Hot Dog! Ten Fun Facts about Mickey Mouse

What would an animation blog be without at least paying homage to the most famous mouse in all cartoondom? Here are ten fun facts you may or may not already know about Disney’s world-famous mascot, Mickey Mouse:

1.       Many people think that the infamous Steamboat Willie (1928) marked Mickey’s first onscreen appearance, and that he represented the first talking cartoon character. Neither of these statements is true. Mickey Mouse in fact starred in two cartoons prior to Steamboat Willie, titled Plane Crazy (1928) and Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928) respectively, although it should be noted that these were not distributed to the general public. Disney’s decision to make Steamboat Willie with synchronised music and sound led to his public dissemination, and resulted in unprecedented nationwide success. Regardless, while the cartoon accomplished much in that it represented the first full, one-reel juxtaposition of film and music, there were already earlier examples of sound synchronisation in animated film in existence, by the likes of the Fleischer brothers, although these examples were more minimal in scope.

2.       Many people also attribute Mickey’s design to Walt Disney himself, when in fact he was visually designed by Ub Iwerks, who went on to independently create his own cartoons and establish new star Flip the Frog, who was at the centre of a number of cartoons throughout the 1930s, produced by The Iwerks Studio. Sadly, these cartoons were never majorly successful. Disney’s influence is widely disputed.

3.       Mickey’s first colour cartoon was The Band Concert, released in 1935, which sees Mickey assume the role of band leader/conductor of a concert which resolves to carry on despite a number of distractions. Most famously, the climax of the cartoon features a tornado, incited by the frantic musical composition, which sends all the band members high into the air as they continue to play.

4.       Mickey’s late-1930s redesign is attributed to animator Fred Moore, which resulted in his adding whites to his eyes as opposed to merely drawing them as simple black dots, as well as adding his infamous white gloves. This redesign initially appeared in The Pointer (1939). Around this time, the focus diverted from plain, slapstick gags to character development.

5.       Despite his name being synonymous with Disney, and his silhouette becoming the Disney logo, only one of his cartoons won an Academy Award. The cartoon is entitled Lend a Paw (1941) and ironically features Pluto as its protagonist. In the cartoon, Pluto saves a kitten, only to become envious of the furry feline after Mickey begins to care for it.

6.       In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame.

7.       Mickey has appeared in only three theatrical releases in Disney’s animated features canon. These are Fantasia (1940), Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and Fantasia 2000 (1999). Both of the Fantasia films showcase the infamous Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence that has become one of the feature’s most iconic segments, while Fun and Fancy Free presents the final appearance of Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey Mouse, in the cartoon Mickey and the Beanstalk, during the recording of which the baton was passed on to actor Jimmy MacDonald.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)

8.       Mickey has been voiced by Walt Disney, Jimmy MacDonald, Clarence Nash, Stan Freberg, Alan Young, Wayne Allwine and Bret Iwan. Allwine initially provided his voice in 1983’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol and continued to lend his vocals until his death in 2009. During his career, he voiced Mickey in such notable films as The Prince and the Pauper (1990) and Fantasia 2000 (1999), as well as straight-to-video features Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004).

9.       Mickey has starred in a number of video-games, including Epic Mickey, Castle of Illusion and Mickey Mania. Initially created for the Sega Mega Drive in 1994 and rereleased as Mickey’s Wild Adventure in 1995 on PlayStation, Mickey Mania is notable for having paid homage to a number of significant and memorable shorts, including Steamboat Willie, The Mad Doctor (1933), The Band Concert (1935) and Lonesome Ghosts (1937).

The Brave Little Tailor (1938)

10.   Ten of Mickey’s cartoons have been nominated for an Academy Award, including The Brave Little Tailor (1938), Runaway Brain (1995) and, most recently, Get a Horse! (2013), which was presented as an accompaniment to Disney’s 53^rd animated feature Frozen (2013).

 

Images obtained from:

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas. (1999) [DVD] Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Burbank, California.

