"A Mickey Mouse Cartoon"

Release Date October 10, 1929

Running Time 7:22

Synopsis

It's World War I and Kommandant Pete leads the cats in a raid on Mickey's farm. After enlisting in the army, Mickey mounts a spirited defense of the farmhouse.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Pete

Credits

Director : Bert Gillett

Music : Carl Stalling

Milestones

This was the first short not directed by Disney himself.

Cut Scenes

The scene of Mickey's physical examination has been cut.

DVD

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 2

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Black and White

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Cinephone; mono

Aspect ration : 1.33 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by Celebrity Productions, Inc.

Gallery

Click on the thumbnail for the full-sized picture

Comments

This cartoon was once banned in Germany because they thought the military helmets worn by the cats were insulting to German national dignity.

From Jerry Edwards : Mickey enlists so that he can help defend his homestead from invading cats. After Mickey and several other mice are involved in several battles with the cats, Mickey finds himself fighting the army of cats alone. Mickey, with the use of a sledgehammer and anvil, "clobbers" the enemy and is hailed as a hero. Although the other mice generally look more "ratlike," it is difficult sometimes to recognize Mickey because the other mice often also wear his style of short pants. Mickey and the mice are shown smaller than in most cartoons. One fun gag is when Mickey runs out of machine gun bullets. He uses a row of piano keys as bullets. The Army Physical scene in which Mickey is physically and emotionally abused is quite jarring. This scene was censored for years on the Disney Channel, but the short was recently shown uncensored on the channel. Some gags and fun "weirdness," but not among my favorites.

From Calvin Daprice : Wonderful Mickey short. Definitely one of my favorites. Here we've got several Mickey look-alikes and several Pete look-alikes. My favorite part was where Mickey clobbers all the cats with a hammer to the tune of "The Anvil Chorus." Then he is hailed by the rest of the soldiers. As the band plays "The Battle Cry of Freedom", Mickey picks up a stick, ties some bloomers around it, and sticks it into one of the cats' butts, causing him to run in agony.

From Ryan : Ever since I heard about this short, I was interested in seeing it. It did not show up on the "Ink and Paint Club" so I figured perhaps it's on "MouseTracks" or "Quack Attack." When I heard of the "Gotta be the shorts" marathon, I saw it as one of the shorts listed. I watched it (and taped it) and it's absolutely wonderful. I saw the scene with Mickey's physical examination and said to myself "This scene was cut on the Disney Channel." Disney appears to reinstate some of their edits. So I guess there is a chance that this petition will work.

From Derek N. Langley : Nine and three quarters. No, ten! Mickey at the end of the clip is pure Chaplin and Stan Laurel. The politically correct handling of a violent subject of it's time and of the times to come is truly an historical animation.

From Bill : A very recognizable Ub Iwerks short. You can tell his style right away. I found the story interesting and right off the bat it was hard to tell Mickey from the rest of the mice; they were almost look-a-likes. The use of the rubber hose animation was well done. I still think the technique is just as funny as anything today. The sight gags were brilliant, especially when the cannon brought out by the cats was marching with them. Very clever! I did not think the exam Mickey went through was bad at all. In fact, the use of clever sight gags made it very funny. Another note; all the cats looked just like Pete in " Steamboat Willie" Again, a great early short where Mickey continues to mature.

From Gijs Grob : Mickey joins a barnyard army of mice (many of which are Mickey look-a-likes) against an invading army of cats. We see him naked while he's treated rather badly by a very rude officer. Another officer is the first character in a Disney cartoon that actually speaks when he's shouting "company, forward march!" Up to this moment characters would only utter single syllable sounds and laughs. Only Minnie could express two syllables with her yoo-hoo, but that was it. In spite of this step forward, the Barnyard Battle remains, in effect, a silent cartoon. The way the inspecting officer asks Mickey to stick out his tongue is a perfect example. The highlight of silent acting, however, is given to Mickey, who, when confronted with a large and mean cat, gives a performance that matches Charlie Chaplin.