February 21, 1927 – The Alice Comedy Alice’s Rodeo is Released to Theaters
On February 21, 1927, the Alice Comedy Alice’s Rodeo premiered in theaters. The short was also released with an alternate title of Alice at the Rodeo. It was the 44th Alice Comedy produced, and the 28th to star second Alice actress Margie Gay. Although not classified as a lost cartoon, the short has not been released for home viewing.
February 15, 1925 – The Alice Comedy Alice Solves the Puzzle is Released to Theaters
“Little Alice never had a cross word, not even with a puzzle.”
On February 15, 1925, the Alice Comedy Alice Solves the Puzzle premiered in theaters. It was the 15th Alice Comedy, and the first to feature second Alice actress Margie Gay. The short is notable for being the first to feature Disney nemesis Peg Leg Pete, then known as Bootleg Pete.
Alice is trying to solve a crossword, when Julius approaches her. He convinces her to give up her puzzle and go swimming instead, and the two start diving into the water with many aerial skills. Meanwhile, Pete whizzes by on a makeshift jet ski, purposefully goading the cops. Julius gets out of the water a dries off comically before helping Alice button her dress. Alice then returns to her crossword puzzle, though Pete wishes to take it from her, as he collects puzzles. Alice attempts to run away from Pete, but he chases her up the lighthouse steps and around the top of the lighthouse. Julius, seeing Alice in trouble, climbs up a rope to get to her, only to realize that the rope has fallen too late and lands with a splat on the ground. He manages to get up to the top of the lighthouse and beat Pete. As Julius celebrates his feat of strength, Alice realizes she finally knows the answer to her crossword puzzle.
February 6, 1928 – The Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Short Film The Ol’ Swimmin’ Hole is Released to Theaters
On February 6, 1928, the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short film The Ol’ Swimmin’ Hole premiered in theaters. It was the 13th Oswald short film to be released, and was released around the time that Walt was trying to renegotiate his contract with Charles Mintz. The short has since been classified as a lost film, though its movie poster still survives.
February 2, 1928 – Charles Mintz Signs New Oswald Contract with Universal
“Never again will I work for somebody else.” – Walt Disney
On February 2, 1928, Charles Mintz, the distributor for Disney’s Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short films, signed a three-year contract with Universal. This contract with Universal would give the company new Oswald shorts, without the involvement of Walt Disney. Mintz had been working since early 1928 to pull Walt’s animators from him to create a new studio producing Oswald short films. Ub Iwerks had been approached and refused the offer; he then went to Walt to warn him of Mintz’s backdoor deals. Walt was optimistic about the future of Oswald and didn’t heed Ub’s warning, instead heading to New York to negotiate a new contract with Mintz. Walt asked for $2500 a short film, but Mintz only offered a paltry $1800, much less than the $2250 Disney had been making, and gloated about having stolen Walt’s key animators from him. Although Walt tried to stall making a decision, including trying to get Universal to intervene on his behalf, Mintz dropped the ultimate bombshell: Universal had the rights to the Oswald character, not Walt, and Universal sided with Mintz. Walt then headed home after accepting defeat and informing Mintz that he would not accept a new deal, but it was not too long after that Walt and Ub would come up with the character that would create a company: Mickey Mouse.
February 1, 1926 – The Alice Comedy Alice’s Little Parade is Released to Theaters
“I can’t get ‘em up!”
On February 1, 1926, the Alice Comedy Alice’s Little Parade premiered in theaters. It was the 30th Alice Comedy created, and the 14th to star second Alice actress Margie Gay.
The short begins with Julius driving through town announcing that war has been declared. A crowd of people follow him to the recruiting station, where they are suited up for war. The next morning, the troops wake up thanks to a rooster’s call, and line up for the general – General Alice. As Alice studies the troops, Pete and his men fire upon them with cannons. Alice readies her troops to fight back, with mixed results. Julius decides to use a stove as body armor while he shoots at the enemy, though it is quickly blown away, leaving him vulnerable. While he does manage to knock some enemy soldiers out, he is soon blown to smithereens, needing to be rebuilt at the hospital. Julius then finds some very strong cheese and a fan in a nearby safe, which attracts all of Pete’s rat troops; Julius knocks them out one by one, leaving Pete as the lone man standing. In a last act, Julius is able to shoot Pete out of a cannon, and is welcomed back to his troops as a hero.
January 16, 1942 – The Donald Duck Short Film The Village Smithy is Released to Theaters
“That’s me – a mighty man, I say!”
On January 16, 1942, the Donald Duck short film The Village Smithy premiered in theaters. It was directed by Dick Lundy.
