"A Mickey Mouse Cartoon"

Release Date September 23, 1938

Alternate Titles

Tapferes Kleines Schneiderlein - Germany

Le brave petit tailleur - France

Den modige lille skräddaren - Sweden

Running Time 8:56

Synopsis

Mickey, the tailor, kills "seven flies with one blow." The king, thinking that Mickey is talking about giants, sends him out to kill one, and offers him the hand of the Princess Minnie in return.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

King (II)

Giant

Credits

Director : Burt Gillett

Animation

Fred Moore

Bill Tytla

Don Patterson

Milt Schaffer

Les Clark

Ollie Johnston

Frank Thomas

Riley Thompson

Jack Campbell

Don Williams

Effects Animation

John Noel Tucker

Andy Engman

Frank Follmer

Cornett Wood

Art Palmer

George Rowley

Archie Robin

John McDermott

Sources

Based on a story by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, "The Valiant Little Tailor."

Awards

Nominated for an Academy Award (Short Subjects - Cartoons.) The award went to "Ferdinand the Bull."

Videos

United States

Cartoon Classics : First Series : Volume 7 : More of Disney's Best 1932-1946

Cartoon Classics : Second Series : Volume 6 : Starring Mickey and Minnie

Mickey Loves Minnie

Germany

Heir ist Mickey

Micky's Lustige Abenteuer

Italy

Le Meravigliose Fiabe del Grillo Parlante

C'era Una Volta un Topo

Laserdiscs

United States

Starring Mickey and Minnie / Starring Chip 'n' Dale

Japan

Starring Mickey and Minnie

Mickey Mouse : A Star is Born

Hello! Mickey

Once Upon a Mouse

DVD

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color

Region 1 : United States

Region 2 : France

Region 2 : Germany

Region 2 : Italy

Region 2 : Sweden

Region 2 : United Kingdom

Region 1 : United States

The Sword in the Stone

It's a Small World of Fun : Volume 2

Region 2 : United Kingdom

Everybody Loves Mickey

Region 2 : France

Tout le Monde aime Mickey

Region 2 : Germany

Alle Lieben Mickey

Region 2 : Sweden

Alla Alskar Musse

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #22 : Classic Mickey

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode #51

Donald's Quack Attack : Episode #50

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Technicolor

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Mono

Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Comments

This short marked the beginning of a departure for Disney as far as animation of the shorts is concerned. "The Brave Little Tailor" was very expensive to make, at a time when most of the money and talent was being directed towards feature films. ("Pinnochio" and "Fantasia" were in production at this time.) The expense of this short prompted Disney to re-examine the expense of the short subjects. Consequently, the animation of later shorts proved to be much simpler and less lush than this one, especially in the background art.

From K. Richard : Doesn't this short contain another instance of Pluto talking? The knight/soldier who overhears the gossip of Mickey's deed and reports it to the king appears for all intents and puposes to be Pluto.

From Jesus Daprice : This seems to be a very well-known short. I have three Mickey Mouse porcelain figurines. "SteamboatWillie", this one, and Sorcerer's Apprentice. It also seems to have been released on quite a few videos and has a lot of graphics. I wonder if this short was a favorite of Mr. Walt E. Disney.

From Jerry Edwards : I've always enjoyed what I consider to be a Mickey Mouse/Silly Symphony hybrid short. Mickey playing the brave little tailor works for me. I enjoy the story and especially the scene in which Mickey is trying to avoid being swallowed by the giant.

From Ryan : This is a very famous Disney short. If you look at Mickey Mouse merchandise, I can gurantee you that you'll find something related to this short. This could be considered a sequel to the 1933 Mickey short "Giantland." The animation of this short was wonderful and the storyline was good.

