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Picture Disney Cartoon Characters Biography
Clara
Clara Cluck was born — make that hatched — to shine in the spotlight. Blessed with buxom good looks, aristocratic bearing and a magnificent singing voice, Madame Cluck was known as “the barnyard nightingale,” the illustrious title with which Mickey Mouse introduced Clara in Orphan’s Benefit (1934). No stranger to the thrill of applause and curtain calls, Clara is a performer serenely confident in her singing abilities. This not-so-little hen radiates stage presence whether she’s squawking an aria or just being a good neighbor to Mickey and Minnie.
When did Clara first start clucking? As with Donald Duck and Goofy, it all started with a voice. A concert singer classically trained at London’s Royal Academy of Music named Florence Gill performed an impression of a hen clucking grand opera, and her unusual recital impressed Walt Disney. Florence was cast as the voice of the title character in the 1934 Silly Symphony The Wise Little Hen (which was also Donald’s debut film), and that her unique vocalizations inspired Walt and his artists to create Clara Cluck. Her debut was Orphan’s Benefit (1934) in which this grand dame took center stage as if she was born to it, and cackled her way to immortality (accompanied by pianist Mickey Mouse) with an unforgettable solo rendition of the sextet from Lucia.
From then on there was no stopping this ever-enthusiastic prima donna as she made every opera piece her own. Clara was spectacularly spotlighted in Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936), wherein she is given top billing on the opera house marquee, even outranking her co-star Donald Duck. In this uproarious operatic epic, Clara sensitively squawks a duet from Rigoletto with dashing Donald. Madame Cluck’s inimitable vocal stylings actually earned her a 1936 review in Stage magazine favoring her above her contemporaries at the Met.
Clara Cluck
As befitting a professional devoted to her craft, Clara is impassioned about her performances, and she is equally devoted to her friends. A regular and valued member of Mickey’s close-knit neighborhood, Clara always pitches in whenever Mr. Mouse’s community becomes involved in a performing project or just a fun get-together. In Mickey’s Amateurs (1937), Clara lends her clucky vocal chords to a radio recital, accompanied on the piano by friend and neighbor Clarabelle Cow. In Symphony Hour (1942) Clara is an instrumental member of Maestro Mouse’s orchestra, exposing even more musical expertise as she soulfully plays the bass violin. And when the gang gathers for a relaxing shindig at Minnie’s house in Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942), the feathers fly as Clara dances up a storm, almost pummeling poor Donald in the process.
As part of the Disney comic book cast, Clara often plays a supporting role in amusing stories featuring Daisy Duck. As Ms. Duck’s close friend and confidante, Clara is an honored member of Daisy’s Chit Chat Society, devoted to playing bridge and doing charitable work. She at times even double dates with Daisy and Donald, accompanied by her beau, Rockhead Rooster. On television, Clara has appeared with the rest of the gang on House of Mouse.
But it is with her dramatic and imposing singing voice that this extraordinary prima donna has feathered her own nest as a truly legendary performer. A distinctive and absolutely outsized personality, Madame Clara Cluck is one of the few greats of the stage who can rightly claim to have never laid an egg.
Clara Cluck Filmography
1. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
2. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
3. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
4. The Fox Hunt (1938)
5. Orphan’s Benefit (remake of 1934 original) (1941)
6. Symphony Hour (1942)
7. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
8. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Clarabelle Cow
Land sakes! Tall, lanky and, in her own way, lovely, Clarabelle Cow gained a name for herself as an eccentric friend and neighbor to Mickey Mouse and his pals. This ladylike busybody and dyed-in-the-cowhide romance novel fan gracefully wins fans wherever she appears — and though her film appearances are relatively few, the laughter this endearingly quaint cow character inspires is enduring.
An old-fashioned lady anyone might know and like in a small town, Clarabelle is the gossipy friend and advisor to Minnie Mouse. Even though others may consider her homely, Clarabelle thinks of herself as quite a beauty. She enjoys dressing in finery and getting a real moo-cow makeover (“getting all gussied up” is how Clarabelle herself might put it!) for example at a big Hollywood to-do as in Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933). Ms. Cow is a lady who knows how to make a fashion statement with a shiny cowbell for a necklace. Most of the time, however, this house-proud homebody spends her time cooking, tending her garden, shopping and also minding her neighbors’ business.
