"A Mickey Mouse Cartoon"

Synopsis

Mickey's bought a canary to give Minnie as a pet, but doesn't know that the bird has a bunch of hatchlings in her cage, too. When they get away and fly around Minnie's house, an old cat tries to catch them and Mickey destructively tries to keep that from happening.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Pluto

Credits

Director : Bert Gillett

Animation

Frenchy de Tremaudan

Norm Ferguson

Gerry Geronomi

Cut Scenes

Mickey uses a cigarette lighter with a design of a backwards swastika on it. This scene seems to have since been restored.

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #21 : Goin' to the Birds

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode #76

DVD

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 2

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Black and White

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Mono

Aspect ratio : 1.33 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by United Artists Pictures

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An edited, black and white, 9.5mm version of this short was released to the home movie market under the title "Canary Capers" by Pathescope. (No. 30532)

From Jerry Edwards : The "wayward canary" is one baby bird which continually evades Mickey, Minnie and Pluto's capture attempts. Once again the birds trash the house - a repetitive gag that I get tired of very quickly.

From Ryan : This short was rather boring to me. Even for the "song and dance" routines. There sure were quite a few birds in that cage. Do canaries really reproduce that many offspring? I also noticed that there were two framed photographs of two different people. One read: TO MINNIE FROM DOUG and the other TO MINNIE FROM MARY. Quite coincidental to me since Mary is the name of one of my mom's friends and Doug is her husband. I do not recommend this short to you unless you're an animation nerd.

From E. Penrose : Heck, no! Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were married at the time. They were also among the founders of United Artists. Was Disney being distributed by UA then? Did the pictures look like Fairbanks and Pickford? (Until I see this movie -- I wish, I wish -- my opinions won't matter.)

From Gijs Grob : 'The Wayward Canary' follows the same lines as 'The Barnyard Broadcast' (1931) and 'Mickey's Revue' (1932). Again, a song-and-dance routine is interrupted by numerous animals, causing havoc. This time, Mickey gives Minnie a canary for a present. It appears to have numerous offspring. These little birds escape and fly all over the house. Before they're all caught, the complete house is wrecked. Among Minnies household there is a lighter with a swastika on it. She also has signed portraits of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Together with Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith, they were co-founders of United Artists, the company Disney joined in 1932. These portraits are the first caricatures of real people in a Mickey Mouse film. Moreover, they suggest that Mickey, although being a cartoon character, lives in the real world, among the stars. This concept would be developed into the superb 'Mickey's Gala Premiere' from the next year.

From Bill I. : This Mickey short starts out slowly. Mickey buys Minnie a canary for a present, but does not know that she has lots of baby canaries in the nest. Mickey and Minnie have a good time with the canary until the little birds come out and start wrecking the house. The action really starts when the bird get ink all over everything and Mickey does his best (contributing to the house destruction!) to rein in the birds. One good sight gag is one of the birds getting ink on a shirt on the ironing board creating a floral print. Also very interesting were the pictures of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in the house. Add Pluto and a cat to the chase and it was action till the end. Not one of Mickey's best, but still enjoyable.

Referenced Comments

Ye Olden Days (1933)