Tag Archives: Short film

May 9

Posted on May 9, 2014 by disneydetail

May 9, 1953 – The Goofy Short Film For Whom the Bulls Toil is Released to Theaters

“The bull fight, with its excitement, its pageantry, its color, its enthusiastic fans!”

On May 9, 1953, the Goofy short film For Whom the Bulls Toil was released to theaters. The soundtrack for the short was provided by popular Mexican virtuoso trumpeter, Rafael Méndez. The short is also known for its design by Eyvind Earle, who would go on to great renown in the Disney world as the designer for the film Sleeping Beauty, in addition to being a world renowned artist. The short was directed by Jack Kinney, with story by Brice Mack and Dick Kinney.

The short opens at a Mexican bull fight, with the crowd already cheering joyfully. Meanwhile, Goofy is traveling through Mexico in his jalopy, when he has to stop due to a bull sitting in the middle of the road. Goofy tries to drive the bull off the road, much to the amusement of the Mexican villagers. When Goofy pulls out a red handkerchief to wipe his brow, the bull starts to charge, but Goofy is able to avoid the bull without realizing. The bull continues to charge, but Goofy is oblivious to the near misses he encounters. The crowd cheers Goofy for his matador-like prowess, but Goofy once again doesn’t acknowledge the situation as he drives away. The news of Goofy’s triumph is sent through the country, and Goofy is met with cheering crowds, who quickly grab him and dress him up like a matador.

Thanks to an errant newspaper, Goofy finally understands why he’s in the arena in a matador costume

Goofy is taken to the arena, where the crowds are waiting with great excitement. A newspaper falls in front of Goofy’s face, and he finally realizes that he’s not in a Halloween costume, but has to actually fight the bulls. He panics, and as he tries to flee, he ends up in the bull’s pen. He runs out with the bull chasing him, and hides behind a wooden board. He holds on for dear life to the board, now affixed to the bull’s head thanks to its horns getting caught, as the bull rushes around the arena. The bull gets caught on Goofy’s suspenders, and sends Goofy flying around the arena. Goofy tries to get in his car and drive away, but the caught suspenders pull him back, sending him flying into the arena with such force that it physically moves it. When the dust settles, the bull has been knocked out, and Goofy is proclaimed a heroic matador. When Goofy heads home, he tries to sneak past what he thinks is a bull on the road, as he now is terrified of them.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1950s, Color, Goofy, Music, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

May 3

Posted on May 3, 2014 by disneydetail

May 3, 1929 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film When the Cat’s Away is Released to Theaters

On May 3, 1929, the Mickey Mouse short film When the Cat’s Away was released to theaters. This is one of the few shorts where the main title music no longer survives, and one of the few shorts where Mickey is portrayed more as a mouse than his anthropomorphic self. The short was directed by Walt Disney.

Tom Cat posts a sign on his door that he is gone for the day, and locks up before he leaves with a bottle of moonshine and a shotgun. Mickey steps out of a hole in Tom’s porch and unlocks Tom’s door, entering with a whole brigade of mice. Mickey and Minnie start playing the piano together, whiel the rest of the mice start playing with various objects in Tom’s house. Mickey and Minnie discover that the piano is a player piano, and Mickey decides to use Swiss cheese as the player roll, which starts to play a mellow tune. Afterwards, the mice discover Tom’s record collection, and play the music via a makeshift record player. Mickey and Minnie entertain their friends with some slow dancing, ending with a kiss.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1920s, Black and white, Mickey Mouse, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 28

Posted on April 28, 2014 by disneydetail

April 28, 1950 – The Donald Duck Short Film Trailer Horn is Released to Theaters

“Ah ha! Wake me up, will ya?”

On April 28, 1950, the Donald Duck short film Trailer Horn was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Roy Williams.

