February 14, 1941 – The Mickey Mouse Short The Little Whirlwind is Released to Theaters 
“Well, guess I don’t get the cake, huh?”
On February 14, 1941, the Mickey Mouse short The Little Whirlwind was released to theaters. Although most shorts that feature Mickey and Minnie are romantic in nature, this short does not feature a romantic plot between the two. This is ironic, as the short was released on Valentine’s Day. Mickey shows up around Minnie’s house and offers to clean her yard in exchange for her freshly made cake, only to have his efforts thwarted by a mischievous little whirlwind. The short was directed by Riley Thomson, with Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey Mouse and Thelma Boardman as the voice of Minnie Mouse.
The short opens with Minnie Mouse in her house, placing her freshly made cake on the windowsill. The scent travels down the road, catching Mickey Mouse’s nose and pulling him toward the window, until Minnie removes the cake and shuts the window, causing Mickey to fall to the ground. He knocks on her window, motioning to the cake she’s made. Angrily, she tells him that she has nothing for loafers, but Mickey offers to clean up her yard. Minnie agrees, but adds that there is to be no more clowning around. Excited about the promise of cake, Mickey grabs all the yard tools he can find, saying, “You won’t know the place when I get through!”
Mickey shows his enthusiasm by gathering every tool he can find
As Mickey begins to rake her leaves with gusto, a little whirlwind begins whirring down the path. Spying Mickey doing his yard work, it decides to have a little fun with him, hiding in the leaf basket and moving it when Mickey’s back is turned. Mickey is slightly confused, but tries to place the leaves in the basket again. Mickey and the basket go back and forth, until Mickey decides the best course of action is to nail it to the ground. He tosses the leaves in, only to have them thrown back at his face as the whirlwind escapes into the air, stealing Mickey’s hat.
After Mickey retrieves his hat, the whirlwind continues to play tricks on him, like stuffing leaves down Mickey’s trousers. As the whirlwind gathers the leaves and has them march behind it, Mickey grabs a bag and sneaks around the back of the house to sneak a surprise attack on the troublemaker. While he is able to capture the whirlwind in the bag, and gives the bag a good kick, the little whirlwind fights back and breaks free, squealing down the road while Mickey chases him. Unfortunately, when we see Mickey again, he’s running away from the wrath of Mama Whirlwind. Thanks to Mickey, Mama Whirlwind tears up the entire countryside as she chases him. Mickey gets caught in Mama Whirlwind, and is then dumped into a fountain before she leaves.
The things a Mama Whirlwind will do to protect her baby obviously include undoing all of Mickey's hard work, and then some
True to Mickey’s word, the yard is unrecognizable now. Minnie finishes decorating the cake, placing a big red cherry on top. She is shocked to see the state of her yard, and calls Mickey a louse. Mickey begins to leave, mentioning off-handedly that he must not get the cake after all. Minnie responds that he does, indeed, get the cake, and when he turns back excitedly, he gets the cake all right – thrown right at his head.
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