The Sword in the Stone. (2001) [DVD] Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Burbank, California.

The Lost Looney Tunes

Earlier this year, we paid tribute to Bugs Bunny – an animated film veteran whose role in the Warner Bros. animated shorts continues to delight young and old alike. The wascally wabbit starred in more than 160 Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons, most of which have been reissued and shown multiple times on network television. But amongst this batch of animated comedy gold is a handful of shorts censored and kept altogether rather hush-hush for the 21^st Century audience. The majority of censored cartoons from the Warner Bros. canon are from what most people would consider to be an era prior to the animation studio’s ‘Golden Age’ – the infamous ‘Censored Eleven’ comprised of cartoons between 1931 and 1944. But by the late ‘40s, a time when one would assume any allusion to racial prejudice would be eradicated, the issue of race was still very much apparent. Cartoons such as Mississippi Hare (1949) continued to showcase the brazen, outspoken lampooning of ethnic difference in the then-prevalent blackface gag – a visual ‘joke’ which sees an onscreen character caked in soot or burnt so that they represent an African American stereotype. Fortunately, very few of these gags were seen quite so late as in this short, though there remain a small number of censored Golden Age cartoons, one of the most severe being the seldom-spoken-of Which is Witch (1949), and one which provides an ample case study for this discussion.

Directed by Friz Freleng, Which is Witch sees Bugs Bunny encounter an African witch doctor, who threatens to boil him alive in his cauldron, being as he represents a key ingredient for his potion. The film is horrifyingly racist – to the point at which it seems surprising that it isn’t included as part of the famed Censored Eleven. While certain shorts, such as the aforementioned Mississippi Hare, are spotted with the occasional dated reference, this short is wholly dependent on racism for its gags, the most severe of which include Bugs’ disguising himself as a Zulu native, adding a spring to his neck and two large plates to his lips, all of which comprise a shameful and ignorant commentary on Third World civilisation. The conclusion, too, ends the cartoon on a rather sour note by derogatorily imposing First World customs on the African setting.

Notably, this is the last Bugs Bunny cartoon to contain African stereotypes, which probably suggests it became dated rather quickly. For the completist, its absence from home video releases is perhaps irritating, but at the same time understandable. It’s hardly Freleng’s finest work, and the jokes are so jarring that it’s more uncomfortable to watch than it is entertaining. But the issue here is where to draw the line. While some Golden Collection box sets contain disclaimers explaining that the cartoons enclosed are products of their time, a vast number of the more ‘severe’ cartoons have seldom seen a home video release. In a sense, this contradicts the disclaimer. Another issue is the weak definition of these cartoons’ ‘severity’ in terms of racist imagery and humour. Chuck Jones’ surreal, short-lived ‘Inki’ series (1939-1950), in which an African caveboy named Inki hunts the elusive Minah Bird, has not been seen on home video since the 1980s, despite the fact that the gags in these cartoons were not in any way derived from Inki’s appearance or race. Rather, the humour derived mostly from the absurdity of the situations, and the inexplicably almighty Minah Bird, who randomly appeared as a ‘deus ex machina’ figure in times of crisis. In any case, these characters are now doomed to obscurity – a sad fact justified by the likes of the aforementioned Bugs Bunny outing.

Since the Golden Collection and the redistribution of nearly 400 classic shorts, it has become apparent to me that there are a great deal of cartoons that will more than likely fade into obscurity for their portrayal of race and ethnic stereotypes. At the same time, however, by failing to acknowledge them, it could be argued that we are witnessing an elision of race, and a growing tendency to disregard that these images were ever produced. In any case, there’s no easy answer. It’s an uncomfortable area of discussion, and although the animation historian poses a mature and appropriate market for these shorts, there likely isn’t enough demand from adult audiences to warrant the release of these films. The vast majority will hardly be missed by casual viewers, but with cases such as Inki, there’s also a substantial amount of creativity and innovation that is being hesitantly held in limbo with an uncertainty as to whether or not they have a place in this age.

