March 14, 1929 – The Mickey Mouse Short, The Barn Dance, is Released to Theaters
On March 14, 1929, the fourth Mickey Mouse short, The Barn Dance, was released to theaters. Directed by and using the vocal talents of Walt Disney (although this short continues to feature more “squawking” than actual dialogue), this short is one of the disastrous dates of Mickey and Minnie. Although not the first short where Minnie rebuffs Mickey’s advances, it is one of the more tragic ones, due to Mickey’s emotional outburst in the end.
Mickey is seen in the opening shot in a horse-drawn buggy, holding flowers for his sweetheart, Minnie Mouse. As he uses the whip to make the horse gallop faster, his buggy also begins to gallop, and Mickey has to hold onto his seat for dear life. They stop in front of Minnie’s house, where she is seen in the window, powdering her nose. Mickey’s heart pounds loudly before he whistles for her attention. Minnie appears in the window and waves before quickly pulling her bloomers on the laundry line inside. Mickey and his horse both look excitedly at the window, but Mickey pulled down a shade attached to the blinders on the horse, and the animal turns away to pout.
Pete arrives as a rival to Mickey for Minnie's affections
Meanwhile, Pete is driving up the road in his car, also on his way to see Minnie. He looks over at Mickey in his buggy and doesn’t think much of the mouse before he honks his horn for Minnie’s attention. Mickey is initially angered by Pete, but when he spies a duck on the road next to him, he picks up the bird and begins honking it like a horn to match Pete’s incessant honking.
Suddenly, Minnie appears, all dolled up for a night on the town. She stops at the gate while both of her admirers bow, and as she steps out to greet them, she spies Pete’s car and runs to it excitedly. As Pete starts up the car, it sputters and shakes, and Pete sends a stream of black smoke from the tailpipe in Mickey’s direction. Unfortunately, the car takes off and leaves Minnie and Pete behind before crashing into a tree and breaking into several car parts. Minnie rejects Pete and decides to go to the dance with Mickey, and the two flirt and kiss on the way there.
Mickey literally feels like a jackass for continually stepping on Minnie's feet and legs
The dance is already in full swing when the couple arrives. Unfortunately Mickey is so overzealous in his dancing that he keeps stepping on Minnie’s feet, with his feet growing in size for comic effect. At the end of the dance, Mickey is standing with both feet on Minnie’s leg, and she struggles to pull it out. Mickey finally notices that he’s on Minnie’s leg and gingerly steps off, with Minnie holding the limp limb sadly. As Minnie is furious and Mickey literally feels like a jackass, Minnie knots up her stretched leg just as a new dance begins. Although Mickey tries to dance with Minnie again, Minnie decides to dance with Pete, who is a much better dancer, instead.
Mickey stands in the corner, but gets the bright idea to be “light on his feet” by tucking a helium balloon into his shorts. He leaps gracefully over Pete, surprising the two, and Minnie begrudgingly agrees to dance with Mickey. Things go well for a while, until Pete realizes Mickey’s scheme and shoots a nail at the balloon in Mickey’s shorts, making Mickey fall on Minnie. Having had enough, Minnie decides to dance with Pete for the rest of the dance, leaving Mickey to cry in a corner.
disneydetail 