportion like that. Ah well, absolutely perfect other than that...
Although, how dare Disney Channel censor out "Father, Dear Father!?" That part is about 2 minutes long! Aside from being a ridiculous edit to make in the first place, it drastically compromises the runtime of the entire piece! Ugh!
Referenced Comments
- The Picnic (1930)
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Title Cards
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