Mississippi Hare (1949)

Image obtained from:

Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume Four. (2006) Warner Home Video. Burbank, California.

‘Gigantic’ News from D23

Disney unveiled an informative, if somewhat disillusioning, preview of their upcoming films this month at D23, including insider info on Pixar’s upcoming output, as well as plans to return to the traditional fairy-tale formula whose definition was once synonymous with the Disney film, with an adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk.
The film, currently titled Gigantic, focuses on an 11-year-old girl giant, and is being directed by Nathan Greno, who directed Tangled (2010). While already it sounds as though it’s an interesting take on the classic fairy-tale, it does seem like a retrograde step to me. I’ve no issue with their decision to revert their focus back to traditional storytelling – they did so with Tangled and Frozen (2013) which were both met with rousing success, the latter especially (albeit inexplicably – so much so, in fact, that they’re working on a sequel; thanks for the warning). But the sad fact is that Disney have adapted this story before, for their ninth animated feature, the package film Fun and Fancy Free (1947), and therefore I feel as though concerns should be raised as to the originality of the prospective feature. Admittedly, though, the concept art does make Gigantic appear easily distinguishable, and they’ll no doubt work in your typical ‘Disney’ twist.
As of yet, however, the title does seem a tad laboured. Sure, one-word, modish titles such as Tangled and Frozen are effective, but there’s only so many times it can be done before it’s perceived as a lame rehash. What’s more, the new Disney’s modern spin on the traditional fairy-tale is becoming increasingly jarring with each release. A major problem I have with some of their latest adaptations of traditional stories is that the dialogue is, like, totally contemporary, and their juxtaposition of modern attitudes and present day slang with traditional settings just doesn’t work, and sadly a short, snappy title is indicative that this remains the case. Regardless, at least it’s an original concept, which is more than can be said for Pixar’s latest output.
D23 saw Pixar unveil a number of sequels, the most anticipated of which is probably Finding Dory, due for release next year. Details of the plot were unveiled, revealing it to be about Dory’s finding her family. It’s a decent concept but I can’t help feeling that it’s too laboured. Let’s face it, as likeable as Dory is in Finding Nemo (2003), a film focussed entirely on her character may not work. In fact, rule number one of a successful sequel is to not focus on side characters! They did the same with Mater in Cars 2 (2011) and look how that turned out. Details of John Lasseter’s Toy Story 4 also emerged, revealing it to be a love story focussing on Woody and Bo Peep, an endearing, if somewhat pointless, concept – and one that risks tarnishing a near-flawless franchise. Theatrical posters were also unveiled for the upcoming features, including Cars 3 (which I’m sure we’re all looking forward to immensely), and The Incredibles 2, perhaps the only sequel I can get excited about. The original, being a superhero movie, lends itself perfectly to a franchise; it’s simply baffling as to why it’s taken this long to realise it. One merely hopes that it’s as good, story-wise, as the original.
And there you have it - Disney’s most anticipated upcoming animated features. While Moana (2016) and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur (2015) seem to be the most original concepts, most of the other film ideas seem rather derivative and lazy, at least on paper. Saying that, even the worst of the majority of Disney and Pixar’s output is at the very least watchable. Simultaneously, however, it does worry me that Pixar might be sinking further into mediocrity. With sequels galore in the pipeline, the future status of the previous king of the animated film is dubious at best.

Coming Soon...

