Mickey Mouse in Mickey's Man Friday

Mickey’s Man Friday is Released

Just sit right back, and you’ll hear a tale of what happened on this day in 1935. The Mickey Mouse cartoon short Mickey’s Man Friday sailed into theaters, telling the story of what happens when Mickey finds himself at sea and then lands on an island of cannibal natives. When one of the inhabitants is just inches from being pushed into a vat of boiling water to become dinner, Mickey uses his ingenuity to rescue him. When the islander shows his gratitude, Mickey deems him his “Man Friday.” That term, which has come to mean a male servant, is a reference to the character Friday in the original story of Robinson Crusoe. Just like that original tale, Mickey meets his ally, whom he initially has trouble communicating with, upon his first day on the primitive island. The remainder of the film finds Mickey and the native using creating methods and contraptions to defeat the angry natives, until they flee to safety.