Dawn is rising over the forest, and Chip and Dale are sound asleep in their tree, until the sunshine wakes up Chip. Chip runs around outside, skipping at leaping about, when he sees some strange footprints outside. He calls out for Dale, who doesn’t believe that Chip has found some large footprints. They follow the prints to a trailer, and see Donald sound asleep in his bed. Chip then hears a strange noise, and sees Dale jumping up on the car’s horn like it’s a trampoline. The honking wakes Donald, and he grabs Dale. Chip saves Dale by biting Donald’s foot, and an angry Donald goes back into his trailer. The chipmunks laugh at the incident, and soon see Donald leaving the trailer in a bathing suit.

Donald corners the chipmunks after they start toying with him and the diving board

Donald sets up a diving board, and attempts to dive into the nearby lake, when the chipmunks push the diving board forward. Donald lands face-first onto the board, and looks around, confused. He attempts to jump again, when the chipmunks push the board around so that Donald will dive right into his trailer than the lake. After wrecking his trailer, Donald steps out to see the chipmunks laughing, and catches them. He shoves them into his car’s horn and honks it a few times, then throws them into a pie and throws the pie at a tree. Donald laughs and returns to his trailer. Chip, wanting revenge, decides to throw a pine cone into Donald’s cup of coffee, then uses more pine cones to destroy Donald’s breakfast. Donald then uses his car to try and knock them out of the pine tree. He corners them with driving the car onto the tree, but when the chipmunks step off, the tree gives Donald and his car the slingshot effect, sending them flying into a nearby ledge. Donald walks away in a daze, thinking he’s still driving.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1950s, Chip 'n' Dale, Color, Donald Duck, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 27

Posted on April 27, 2014 by disneydetail

April 27, 1956 – The Humphrey the Bear Short Film Hooked Bear is Released to Theaters

“Give me that! Now, go fish like a bear!”

On April 27, 1956, the Humphrey the Bear short film Hooked Bear was released to theaters. This was the first of two shorts in Humphrey’s own series; his run unfortunately ended when short films were discontinued in 1965. It was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Al Bertino and Dave Detiege.

Ranger Woodlore steps out excitedly from his cabin, as the fishing season has begun and the lake is full of happy fishermen. Humphrey the Bear is also fishing, but not as well as those with fishing equipment. Seeing their success, Humphrey runs off to the fish hatchery and grabs all the equipment he can find. Woodlore, who had been measuring the size of the catches to keep the visitors happy, realizes that the lake is running out of fish, and quickly makes his way back to the hatchery. He comes across Humphrey with the stolen gear, and orders Humphrey to go back and “fish like a bear.” He enters the hatchery and fills up a trough with water, and places rainbow trout eggs in the trough. The fish sprout up like weeds, and Woodlore releases the fish into the lake.

Humphrey finally catches a fish, but it is almost gobbled up by a bigger fish

Humphrey finally catches a tiny fish, but it is soon eaten by a larger fish. Although he manages to retrieve his tiny catch, he realizes after he let the larger fish go that he can use the tiny fish to catch the bigger fish. His plan works, and he is soon holding two armfuls of fish. When Woodlore comes back to drop in more fish, Humphrey gets overly excited and drops his entire catch, realizing too late what he’d done. He starts to sob, but starts his plan again, until Woodlore makes him drop the small fish because it was “too small.” As Humphrey walks underwater gathering his catches again, he spies a huge fish and tries to catch it, only to find that it was a child’s toy. Desperate, he takes the rudder from a child’s toy ship and ties it to his head, making it appear to the fisherman that there’s a shark in the water. As the fishermen flee, Humphrey starts gathering all of their caught fish.

Humphrey runs across Woodlore again and hides the fish in a nearby container. When he sees Woodlore dumping more fish into the container, he is excited, and drops himself into the container when Woodlore is not looking – not realizing that the “container” is actually a small plane that will air-drop the fish into the lake. Humphrey hangs on to the plane for dear life, but when he sees more fish drop, he tries to catch them, and falls into the lake. Woodlore gets a phone call from the Chief, who informs him that fishing season ended the day before, and Woodlore quickly sends the fisherman packing. Woodlore tells Humphrey that fishing season is over, leaving Humphrey with no fish. He then reveals that hunting season has started, and Humphrey runs around the park, dodging bullets every which way.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1950s, Color, Humphrey the Bear, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 26

Posted on April 26, 2014 by disneydetail

April 26, 1940 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Tugboat Mickey is Released to Theaters

“SOS. SOS. Calling all ships. Steamship Gigantic sinking.”