‘Mary and Max’ and the Revival of Adult Animation

Since I started writing this blog, I’ve often campaigned for the dissolving of the perception that aligns the animated film primarily with younger audiences. The perception derives from decades of marketing efforts that understandably saw children as an easy target for the cartoon (and still do). There’s no doubt that it works, and to a substantial extent at that. But we are now in an uncomfortable age in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate and distinguish ‘the child-friendly’ from ‘the cartoon’ – two once distinct genres that have become unfortunately synonymous in recent times, despite the fact that a large quantity of animated pictures were created without a specific audience in mind. As a matter of fact, the Warner Bros. shorts of the Golden Age were never made for children, at all. There have, however, been some notable attempts to disavow this rather narrow concept – even from the likes of Disney who have attempted to broaden their appeal with the likes of The Black Cauldron (1985) and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). But very few strictly ‘adult’ animations have been realised, Adam Elliot’s Mary and Max (Melodrama Pictures, 2009) being one of them; one which frankly deserves at least some acknowledgement for its blurring of the boundaries between the animated and the live-action feature, in terms of content.

A film far beyond the comprehension of young audiences, Adam Elliot’s adult Claymation Mary and Max utilises traditional techniques to convey a story that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching. It’s essentially a tragicomedy, and Elliot’s simple, exaggerated modelling style aids the reinforcement of basic stereotypes, the presentation of which, in turn, aids the unravelling of an array of complex and very real characters, particularly with regards to the eponymous protagonists.

Elliot’s black comedy, narrated by Barry Humphries, follows the ongoing relationship between pen pals Mary Dinkle (Toni Collette), a girl from Australia with a troubled family background, and middle-aged Max Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of New York, who has a social impairment (later revealed to be Asperger’s Syndrome). It conveys Mary’s journey into adulthood, and Max’s transference into old age, juxtaposing two characters who find themselves equally alienated by a confusing, frightening and altogether rather dark world, further emphasised by its almost monochrome/sepia presentation.

The screenplay cleverly juxtaposes basic and oftentimes crude gags with sophisticated character-based humour geared primarily toward a mature audience. Indeed, much of the comedy derives from Max’s naivety, lack of understanding, and consequent inappropriateness in his communication with Mary. Not only does Elliot’s masterpiece convey a very relatable, funny story, but its tackling of what might even be perceived to be a taboo area of comedy (that of autism) aids the promotion of a marginalised and often neglected identity. It’s brash and fearless in its comedy, but manages to maintain a strangely bittersweet tone that diminishes its occasional coarseness, rendering it an underexposed work of ingenuity; black comedy at its finest.

Visually, the film is highly commendable, not to mention extremely complex. The character designs are hideous – and that’s a good thing. This is not a pretty film, and its grotesque caricaturing helps both to reinforce the comedy and what is undoubtedly a sad and unrelentingly depressive narrative. The film’s colours (or lack thereof) emphasise the characters’ perceptions of their respective worlds; the Australian village of Mount Waverley is conveyed to be brown – almost sepia – in tone, while Max’s world is almost wholly grey. Items sent by mail from one location to another retain their colours rather than blending in seamlessly with their new backdrops, emanating a cognisant awareness of the convergence of the two worlds, and the developmental bond between the characters therein. The only colour besides these is red – a colour ambiguous in its connotations. In some senses, it could be construed to represent warmth, comfort and significance, but other instances convey it as a connotation of danger. In any case, the obscurity and oftentimes absence of the colour further emphasise the characters’ loneliness and alienation.

But the visuals comprise just one aspect of this masterpiece. The most remarkable aspect is the personal communicative effect of the narrative and its characters. Initially, the film’s titular identities appear plain and two-dimensional, but through a solid script and inspired character animation (particular in Max), Elliot relays to his audience an incredibly emotive and mature story – one which maintains more personality and realism than most live-action efforts; a truly outstanding feat especially considering the genre with which it corresponds. Indeed, Mary and Max is a revolutionary tour de force, an exemplary delineation of what animation can achieve if exploited to its full potential.

Images from:

Mary and Max (2010). [DVD] Melodrama Pictures. Distributed by Soda Pictures, London, United Kingdom.

An Introduction from Felix...

A message to all newcomers from Felix, the face of i don't have a nose. Thanks to all for your support - more posts coming soon!

Thank you, each!

Michael (and Felix).