Mickey Shorts Animation and Style

[LittleBuford]

It’s more a matter of costume than design, but I absolutely love Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle in their ’80s getup. I can’t get over the fact that they’re dressed pretty much like Madonna in her Like a Virgin days!

 

[_caleb]

Kind of how I felt when Minnie was singing "Tuilpen uit Amsterdam"... even if her pronunciation was a little off.

I liked that for Al Rojo Vivo (set in Spain), they at least tried to use the ceceo of Castilian Spanish.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Speaking of interesting interpretations of Mickey Mouse, I recently discovered the commercial for the American Motors 1955 Nash automobiles designed in a stylized, modernistic look by Disney artist, Tom Oreb:



I think the Rudish designs show some similarities to this!

Fans like @Brer Oswald might be interested to know they also did a commercial featuring the Br'er Animals!

And apparently, Walt associated modernist ascetic with communism? From this YouTube channel:

Quoting from the wonderful book 'Cartoon Modern' by Amid Amidi, "There was a little kid that used to write to Walt telling him to stay away from modern art because it's Communistic. So when the commercial came on, he got a letter from this kid, a little malcontent sitting somewhere, and he wrote, "I'm disappointed Walt. I never thought you'd succumb. What happened to you?" and Walt went crazy. He stormed down there and outlawed using any of the Disney characters in the commercials...spelling the end of the unit." These commercials, along with many other mid-century animation gems can be found on this dvd: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007...

For more about the American Motors commercials, check out this article from Amid Amidi at Cartoon Brew.

Walt didn't necessarily associate the modernist style itself with communism, he associated it with the rival UPA animation studio. And in the red scare climate of the early post WWII era, he regarded the staff of that studio as a bunch of communists, because UPA was founded by some of the leaders of the animators' strike that nearly bankrupted
his company in 1940.

 

[Skywise]

Walt didn't necessarily associate the modernist style itself with communism, he associated it with the rival UPA animation studio. And in the red scare climate of the early post WWII era, he regarded the staff of that studio as a bunch of communists, because UPA was founded by some of the leaders of the animators' strike that nearly bankrupted
his company in 1940.

That sounds more like personal vengeance than a red scare issue. (Not denying Walt was anti-communist but if you had a rival studio of artists who tried to destroy your company it's only natural to throw shade at them for everything)

Also, I'm not sure I buy the story of the kid. I doubt Walt, who closely watched over everything, would've not been aware of this modernistic take and he DID use a modernist approach to the backgrounds in Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Ward Kimball used modernist animation with his "man in space" shorts - so it may have been more of a factor of the public response, in general, of a 'modern' Mickey Mouse impression/impact on the character and brand rather than the technique itself.

 

[_caleb]

That sounds more like personal vengeance than a red scare issue. (Not denying Walt was anti-communist but if you had a rival studio of artists who tried to destroy your company it's only natural to throw shade at them for everything)

Also, I'm not sure I buy the story of the kid. I doubt Walt, who closely watched over everything, would've not been aware of this modernistic take and he DID use a modernist approach to the backgrounds in Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Ward Kimball used modernist animation with his "man in space" shorts - so it may have been more of a factor of the public response, in general, of a 'modern' Mickey Mouse impression/impact on the character and brand rather than the technique itself.

Yeah- this does sort of sound like one of those apocryphal stories about Walt. So much modernism made it onto the screen and into Disneyland and DL Hotel. But it’s still fun to think about!

 

[Heppenheimer]

Yeah- this does sort of sound like one of those apocryphal stories about Walt. So much modernism made it onto the screen and into Disneyland and DL Hotel. But it’s still fun to think about!

Even the late theatrical shorts before Disney stopped making them in the 50s definately have a mid-century modern/Googie aesthetic. The familiar characters have slightly more angular features and the backgrounds are a little more abstract.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I think it's worth mentioning as well one of the strengths of these cartoons- the music is really good, and as far as I'm aware, is original for the series. My kids absolutely love Mickey's song about the Wrangler's code. Some of my favorites are the 1930's-style score from School For Fish, that evokes Our Gang and early Mickey Mouse shorts, the Herb Albert-style rendition of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, and a brief little high-energy 80s synth rock piece that perfectly illustrates how exhausting it must be sometimes to be friends with Mickey and Minnie. And the little ragtime piano piece that closes each episode is perfect (I tried playing it... it is much harder than it sounds).

 

[LittleBuford]

I think it's worth mentioning as well one of the strengths of these cartoons- the music is really good, and as far as I'm aware, is original for the series. My kids absolutely love Mickey's song about the Wrangler's code. Some of my favorites are the 1930's-style score from School For Fish, that evokes Our Gang and early Mickey Mouse shorts, the Herb Albert-style rendition of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, and a brief little high-energy 80s synth rock piece that perfectly illustrates how exhausting it must be sometimes to be friends with Mickey and Minnie. And the little ragtime piano piece that closes each episode is perfect (I tried playing it... it is much harder than it sounds).

I don’t have an ear for these things, so thanks for pointing it out to those of us who are musically illiterate. Your post only confirms my sense that these shorts are very carefully crafted. Contrary to the impression that some people have of them (as crude, cheap, etc.), they are full of details that show a real and sometimes surprising level of attentiveness to everything from Disney history to foreign architectural traditions. One doesn’t have to get these references to enjoy the shorts, but they add additional levels of pleasure for those who pick up on them.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Really beautiful work!

Some of my favourite episodes—narratively as well as aesthetically—are those that take place in other countries. As someone of Turkish heritage, I was beyond tickled to hear Mickey speaking Turkish in the episode set in Istanbul.

I also particularly like the international ones and love that they do them in the local languages.