On April 26, 1940, the Mickey Mouse short film Tugboat Mickey was released to theaters. This is one of several shorts where characters Donald Duck and Goofy were teamed up with Mickey to create a more entertaining story. The short was directed by Clyde Geronimi.

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are cleaning their tugboat while singing sea shanties, with Mickey being hoisted to the top of the mast to varnish. His bucket of varnish, however, is accidentally swallowed by a sleepy pelican, who becomes drunk on its contents. As Mickey battles the pelican, an announcement is heard over their radio that the steamship Gigantic is sinking, and Mickey scrambles to get his crew moving to rescue the ship. Donald and Goofy quickly start the ship, although they soon run out of steam. Goofy tries to shovel coal into the boiler, but the door continuously shuts on him, sending the coal flying back in his face. Donald then breaks the pulley, and when he tries to reassemble it, he is mocked by the steam. The pulley catches on to Donald’s hat, but when he tries to retrieve it, the steam completely fills up the hat and explodes on Donald.

Goofy fights the boiler, unaware that he is caught on the lever for the coal release

Mickey continues to listen to the distress signal, and calls down to Goofy for more steam. Goofy attempts to take a running start to shove the coal in the boiler, but doesn’t realize that he caught his pants on a lever that released all the coal into his pants. The coal and Goofy go flying into the boiler, and when Goofy lights a match to see where he is, he is shot out by an explosion, followed by a steady stream of flames. Goofy shuts the boiler with an anchor, and a steady stream of steam is sent flowing through the mechanics of the ship. The pulley that Donald was trying to fix fixes itself – unfortunately, it traps Donald through his shirt, and Donald is knocked around as the steam makes the tugboat work on overdrive. Mickey tries to steer the tugboat, but it seems to have a mind of its own, and the boiler explodes, leaving this ship as nothing more than a wreckage. The distress call continues, until it is cut off by a radio announcer saying that they’d just heard the final broadcast in a radio drama about the Steamship Gigantica. Angered, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy drown the radio in the ocean.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1940s, Color, Donald Duck, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 25

Posted on April 25, 2014 by disneydetail

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.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1930s, Black and white, Mickey Mouse, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 21

Posted on April 21, 2014 by disneydetail

April 21, 1944 – The Donald Duck Short Film Contrary Condor is Released to Theaters

“One of the world’s least appreciated scientists is the ornithologist, or egg collector to you, whose trail penetrates the wildest and most difficult of mountains, the Andes.”

On April 21, 1944, the Donald Duck short film Contrary Condor was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King.

The short opens on a map, with footprints belonging to Donald trailing across the border of North America to South America, making a trail through the Andes. Donald is seen climbing up a vertical side of the mountain with plungers on his feet, yodeling as he goes. He sees the nest, and quickly reaches the top, ready to take an egg from a condor. One condor hatchling has already hatched and starts squawking at Donald’s arrival, but Donald just tells the hatchling to shut up and shoves him back into his egg shell. When he spots Mother Condor flying overhead, Donald hides the other egg and hides in the other hatching’s shell, kicking the baby condor out. The mother lands and decides to sit on the egg in which Donald is hiding. The warmth she provides is almost too much for Donald, and he sweats profusely. The egg suddenly starts to crack, and he is nearly crushed by the condor. Thinking quickly, Donald decides to pretend he’s a condor. The mother is convinced, and gives Donald a hug, much to the surprise of the other hatchling.