From Peter Fannelli : The first time I ever saw this cartoon was when I was five years old, and it frightened me. The scene in which Mickey is outside of the castle and he hears the giants massive footsteps made me hide under my blanket. There is also a scene in which Mickey gets swallowed by the giant, a scene which also gave me the chills. My favorite part of this cartoon is the part in which Mickey takes down the giant by tying him up. In the end when Mickey looks up at the defeated giant and then brushes of his dirty hands, you will have an urge to get up out of your seat and cheer for the him.

From Peter : I love this short! Even being 15 years old, after seeing this short Mickey Mouse will always be my hero! This short was very well-made campared to other shorts. The artwork was very unique, and the giant almost looked like a real human being. One scene that I thought was very unnessacary was the scene in which Mickey gets swallowed by the giant, and just dangles inside of his stomach for 2 seconds. One of my favorite scenes in this short is when Minnie kisses Mickey on the face about 55 times and all of her lipstick is smeered all over his face. All and all, I think that this is one of the best Mickey Mouse films ever made, and I plan on watching it again very soon!

From Kevin : One of the best shorts I've ever seen.

From Sam : One of the most recognizable Disney shorts ever created, it remains one of the best as well. The animation is very well done, the story is well told, and Mickey's acting is at it's best. My favorite scene is the one in which Mickey is retelling the king his tale of how he killed "seven with one blow". A masterpiece of animation.

From Betsy : This is one of my favorite Mickey cartoons, and a perfect 10. The animation is great for its time and Mickey (as always) is the heroic star. The scene where Princess Minnie kisses Mickey all over his face then their kiss at the end are not only two of the more classic and romantic Disney moments but also one of the cutest. Being a Mickey fan for many years this one has been close to my heart and mind as well as been on my list of Favorite Mickey Toons. This one really shows how Mickey was and is the heroic little guy who did big things and triumphed-with Minnie by his side.

From Chris Perdue : I give this short a ten for its story and its animation. I was made familiar with the story, not with the short itself, but a book and record read-along package my parents bought me as a little child. It wasn't until I was about twelve or thirteen that I got to see the short. I remember watching it with my little sister, who when she saw Mickey in the stomach of the giant, was scared to death for him. She cried all the more when water started pouring in on him. It was real enough to her that she was scared for Mickey.

From Gabe Bennett : In several episodes of the Disney TV series, "The Adventures of the Gummi Bears", noably "Close Encounters of the Gummi Kind", there is a peasant character (he appears to be a woodcutter) who looks exactly like the Giant from this classic cartoon. A little nod to the classics from the Television Animation Department perhaps? Also, I'm surprised that the scenes in this cartoon featuring the Giant rolling a cigar out of the hay and smoking haven't been censored (or have they? I haven't seen this one in many years.)

From Linda : I love this movie. It's so funny how Mickey is so excited about killing the flies and how everyone misunderstands and thinks he's talking about killing giants. I was lucky enough to get an original sericel of the movie.

From Baruch Weiss : This was 2 out of 3 times where Mickey was pitted against a giant. The first one was the 1933 black and white cartoon "Giantland" then again in the 1947 cartoon "Mickey and the Beanstalk". Anyway great short, I liked the scene where one of the guards comes rushing up to the castle then falls on his stomach then we hear the screeching breaks effect, I wonder what Jimmy MacDonald used to create that sound?

From Andrew : No one's mentioned yet that this was Mickey and Minnie's last appearance in their original designs. After this they would be given pink facial skin and eyes with pupils. The end of an era. Even so this is one of Mickey's most spectacular cartoons, with the magnificently stupid giant terrorizing the land (to him, Mickey would be about the size of an actual mouse to a normal human). If they show this cartoon on TV today, I really hope they didn't cut the scene with the giant using a wood stove to light his hay bale cigarette.

Original Animator's Drafts

Video Clip

Gallery

Mickey tries to explain himself; signed by Marc Davis Courtesy of The Wonderful World of Animation

Click on the thumbnail for the full-sized picture

I have seen "The Brave Little Tailor" and would like to
submit a comment on this short