Tag Archives: Short film

December 5, 1930 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Pioneer Days is Released to Theaters

“Oh my poor Nellie Gray, they have taken you away.”

On December 5, 1930, the Mickey Mouse short film Pioneer Days was released to theaters. The short features cameos of Mickey and Minnie’s friends Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar. It was directed by Burt Gillett.

Mickey and Minnie are seen traveling with a wagon train, singing and playing the banjo. Mickey sings that he’s not afraid of Indians, but once he does, an Indian scout is seen making his way back to his camp after spying the wagon train. He alerts his tribe members, and they dance around the fire, whooping and hollering. Meanwhile, the wagon train has stopped for the evening and is sitting around a campfire, singing songs. A square dance begins, and everyone in the train joins in.

The old goat cries over a photo of his lost love, and sings a mournful song for her

An old goat is morning over the loss of his love, and as he sings, everyone begins to cry, with Mickey comforting Minnie as they both sob. As they cry, an arrow is shot into the camp, landing right above Minnie’s head. The camp prepares itself for an Indian attack, and it soon becomes an all-out war. Mickey fights with gusto, hiding in a stove at one point. As his gun is blown up, he decides to use a porcupine to stop three Indians from setting fire to the wagons. After this victory, he hears Minnie screaming out for help, and sees her being ripped from a wagon and stolen away. Mickey chases after the Indian, and arrives at his camp to find he has tied Minnie to a tree. The two fight in the woods, but Minnie manages to free herself and place a hot coal down the Indian’s pants. Back at the camp, it appears that the Indians are winning, when Mickey and Minnie fool the Indians into thinking that the Calvary has arrived. The Indians flee, and the pioneers cheer.

November 25, 1933 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Giantland is Released to Theaters

“Tell us a story, Uncle Mickey! Yes, tell us a story, Uncle Mickey!”

On November 25, 1933, the Mickey Mouse short film Giantland was released to theaters. This short is known as the precursor to the “Mickey and the Beanstalk” segment of the 1947 package film Fun and Fancy Free; there are also many similarities to this short and the 1938 short The Brave Little Tailor. The short film was directed by Burt Gillett.

The short begins with Mickey reading Jack and the Beanstalk to his nephews. They are rapt with attention as he begins the story, and soon, Mickey inserts himself into the story, and the group begins to imagine Mickey climbing up the beanstalk, entering Giantland. He arrives at the castle door and hears the singing of the King of Giantland. He hides in the keyhole to avoid being spotted, and enters inside, trying to hide in the sugar bowl. Mickey is accidentally scooped up with a sugar cube and place in the giant’s cup of coffee, but manages to escape. After hiding in a block of Swiss cheese, Mickey is then accidentally eaten by the giant, and works to keep himself from being swallowed. When the giant develops hiccups, he swallows a jug full of water, but Mickey is able to once again avoid being swallowed.

Mickey arms himself with pepper against the angry giant king

Mickey starts choking on the smoke from the giant’s pipe, and when the giant removes his pipe, he discovers the mouse. A chase ensues across the kitchen table, and Mickey ends up trapped in an empty bottle. The giant proclaims that he now has Mickey, but Mickey bites the giant’s finger and escapes, heading straight for the pepper shaker. He uses the pepper, and a spoon as a catapult, to cause the giant to sneeze. His sneezes are powerful enough to destroy the castle, and Mickey is sent flying to the ends of Giantland, where he slides down the beanstalk and burns it as the giant comes climbing down. The giant is sent tumbling to the ground, creating a massive hole where he falls. The scene then goes back to Mickey telling the story, saying that the giant went “down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down. And he came out in China.”