Clarabelle inauspiciously began her onscreen rise to silver screen fame and small town fortune as a bona fide barnyard cow in The Plow Boy (1929) but she quickly evolved to become Minnie’s close friend and confidante. Often paired with fellow supporting character Horace Horsecollar, she joined in the fun with Mickey and Minnie in films such as The Beach Party (1931) and Camping Out (1934). Although a supporting player, Clarabelle’s outsized personality and offbeat beauty occasionally gained her a spot in the limelight. In one of her best films, Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935), Clarabelle sings in the bathtub in her own inimitable way. Unfortunately, her boarding house catches fire, and when firefighter Goofy attempts to rescue her, Clarabelle will have none of it, continually hitting this “intruder” with her back scrubber while screaming with ear-shattering force. Proving herself quite a performer, Clarabelle flawlessly executes a modern dance in Orphan’s Benefit (1934), while in Mickey’s Amateurs (1937), she grandly plays the grand piano for Clara Cluck, emitting a ladylike laugh punctuated with a cattle-like snort. And of course Clarabelle is always part of the fun and frolics of Mickey and the gang in cartoons such as The Band Concert (1935), Symphony Hour (1942) and Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942).
Clarabelle Cow
In character roles, Clarabelle is anything but an udder failure. Ye Olden Days (1933) features the faithful old gal as Minnie’s lady-in-waiting, and more recently, in The Three Musketeers (2004), she really gets to spread her thespian wings as the lieutenant of Captain Pete of the Royal Musketeers. Though she rarely spoke in her early screen appearances, Clarabelle is today voiced by April Winchell.
Clarabelle’s modest but undeniable popularity led to this not-so-shrinking violet being featured in publications. She was the subject of a “tell-all,” Walt Disney’s Story of Clarabelle Cow , in 1938. Our glamour girl was even spotlighted on the front cover of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, a feat even more impressive considering she supplanted Donald Duck, who has appeared on most of the covers of the flagship Disney comic book.
In fact it is in comics that Clarabelle has really shone. The Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip featured our gossipy gal regularly, romantically involved with her equine Romeo, Horace. Clarabelle’s at the center of 1935′s “Race For Riches” as miserly Eli Squinch romances her in attempt to swindle away a family fortune. In one of Mickey’s (and Clarabelle’s) best comic strip stories, 1940′s “The Bar None Ranch,” she foolishly falls head-over-hoof for bad guy Peg-Leg Pete. In comic book stories, Clarabelle is often teamed up with her closest girl friend Minnie — and though she has been known to be both Minnie’s oldest friend and severest critic, Clarabelle never fails to be a supportive “sister in arms” to Miss Mouse and the other ladies of the neighborhood.
On TV, Clarabelle made merry as not one but two cheerleaders on the opening title sequence of The Mickey Mouse Club, and more recently, in the animated TV series House of Mouse, Clarabelle has been known to perform with gal pals Minnie and Daisy on the nightclub stage, where she naturally serves as the resident gossip columnist. Whether on TV, on the silver screen or on the printed page, this bovine beauty continues to amuse and even amaze — for like any true beauty, Clarabelle Cow is forever.