During a flying lesson, Donald hands precariously from a tree branch, getting rained on by a passing storm cloud

Mother Condor then sends her hatchlings off to learn how to fly. The hatchling pushes Donald off the tree branch, but he manages to hold on when his clothes catch a branch nearby, although he is not so lucky when a passing storm cloud starts to shower all over him. Mother Condor tries to teach Donald to fly, but Donald looks down and gets dizzy. He tries to slip away, but is spotted and brought back. Donald manages to convince her that he has a bum wing, and she starts cradling him. The hatchling gets jealous, and starts squawking for attention. Having had enough, he sends Donald flying into the air and he lands on a branch nearby. Trying to get out of his situation once and for all, Donald rigs up a decoy using branches and leaves, and sends it hurtling to the river below. Although Mother Condor tries to save her “hatchling,” she believes it to be too late when it falls into the river, and she starts sobbing on the nearby bank. Donald then takes the other condor egg, thinking himself victorious, but the other hatchling steals it from him. Donald takes it back, but falls down into the river, holding the egg protectively. Relieved to see him still alive, Mother Condor gathers Donald and the egg into her arms and coddles them. That night, egg, Donald, hatchling, and Mother Condor are nestled together, while Donald mutters angrily under his breath.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1940s, Color, Donald Duck, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 17

Posted on April 17, 2014 by disneydetail

April 17, 1937 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Mickey’s Amateurs is Released to Theaters

“It busted!”

On April 17, 1937, the Mickey Mouse short film Mickey’s Amateurs was released to theaters. The film had several directors, as Walt wanted to bring in some new talents; it was directed by storymen Pinto Colvig, Walt Pfeiffer, and Ed Penner.

The short opens with Pete singing loudly (and rather badly) into a microphone before being yanked off the stage. Mickey, as the emcee, thanks Pete, and gets set to announce the next guest when Donald steps on the stage and offers Mickey an apple. Donald then starts reciting the poem “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” but Mickey soon pushes him near the microphone. As Donald starts reciting the poem, he forgets the words, making the audience laugh. When he tries again, and forgets once more, Mickey bangs the gong, and Donald is dragged off stage. As Mickey gets ready to announce the next guest, Donald runs back on stage and takes back his apple.

The Two Claras walk daintily on to the stage when announced by Mickey

Mickey then announces the next act of The Two Claras: Cluck and Belle. Clarabelle Cow sits at the piano while Clara Cluck readies herself at the microphone. Clara waits for her rather long intro to end, and start clucking operatically into the mic. The mic starts moving around thanks to Clara’s clucking, and she does her best to follow it. They finish their piece, and are met with applause. Mickey then moves to the next guest, when a mysterious portly figure enters holding a violin case. The mysterious person removes his disguise, revealing Donald Duck, who pulls a gun from his violin case, and tries to recite the poem again while pointing the gun at the audience. When he, once again, forgets the words, the audience laughs, and Donald sets off the gun, with bullets flying everywhere, until he is thrown into the violin case and pulled off stage. After this, Mickey announces Grandmaster Goofy, who has brought a motorized one-man-band. He plays a sentimental sort of piece, but when he tries to play something more upbeat, the machine starts going out of control before breaking apart. Goofy laughs sheepishly as he sits among the ruins of his contraption, when Donald bursts out of his hat and recites his entire poem at a breakneck speed.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1930s, Color, Donald Duck, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Short film. Bookmark the permalink.

April 16

Posted on April 16, 2014 by disneydetail

April 16, 1931 – The Silly Symphony Mother Goose Melodies is Released to Theaters

“Oh, I’m King Cole, I’m a merry old soul, and a merry old soul am I, ha ha ha!”

On April 16, 1931, the Silly Symphony Mother Goose Melodies was released to theaters. The short is based on the Mother Goose nursery rhymes, which dates all the way back to the 16^th century. The short also features a cameo by Clarabelle Cow. It was directed by Burt Gillett.

