The gag-laced Mickey’s Mellerdrammer, released on this day in 1933, is much more than an uproarious short showing Mickey and the gang putting on a doomed production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin with Horace Horsecollar as Simon Legree and Mickey as Uncle Tom. Stylistically, according to animation scholar Ron Barbagallo in his essay “A Blade of …
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Birds in the Spring, the 34th of 75 Silly Symphonies produced by the Disney Studio between 1929 and 1939, tells the charming story of a baby bird, Otto, who runs away from home, meets up with adversaries in the form of a rattlesnake and a hornet’s nest, only to be rescued by his father and …
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Mickey and Minnie rescue a litter of adorable kittens and take them home in Mickey’s Pal Pluto, the Mickey Mouse cartoon that found its way into theaters on this day in 1933. With some new pets to contend with, Pluto’s devil conscience tells him, “Go chase those kittens out of here or you’ll get thrown …
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No bones about it, skeletons, ghosts, haunted houses, and mad doctors make great fodder for animated cartoon shorts! Perhaps that’s why in 1929 Walt Disney chose The Skeleton Dance as his first Silly Symphony. Another spooky scenario was the basis of the Mickey Mouse cartoon short Mad Doctor, released on this day in 1933. Mickey’s …
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The Mickey Mouse cartoon short Building a Building was released on this day in 1933, featuring Mickey working at a construction site. He becomes smitten with Minnie Mouse, who is selling box lunches for the construction workers. That villainous Pegleg Pete kidnaps Minnie and roughs up Mickey, but in the end true love conquers all, …
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Throughout the decades, the cartoon short Mickey’s Good Deed, released in theaters on this day in 1932, has been a holiday mainstay on television and home video. In 1933, however, long before home videos or television, families could gather before the warmth of the fire to read the story of the holiday short when it …
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The cartoon, Santa’s Workshop, first made its debut on this day in December, 1932. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, this cartoon took place, To show just what happens at Santa’s home base. From cleaning the reindeer to prepping the sleigh, The elves helped get ready, without a delay. And Santa himself helped to ready the …
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“Once upon a time a story was told about fairies and goblins and witches of old—they haunted the forests and meadows and dells, and this is the legend the storybook tells . . . ” These are the lyrics in the opening music of the cartoon short Babes in the Woods. In this Silly Symphony, …
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Donald W. Graham loved art ever since he first visited an art school. He was so dedicated, in fact, that upon enrolling at the Chouinard Art Institute in 1923, he also became the janitor, “earning his keep” as he would say, and slept in the school’s bathtub instead of paying rent. He was later commissioned …
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Our goal today is to tell you about Touchdown Mickey, the Mickey Mouse cartoon short that kicked off in theaters on this day in 1932. It’s the big game with Mickey’s Manglers vs. Alley Cats . . . the latter team consisting of all cats, of course. A still unnamed Goofy, who made his screen …
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