January 7, 1931 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film The Birthday Party is Released to Theaters
“Oh I’m fine. Heh, we’re both fine!”
On January 7, 1931, the Mickey Mouse short film The Birthday Party was released to theaters. This short is a good example of the characters that were considered an early version of the Disney gang, including Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow. The short was directed by Burt Gillett, and stars Walt Disney as Mickey Mouse and Marcellite Garner as Minnie Mouse.
Mickey strolls down the street with a straw hat and cane, whistling a merry tune. He arrives at the front porch of Minnie’s house and rings the doorbell; inside, Minnie and several of their friends are inside waiting to surprise him. They run and hide in the house, and Minnie answers the door, engaging in some flirtatious banter with Mickey. Once he steps inside, all of their friends emerge to shout out “surprise!” A cake is brought out and Mickey is asked to blow out the candles, only to blow the cake all over the chef.
After receiving a piano as his birthday gift, Mickey and Minnie play a duet for their party guests
Minnie calls Mickey over to a big package marked “Happy Birthday Mickey.” He opens it to reveal his own piano and stool. As it is set up right next to Minnie’s, the two begin to play a piano duet and sing along. A dance party begins, with everyone being merry, including the fish in the fishbowl. Mickey and Minnie take a break from piano to dance, much to the enjoyment of the other guests. Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow also dance for the crowd before Mickey begins to play a tune on a nearby xylophone. Minnie resumes the piano as Mickey plays another xylophone tune, with the xylophone acting of its own accord at one point, taking Mickey for a ride around the room. It bucks him, and as he hits the floor, a floorboard knocks a fishbowl down from its pedestal, landing on Mickey’s head.
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