The short opens with a parade dedicated to Old King Cole, with a turtle rolling out a carpet for the very portly king. He sits in his throne and, in a variation of the nursery rhyme, he calls for his pipe, his book, and his fiddlers three, who happen to be the Three Blind Mice. Mother Goose pops out of her book and starts dancing with her goose before they go into the story of Little Miss Muffett. Little Miss Muffett is scared off by the spider, who finishes the contents of her bowl, but crashes into it when he tries to haul it up a tree. This is followed by Jack and Jill, who run up a hill and meet Simple Simon, who scares them when he reveals bats flying out from under his hat and pulls an octopus out of his fishing bucket. The children are scared so much that they end up rolling down the hill, their bucket landing on Mother Goose’s pet goose’s head.

Humpty Dumpty laughs at the goose, unaware of his own pending misfortune

The page in the book then turns to Humpty Dumpty, who laughs at the misfortune of the goose, who takes the bucket and knocks Humpty Dumpty off the wall. Little Jack Horner sings his poem about pulling out his plum from his pie, his voice changing when he announces what a big boy he is. The plum, however, is a blackbird, who flies about and lets all the other birds out of the pie. Suddenly, Little Bo Peep is seen weeping, as she has lost her sheep. Little Boy Blue is seen snoring in the fields, and wakes up to blow his horn, bringing Bo Peep’s sheep back to her. One lamb falls into the mud and turns black, and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” is heard in the background. The lamb starts skipping about, and slips out of the grasp of the goose, who tries to put it back in the book. Lastly, the King is entertained by Hey Diddle Diddle, with all the animals in the rhyme playing a merry tune. All the characters escape the book and begin to dance, including King Cole.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1930s, Black and white, Short film, Silly Symphony. Bookmark the permalink.

April 14

Posted on April 14, 2014 by disneydetail

April 14, 1936 – The Silly Symphony Three Little Wolves is Released to Theaters

“Someday, the Wolf will get you, then you’ll be in a fix. You’ll blow that horn and I won’t come – I’ll think it’s one of your tricks!”

On April 14, 1936, the Silly Symphony Three Little Wolves was released to theaters. It was the third short in the Three Little Pigs series, and contained a veiled warning about the threat of Nazi Germany, which was growing in power in Europe at the time. The film was not as successful as the first short in the series, though it had moderate success, and Walt would continuously say “you can’t top pigs with pigs.” The short was directed by Dave Hand.

At the Big Bad Wolf’s house, he teaches his three children about the prime parts of a pig, with the three wolves using their slingshots to throw rocks at him. They mock him when he threatens to blow their ears off, as they don’t think much of him since he lost to the three little pigs. Meanwhile, Fifer and Fiddler are playing and skipping about when they see the wolf alarm their brother has tacked up. Although it says “for emergency use only,” the two decide to play a prank on their brother, who runs up to them with a gun when he hears the horn. He is angered by their prank, and goes back to work, although Fiddler and Fifer fall over in hysterical laughter. As they laugh, they don’t notice the small pack of wolves heading their way.

Fiddler and Fifer look around for “Little Bo Peep’s” missing sheep

The Big Bad Wolf disguises himself as Little Bo Peep, claiming he’s lost his sheep, and Fiddler and Fifer kindly offer to help search for the missing sheep. The little wolves are dressed as little sheep, and when Fiddler and Fifer go to round them up, they are lead straight to the Wolves’ residence. The Big Bad Wolf locks the door and swallows the key, leaving the two little pigs trapped. Still holding the horn, they blow it loudly while being chased by the three little wolves. Hearing the horn, Practical Pig starts to chase after them but, thinking it another prank, decides to ignore it. The two little pigs come up with a plan to have one of the little wolves blow the horn loudly, and the Big Bad Wolf takes it upon himself to blow the horn loudly. Finally convinced, Practical Pig heads to the Wolf’s house with his new invention, the Wolf Pacifier. The Big Bag Wolf gets caught in the contraption, and his kids can only watch as their father gets tarred and feathered before being shot out of a cannon.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1930s, Color, Short film, Silly Symphony. Bookmark the permalink.

disneydetail

Tag Archives: Short film

May 9

May 3

April 28

April 27

April 26

April 25

April 21

April 17

April 16

April 14

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Meta