Clarabelle Cow Filmography
1. Plane Crazy (1928)
2. The Plow Boy (1929)
3. The Karnival Kid (1929)
4. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929; reuses some Clarabelle animation from Plane Crazy)
5. The Barnyard Concert (1930)
6. The Shindig (1930) — first entirely humanized appearance
7. The Chain Gang (1930)
8. Pioneer Days (1930, cameo: see Clarabelle and Horace sitting with cat between them at 03:42 and several subsequent scenes)
9. The Birthday Party (1931)
10. Mother Goose Melodies (1931, cameo: not a Mickey cartoon, but see an unmistakable Clarabelle tossing flowers at 00:48)
11. Blue Rhythm (1931)
12. The Barnyard Broadcast
(1931)
13. The Beach Party (1931)
14. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
15. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
16. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932, cameo: see Clarabelle and Horace seated together in wedding chapel at 01:43)
17. The Whoopee Party (1932)
18. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
19. Parade of the Award Nominees (1932; reuses some Clarabelle animation from Mother Goose Melodies)
20. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
21. Ye Olden Days (1933)
22. Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)
23. Camping Out (1934)
24. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
25. The Band Concert (1935)
26. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
27. On Ice (1935)
28. Mickey’s Polo Team (1936)
29. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
30. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
31. Boat Builders (1938, cameo: See Clarabelle in bonnet and Horace in top hat, standing on dock to right of Morty and Ferdie at 06:07)
32. The Fox Hunt (1938, cameo: see Clarabelle in hunting party at 02:11)
33. Orphan’s Benefit (1941, color remake of 1934 original)
34. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
35. Symphony Hour (1942)
36. All Together (1942; reuses some Clarabelle animation from The Band Concert)
37. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
38. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
39. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
40. The Three Musketeers (2004)
NOTE: Clarabelle does not appear in Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952), despite it being erroneously listed in her filmography many times over the years. Nor does Clarabelle appear in Alice on the Farm (1925), where the cow shown is a non-humanized, realistically drawn white Ayrshire type; this error derives from an online fan database that several authorized reference books later copied.
Daisy Duck
Ms. Daisy Duck is best known as Donald Duck’s lady friend but this glamorous femme fatale is most decidedly not one to stand in anyone’s shadow. Part coquette and part steamroller, this alluring leading lady is sassy and sophisticated — and though she is strong-willed and temperamental, this romantic socialite loves to be pampered and to be the center of attention. Most of all, Daisy is an enticing enchantress who has a powerful effect on the opposite sex — and she knows it.
Befitting the fascinating nature of her feminine mystique, Daisy’s origins are a bit misty. Feisty Donald needed a girlfriend and she undoubtedly had to be someone who could hold her own (and then some) with the hot-tempered Duck. This flirtatious siren made her grand and attention-grabbing entrance in the south-of-the-border adventure, Don Donald (1937). But it was not as Daisy but as Donna that this fiery senorita made her bow, and she matched Donald squawk for angry squawk, flying into a fury over Senor Duck’s reckless driving. In her next film, Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940), Daisy is given her proper and rightful name as she demonstrates some pretty fancy footwork — and in true Daisy Duck fashion, she captivates not only Mr. Duck but also Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Daisy Duck
From these earliest films, Daisy proved herself to be a formidable but fashionable force of nature. A modern woman of taste and sophistication, Daisy luxuriates in the finer things, such as jewelry, fashion, fancy perfume and stylish shoes, into which Daisy somehow fits her webfeet. When it comes to Donald, she simply adores the boy, but she expects perfection from the far-from-perfect Duck, and continually demands results from Donald with either feminine wiles or persuasive scolding. And though she sometimes becomes frustrated over Donald’s shortcomings, the possessive lady will stop at nothing to keep Donald as her beau. Eternally secure in her ability to turn every head in the room, Daisy can be compared to a strong-willed Southern belle — she knows what she wants and how to get it.
Daisy appeared in many more of Donald’s films and though she was rarely included in even the titles of these Donald-centric cartoons, she effortlessly stole the show and somehow saw to it that everything centered around her. The promise of a good-night kiss even drives Donald to criminal activity as he raids his nephews’ piggy bank so he can take his gal out on the town in Donald’s Crime (1945) while in that same year’s Cured Duck, Daisy demands that Donald take anger management training. In Donald’s Double Trouble (1946), incensed Daisy hangs up the telephone on her “uncouth” beau with so much force it causes an explosion. Daisy also co-starred with Donald in the “Pomp and Circumstance” segment of Fantasia/2000 (2000), the sequel to Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940), in which she is the faithful love of Donald, who portrays Noah’s helper.
Her greatest screen role, however, is in Donald’s Dilemma (1947). Daisy is uncharacteristically unsettled when Donald is hit on the head and becomes a smooth-voiced singing sensation — and in the process forgets all about Daisy. Though she may at times reject Donald under no circumstances can Daisy accept being rejected herself — and Daisy takes matters into her own hands (even going against the advice of her psychiatrist), ensuring Donald reverts to his old self and his adoration of his lady love. Onscreen Daisy originally had a duck-like voice performed by the original voice of Donald Duck, Clarence Nash, but after her initial appearances this glamorous screen star was given a more appropriately ladylike voice. Today her official voice is supplied by Tress MacNeille.
