"A Mickey Mouse Cartoon"

Release Date April 21, 1930

Running Time 6:53

Synopsis

Mickey plays "Traumerei," the finale to the William Tell Overture, and a Hungarian dance in a rousing (and ridiculously silly) violin performance.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Credits

Director : Walt Disney

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #44 : Musical Mickey

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode 53

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 Columbia Pictures

Gallery

Click on the thumbnail for the full-sized picture

Comments

Also known as "Fiddlin' Around." Not only was this cartoon copyrighted as "Fiddlin' Around," but all prints extant today (and shown on television) bear that title, too.

From Jerry Edwards : Mickey is a "long hair" violinist with a full head of unruly hair. One of the most boring cartoons for me - he basically just plays the violin. "Extras" - such as Mickey crying over a sad song and Mickey having trouble with a heckler - doesn't help the boredom. Some scenes shows Mickey's "long hair" while others show no hair - a bit disconcerting.

From Ryan : Although this short had quite a bit of humor in it, I probably wouldn't call it one of my favorites. All Mickey did was just stand on stage and play his violin. I guess the studio wanted to save money on background scenes.

From Cody : Great short. Although the music can become a bit tiresome, I still constantly watch it because of the hilarious beginning. I love the way the animators drew Mickey in this short.

From Bill : One of my favorite early shorts because of the many funny facial expressions that Mickey has in it. The way his "long hair" goes with the music is perfect. There also was some excellent animation when Mickey's shadow was following him.

From Gijs Grob : This is a very aptly titled short: we only see Mickey. He's the sole performer in his fourth concert cartoon (after 'The Opry House', 'Mickey's Follies' and 'The Jazz Fool', all from 1929). This time he's playing the violin, presenting his reading of the fifth Hungarian dance by Johannes Brahms, Traumerei by Robert Schumann (which makes him cry) and, as an encore, the finale from 'Overture William Tell' by Giacchino Rossini. 'Just Mickey' contains some good character animation of Mickey, besides some great shadow effects during his rendering of 'Traumerei. Moreover, the hand movements in this short are remarkably convincing.