It was a dark and stormy night when Mickey Mouse was reading the frightening tale of “The Cry in the Night” to Pluto. Meanwhile, outside their home, a hooded figure approaches, leaving a basket with a baby in it along with an attached note which read, “Please give little Elmer a good home. He ain’t much trouble.” From the moment the baby is discovered, Mickey and Pluto’s lives are instantly changed in the cartoon short Mickey Plays Papa, which stormed into theaters on this day in 1934. Immediately, the team gives it their all to entertain the infant mouse. Mickey does his best impression of silent film star Charlie Chaplin while Pluto gives the baby a bone and does tricks. Despite their best efforts, nothing entertains the baby until a series of accidents leaves Mickey with a stretched out nose, imitating big-nosed screen legend Jimmy Durante to the child’s delight.
