January 19, 1935 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Mickey’s Man Friday is Released to Theaters
“Gosh, cannibals!”
On January 19, 1935, the Mickey Mouse short film Mickey’s Man Friday was released to theaters. It was one of the last black and white Mickey shorts. The short was directed by Dave Hand.
Mickey is sailing on a makeshift raft, which breaks apart as he crashes into a rock on the shore of an island. He discovers footprints, and follows them to find a tribe of cannibals. He scares the cannibals with a costume created from a barrel, and saves the prisoner the tribe was going to eat. The prisoner vows to serve Mickey as his “man Friday,” and the two start to build a fort to protect themselves in case the cannibals return. With the help of several animals, the two create a strong fort named Fort Robinson Crusoe.
Mickey and Friday finish building their fort: Fort Robinson Crusoe
Once the fort is built, the cannibals return to the island, spears at the ready. They trip up the alarm, and Mickey and Friday set to work to protect themselves. Mickey quickly closes the gate to the fort, and uses a punching mechanism to keep several cannibals out. Mickey and Friday use several contraptions to keep the cannibals at bay, and Mickey even uses a pelican to drop coconuts on several of the enemy cannibals. Eventually, the cannibals are able to make their way through the gate and invade the fort, and Friday makes his way up the control tower, which the cannibals quickly climb. However, Mickey and Friday are able to escape onto a raft they set up for emergencies, and sail far away from the island.
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