The short begins at the Village Blacksmith, with Donald hard at work, reciting a poem about how strong he is as a blacksmith. He runs into a problem with the rim he placed around a wheel does not stay smooth, and ends up chased around the building. He then tries to nail the metal rim down, but it busts apart and leaves Donald with a bolt around his tail. He gives up and decides to get to his next task: shoeing Jenny the donkey. Jenny at first appears docile, and as Donald tries to find her the right kind of shoe, she becomes more irate. As Donald attempts to shoe her, she sneaks away from him, tricking him into hammering his anvil instead. As he tried to pull her out from behind a crate, he realizes too late that he is pulling on a rope connected to a barrel of horseshoes, which land on his head. Having had enough, Donald attempts to pull her up from the floor, and gets an idea using a board and his anvil to prop her up. Unfortunately, this only propels him into a barrel of water. Angered, he grabs some smoke from the stove and uses it to make her sneeze, propping her up as he intended. As she sneezes, however, she kicks him into the stove, and ends up stuck on a pole where he continuously sneezes from the smoke.
January 9, 1928 – The Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Short Film Harem Scarem is Released to Theaters
On January 9, 1928, the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short film Harem Scarem premiered in theaters. The short was animated by Hugh Harman and Rollin Hamilton. Since its release, it has since become classified as a lost film; in 2012, however, several drawings from the short were found to exist, and were compiled by the Disney Archives to create a special 90-second short film to honor the character’s 85th birthday, and was screened for D23 members at a private event.
January 5, 1951 – The Goofy Short Film Lion Down is Released to Theaters
“Oh, the world owes me a living.”
On January 5, 1951, the Goofy short film Lion Down premiered in theaters. It was directed by Jack Kinney, with story by Milt Schaffer and Dick Kinney.
It’s a beautiful day, and Goofy is attempting to put his hammock, when he realizes he doesn’t have another tree with which to hook it up. As he lives on the roof of a tall apartment building, he sets out in his car to the nearby woods, where he decides to uproot a tree and take it home. He is unaware that there was a mountain lion asleep in that tree, and the mountain lion is given a rude awakening before he decides to follow Goofy home. Goofy quickly plants the tree and sets up his hammock, eager to take a nap. The doorbell rings, and as Goofy goes to answer the door, the mountain lion sneaks in and settles back into his tree. When the mountain lion spies the hammock, however, he decides he would rather sleep there, and decides to throw Goofy off the roof to claim the hammock. Goofy, however, quickly returns, pulling the same trick with the doorbell that the mountain lion played on him. The war between the two of them for the hammock quickly escalates, though at one point the mountain lion almost sabotages himself as the pair hang from one of the hammock ropes. The rope lets loose and the pair plummet to the ground, with the hammock acting as a parachute. The pair continue to fight in midair, until the doorbell rings, and Goofy heads up the fire escape to answer. The mountain lion hands Goofy back the hammock, but takes back his tree, leaving behind an acorn, which Goofy plants in anticipation of another tree with which to finally hang his hammock.
January 1, 1926 – The Alice Comedy Alice on the Farm is Released to Theaters
On January 1, 1926, the Alice Comedy Alice on the Farm premiered in theaters. It was the 27th Alice Comedy released, and the 11th starring second Alice actress Margie Gay.
The short begins with a cow in the yard eating various flowers, though as a gag one of the flowers runs away from the cow, refusing to be eaten. The chickens are dancing in a corner of the yard, while Alice orders Julius to milk the cow. He enlists the help of the farm dachshund, and the pair set to work. Unfortunately, Julius is unable to get milk from the cow, but as he leaves with an idea, two mosquitoes arrive and start biting the cow. Julius then uses the vacuum cleaner to pull milk from the cow, but ends up sucking the cow inside the vacuum cleaner bag. Meanwhile, Alice is dancing with the chickens, when Peg Leg Pete shows up to kidnap Alice. Julius chases after her with a makeshift horse, though it falls apart during the pursuit. He tracks Pete down to a shed and challenges him to a fight. Using starch, he turns his tail into a sword and fights Pete, but is soon disarmed. Finally, Julius throws the bucket of starch on Pete, freezing him in place before punching him into pieces and throwing him in the trash before freeing Alice.
December 27, 1926 – The Alice Comedy Alice the Lumber Jack is Released to Theaters
On December 27, 1926, the Alice Comedy Alice the Lumber Jack premiered in theaters. It was the 40th Alice Comedy released, and the 24th to star second Alice actress Margie Gay. It has since been classified as a lost film, along with many of the other latter Alice Comedies.
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