Release Date First television showing : October 2, 1999 (most markets)

Synopsis

Stranded in Topsy Turvy Town, a place where everything is the opposite of normal, Mickey and Minnie accidentally break the town's strange laws and are sentenced to an unusual punishment.

Characters

Mickey Mouse (Voice : Wayne Allwine)

Minnie Mouse (Voice : Russi Taylor)

Stan (Voice : ?)

Executioner (Voice : ?)

Television

Mickey Mouse Works : Season 2 : Episode 4

House of Mouse : "Daisy's Debut"

Comments

The original title of this short was "Opposite Town."

From Patrick Malone : Maybe they were going for a "Porky Pig in Wackyland" feel here, but this short doesn't feel as "extreme" as it should be. Mickey and Minnie wander into a world where almost everything is backwards. But it's the "almost" part that bothered me a bit. There are too many details where things are not backwards that it made it like a selective opposite town. There were some cute spots, but as a whole, it seemed contrived, and didn't seem to stack up too well at the end.

From J. D. Weil : This short seems to be the least Disneyesque of the series. In 1932, the Fleischer Studios produced a Betty Boop cartoon called "Crazy Town" which seems to be this short's direct ancestor. But in "Topsy Turvy Town" Mickey acts quite out-of-place with the town's surreal goings-on whereas Betty Boop got right into the spirit of things. Maybe it's the pacing, maybe it's the writing, though it's not a total loss, this cartoon just doesn't jell.

From Juan F. Lara : A different short from most of this series's "Mickey Mouse" cartoons. Both mice played straightpersons while the town played the star. For the first half Minnie just stood and watched as the short went through many sight gags based on the topsy turvy idea, and I thought most of those gags were very funny and interesting enough to look out for. (My favorites were the dog, cat, and rat, and "Have a dollar".) Meanwhile Mickey had to play the foil to that gas station attendant, not-Stan. The artists drew not-Stan in over-the-top wild takes as he was enthusiastically "fixing" Mickey's car. Likewise Mickey went through some wild takes himself in his reaction to the fixing. I couldn't resist laughing at this scene with Mickey passed out on the floor in the background. (The animation was sloppy overall, though. Inbetweens were missing. Minnie's bow switch from being crushed to looking fine in the first half.)

The opposites were inconsistent at times (I don't think it's possible for them to be completely consistent.) How people wore clothes was opposite in different ways, depending on the person. But I liked that as it was then worth paying attention to the details on each character. Not-Stan always spoke in opposites while that saleman didn't talk that way until near the end. And the executioner should've said "Don't enjoy". But none of these inconsistencies was enough to keep the episode from working.

Mickey's comment at the start suggested that Topsy-Turvy Town might've been just a dream. So I was expecting a resolution that it was all a dream. But I liked the actual resolution a whole lot more. Mickey and Minnie figured out how to get by in the town. The short also didn't have any scene that restored the status quo. For all we know, the Mice could still be not enjoying their punishment right now.

From David Gonterman : Does things like this always happen when Mickey takes Minnie on a road trip? Damage to Minnie: Shook to bad that he bow falls off, falls off a cliff, gets her bow totaled, gets shell shocked by seeing that 'Beauty Salon,' lets someone mess with her new bow, and eventually gets arrested. At least she gets her wish to go to a topical island.

From Lee Suggs : O Mickey how could they do this to you, in front of Minnie no less. This is one of the worst shorts in the series. The premise is ridiculous, and then its carried out inconsistently. The music is dissonant, (It's probably suppose to be, "Topsy Turvy Town".) and the dialog is inane. There were times in this short I thought Mickey and Minnie looked embarrassed. (Maybe the artists animating them were.) I sure am embarrassed for them.

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