Did amuse me that they kept it up for the Australia one by giving Mickey and Minnie Australian accents!

 

[LittleBuford]

Did amuse me that they kept it up for the Australia one by giving Mickey and Minnie Australian accents!

Were they well done?

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Were they well done?

Mickey was ok, but Minnie's whole vibe was pretty spot on!

 

[Heppenheimer]

That sounds more like personal vengeance than a red scare issue. (Not denying Walt was anti-communist but if you had a rival studio of artists who tried to destroy your company it's only natural to throw shade at them for everything)

Also, I'm not sure I buy the story of the kid. I doubt Walt, who closely watched over everything, would've not been aware of this modernistic take and he DID use a modernist approach to the backgrounds in Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Ward Kimball used modernist animation with his "man in space" shorts - so it may have been more of a factor of the public response, in general, of a 'modern' Mickey Mouse impression/impact on the character and brand rather than the technique itself.

Maybe instead of saying Walt "associated UPA with communism" (as if he literally believed they were KGB-backed agents), it would have been more accurate for me to say he "labeled them a bunch of communists", more as a slur, rather than as a literal McCarthy-ite accusation.

 

[_caleb]

Maybe instead of saying Walt "associated UPA with communism" (as if he literally believed they were KGB-backed agents), it would have been more accurate for me to say he "labeled them a bunch of communists", more as a slur, rather than as a literal McCarthy-ite accusation.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I imagine him muttering under his breath, "bunch of hippies and commies."

 

[Inspired Figment]

Alright.. see, ‘that’ is the problem I’ve been discussing. Iger has seemingly pushed into obscurity and intentionally erased the fact that modern Mickey was once appealing to all ages and had a TON of personality & emotion in shows like Mickey Mouse Works/House of Mouse. Not to mention, films like Once Upon A Christmas and shorts like Prince & the Pauper & Runaway Brain. Instead they use this false narrative that he became a “soulless mascot” under past management and that Iger saved him.. when Infact.. he is ‘the’ sole contributor to the “soulless” Mickey we’ve seen since Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, strictly aimed at preschooler and used as the main Mickey since ‘06 as opposed to Mouse Works/House of Mouse. None of this plus the creation/greenlighting Clubhouse (Iger’s first big Mickey related project he greenlit) isn’t even mentioned in that new Disney + documentary.. are you starting to see the problem?

 

[Inspired Figment]

Here is ‘some’ of Mickey Mouse Works/House of Mouse… a series that Iger refuses to release on Disney Plus because it proves this entire narrative wrong… both about “returning him back to his roots” and “being soulless” ;

 

[_caleb]

Lovely.. though my point was mostly as was less about the quality of the new shorts.. and moreso how an entire era Modern Mickey’s history has been erased & rewritten. Reread all my posts carefully. But I’d be happy to join the discussion.

I think I've read all your posts about this, but I'm still not sure I see how " an entire era of Modern Mickey's history has been erased and rewritten."

I do see more emphasis on the new Mickey design vs. the older ones. But haven't they always promoted the most recent version?

In the 1950's Mickey had "grown up." He wore regular (1950's suburban man) clothing and had largely lost his mischievous streak. Would you say that in the 1950's they erased and rewrote the Mickey from the 30's and 40's?

 

[Inspired Figment]

I think I've read all your posts about this, but I'm still not sure I see how " an entire era of Modern Mickey's history has been erased and rewritten."

I do see more emphasis on the new Mickey design vs. the older ones. But haven't they always promoted the most recent version?

In the 1950's Mickey had "grown up." He wore regular (1950's suburban man) clothing and had largely lost his mischievous streak. Would you say that in the 1950's they erased and rewrote the Mickey from the 30's and 40's?

It’s not the design… it’s the way they treat/write him. And I promise you, classic 30s/40s Mickey has been seen plenty everywhere. The issue is the entire 90s-early early 2000s era is gone/missing. The personality, animation, everything about that era.. and ‘that’ felt like a tasteful continuation that retained the feel of the 30s toons with personality & humor with a look that more resembled the 40s & 50s look Freddy Moore pioneered. Watch Mickey Mouse Works/House of Mouse for yourself.

 

[Inspired Figment]

Clubhouse utilizes very similar designs.. but all the personality, humor, etc.. ‘that’ is gone. Completely gone. It’s such a stark difference it’s not even funny.. and yet they’ve rewritten history to say that, ‘that’ has been Modern Mickey all along, when ultimately, it was only the later run pioneered by Iger.

 

[Inspired Figment]

Then.. compare late 90s/early 2000s Mickey Mouse Works/House of Mouse to the shorts of today.. again, a ‘stark’ difference in the way they treat the characters. They’re like crude/nasty Ren & Stimpy style parodies in comparison full of gross out humor and all. while Clubhouse makes him a bland Barney/Dora clone that isn’t any better. It’s like two extreme different directions at once rather than something perfectly balanced & true to the character’s past spirit like the 90s-early early 2000s era. Great art direction, animation, and all.

 

[Inspired Figment]

In the 1950's Mickey had "grown up." He wore regular (1950's suburban man) clothing and had largely lost his mischievous streak. Would you say that in the 1950's they erased and rewrote the Mickey from the 30's and 40's?

somewhat.. but classic Mickey beforehand was still largely available and playing on television. You could also argue that Mickey could act differently simply based on whatever occasion or situation he was in.. and as I said before.. what about the 90s-early early 2000s era that brought back the more mischevious/flawed character we all loved while utilizing some of the Freddy Moore 40s-50s design.. that ‘wasn’t’ strictly aimed at preschoolers. The one Iger has seemingly intentionally made not available on Disney Plus or even discusses in recent documentaries, despite it’s large importance in Mickey’s history.