Tag Archives: Black and white

April 25, 1930 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Wild Waves is Released to Theaters

“Take it easy, you’re all right. Don’t cry.”

On April 25, 1930, the Mickey Mouse short film Wild Waves was released to theaters. This was the first short film directed by Burt Gillett.

Mickey is having a fun day at sea as the lifeguard, entertaining the local wildlife by whistling a tune while playing the banjo. He nearly falls from his lifeguard stand, but manages to hang on, although he is thrown for quite a loop when the stand starts to dance on its own. Minnie has been changing in a nearby stall while singing “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean,” and hops out in her swimsuit to enjoy the beach. She barely escapes a large wave sweeping toward her, but continues to make her way down the shore, until she is swallowed by the ocean. Mickey throws out a life preserver, then grabs a small dinghy to go after her, with disastrous results. She is thrown about in the ocean, and Mickey is also swept away, but swims frantically to save her. The waves keep them apart for some time, until Mickey is able to bring her back to shore. She starts to cry, but Mickey tries to comfort her. He offers her his handkerchief, then whistles a tune and dances to make her laugh. The local animals join in on his dancing while Mickey makes a harp out of an old volleyball net. The animals start to sing while Mickey makes more instruments out of old anchors and the like. Minnie is thrilled at the performance, and applauds wildly. She then calls Mickey her hero, although he bashfully brushes it off. She gives him a kiss, and the two end the short with an embrace.

April 10, 1930 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film The Barnyard Concert Premieres in Theaters

On April 10, 1930, the Mickey Mouse short film The Barnyard Concert premiered in theaters. This is one of several short where Mickey conducts an orchestra comprised of his friends, including 1935’s The Band Concert and 1942’s Symphony Hour. It was directed by Walt Disney

The barnyard animals start to play a piece while Mickey makes his way to the makeshift podium. The band starts to play with gusto, following Mickey’s directions carefully. Mickey and the others start using other animals to help them with the music, and when Mickey starts pulling on suckling piglets, one piglet takes off with Mickey attached, and dragging him around the barn until lets go and rolls back to the podium. The mood of the music soon changes from classical to something more modern. One pig starts playing at the wrong spot, annoying Mickey to no end, until they realize that the “musical note” on the pig’s page is nothing more than a fly and a speck of dirt. Things are ending well until a nearby cow accidentally wraps her tail around Mickey’s neck and nearly chokes him as she dances to the music. He solves this problem by tying her tail to a full basket of water, and she is unable to move. She is able to move the basket with a great deal of effort, and ends the musical piece by crashing it all over his head. The short ends with Mickey whimpering.

January 21, 1933 – The Mickey Mouse Short The Mad Doctor is Released to Theaters

“I’m a raring tearing wizard when it comes to cutting up! I can graft a chicken’s gizzard on the wishbone of a pup!”

On January 21, 1933, the Mickey Mouse short film The Mad Doctor was released to theaters. The film is notable for being deemed “too frightening” by the British film censor. The film was directed by Dave Hand.

It’s a blustery night, and Mickey finds it hard to sleep, especially after hearing Pluto’s wailing. Mickey looks outside to find that Pluto has been dognapped, and follows the strange footsteps to a mysterious castle on the edge of town. As Mickey walks across the bridge to the castle, it falls away, leaving him completely trapped at the castle door. He is pulled inside and locked in, and begins his search for Pluto. The mysterious figure takes him into some sort of lab, and Mickey ends up going through a secret tunnel to a dungeon filled with mischievous skeletons. The mysterious figure, revealing himself to be a mad doctor, ties Pluto to an x-ray machine, revealing his intentions to combine Pluto and a chicken to create a hideous creation, and find out what kind of animal will hatch from its eggs.

The mad doctor reveals his plans of combining Pluto with a chicken and seeing what hatches

Mickey hears Pluto’s cries and tries to escape from the dungeon, running into more skeletons. Mickey fights the skeletons, and is trapped in a skeleton spider’s web. As the mad doctor continues to torture Pluto, Mickey hurries to get out, but the door to the dungeon is locked. He finally is let out but is trapped on an operating table; the mad doctor sets up the trap to slice Mickey open with a buzz saw from the ceiling. Soon, it is revealed that the entire situation was a dream. As Mickey calls out for Pluto, Pluto bursts through Mickey’s window, and Mickey joyful hugs his pal.

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.