The Fire Fighters

"A Mickey Mouse Cartoon"

Release Date June 25, 1930

Running time 7:13

Synopsis

Mickey, Horace, and a motley crew of firemen charge to a burning hotel, where Mickey ultimately rescues Minnie from the flames.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Horace Horsecollar

Credits

Director : Bert Gillett

Animation : Dave Hand

Cut Scenes

Mickey milking a fireplug like an udder. Also a scene with a building on fire with people jumping out of the windows. These scenes may have since been reinstated.

Laserdiscs

United States

Mickey Mouse : The Black and White Years

Japan

Mickey Mouse : A Star is Born

Mickey Mouse : The Black and White Years

DVD

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Black and White

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #28 : Early Mickey

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

From Jack Dawkins : One thing I must say is this. I am glad that the Disney people reinstated the scene where Mickey milked the fire hydrant like an udder, but I just have to wonder this in the first place. Why would Disney edit out the scene in the first place? What is so offensive about that? I guess they came to their senses and realized that it was just a comic gag rather than an offensive act or perhaps there were so many viewers complaining to them that they surrendered and just reinstated it.

From Jerry Edwards : Fire chief Mickey saves Minnie from her burning house after a series of episodes involving the fire house and answering the alarm. This is a fun cartoon - just full of gags. My favorite gag is - after the firemen are shown climbing out of bed to the fire alarm - the firemen's ladder is also shown climbing out of his own bed and running to join the firemen. Another fun gag is, when the fire hydrant has almost no water pressure, Mickey "milks" the hydrant like a cow. My point of view concerning comments already made about the censorship of this cartoon. From my experience with Disney censorship over the years and my contacts with Disney employees (and ex-employees), sometimes the "censorship" is NOT ON PURPOSE. In general, several versions of a cartoon exists - edited for various reasons, often just to fit a TV show or similar other showing. The Disney employee who decides what copy to use often is not knowledgeable enough to even realize that there are several different copies. So sometimes a "censored" copy is shown due to ignorance, not on purpose. That stated, it is obvious that - in most instances - that Disney does purposely censor the cartoons, especially those shown on the Disney Channel. The resulting censorship often varies according to the prejudices of those employees chosen to do the censorship. This results in numerous different versions of a cartoon - over the years I have seen up to 6 different versions of any one cartoon due to censorship of different scenes.

From Ryan : This was a pretty good Mickey short. I enjoyed the scene where Mickey drives the fire truck and winds a cat's tail to the tune of "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight." Another fun gag was where Mickey milked the fire hydrant like an udder. I saw this short on a TV at a Disney Store in Chicago. The only problem was that the volume was not turned up and there was so much other interference such as people talking.

From Sam : A fun early Mickey cartoon. Personally, my favorite gag is when Mickey "milks" the fire hydrant only to spill all the water out of his bucket while running to the fire. The next time he milks the hydrant, he's very careful not to spill any water as he races to the fire only to have the water spill out anyway. The whole gag comes across as so human yet completely cartoony at the same time, just like our favorite Mouse himself.

From Bill : This was a typical 'Mickey rescues Minnie' short, but it contains many clever gags like the ladder coming down the pole, Horace drinking water and spraying it on the fire, and Mickey using the clothesline to rescue Minnie. All in all, a great short.