As if to indicate her undeniable star power, Daisy even has her own theme song, written for Crazy Over Daisy (1950) by Studio staff composer Oliver Wallace. It’s one of the great ironies of Daisy’s career that the lovely Ms. Duck only appears very briefly in this short that is both named for her and also features her signature tune. The song took on a life of its own as it was adapted as the unofficial theme song of Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland.
Daisy was an integral part of the popular Donald Duck newspaper comic strip. Perhaps as a response to the popular “romance” comic books of the 1950s, Daisy was awarded her own title Daisy Duck’s Diary in 1954, making our flirtatious female one of the relatively few distaff characters to have her own comic book. In these chic stories, our independent-minded gal struggled to work out relationships with her women friends, dieting, fashion, and of course romance. Her friend and confidante in these stylish adventures is Clara Cluck, a member of Daisy’s Chit Chat Society, dedicated to playing bridge and doing charitable work. In other comic adventures, Daisy also teams up with best friend Minnie Mouse.
In a textbook example of “you’re not just dating him, you’re dating his family,” Daisy often finds herself entangled with Donald’s relatives. She has a pleasant relationship with Grandma Duck, and in some comic stories, visits Grandma on her farm to get a break from the stress of being a contemporary diva in the big city. In some comics, Daisy is paired with mega-billionaire Scrooge McDuck, offering both a soothing feminine presence and an annoying irritant to Donald’s cantankerous uncle. Sometimes, Daisy is actually employed as Uncle Scrooge’s executive secretary. (Interestingly, Daisy took on the role of Belle, Scrooge’s sweetheart, in Disney’s 1983 animated version of the Dickens classic Mickey’s Christmas Carol. There’s no record of what Donald thought of that bit of casting.)
Daisy is of course not one to be outdone by Donald or anyone, so it should come as no surprise that she has a set of three identical nieces, female counterparts to Huey, Dewey and Louie. It was in the comic books where April, May, and June were introduced in 1953. These pretty nieces were occasionally on hand for Aunt Daisy to look after and to involve as accomplices in her schemes.
Aside from the silver screen and the comic pages, Daisy has appeared on Donald’s Quack Pack TV show as a television news journalist and on TV’s House of Mouse as the nightclub’s reservation clerk. Whatever her role or occupation, or whatever medium in which she effortlessly steals the spotlight, Daisy is a liberated individual, yet she adores being treated as a lady. Walt Disney once described Daisy as “one of our favorites,” and no wonder. This glamour gal is irresistible to everyone, and everyone is simply crazy for Daisy.
Daisy Duck Filmography
1. Don Donald (as “Donna Duck”) (1937)
2. Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)
3. A Good Time for a Dime (1941)
4. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
5. Donald’s Crime (1945)
6. Cured Duck (1945)
7. Donald’s Double Trouble (1946)
8. Dumb Bell of the Yukon (only mentioned) (1946)
9. Sleepy Time Donald (1947)
10. Donald’s Dilemma (1947)
11. Donald’s Dream Voice (1948)
12. Crazy Over Daisy (1950)
13. Donald’s Diary (1954)
14. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
15. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
16. Fantasia/2000 (2000)
17. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
18. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Daisy Duck also appeared in various television productions.
Donald Duck
Donald has developed into one of the most interesting screen comics. The audience always likes him, provided he plays true to his own character. His best features are his cocky, show-off boastful attitude that turns to anger as soon as he is crossed.
Disney Animator Fred Spencer (c.1935)
Universally acclaimed and internationally adored for his often-explosive qualities, Donald Duck is one of the world’s most famous and beloved personalities. The usually happy but often hotheaded fellow in the sailor suit has movie fans in 76 countries, readers who follow his daily comic strip in 100 foreign newspapers, friends who read his comic books published in 47 nations and television families who watch him in 29 countries.
The success story of this friendly and feisty Duck began in the early 1930s when Walt Disney heard Los Angeles performer Clarence Nash creating animal sounds on the radio. When Nash performed a nervous recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” (in a voice that he had intended as a frightened baby goat) Walt declared, “That’s our talking duck!” For the next fifty years, Clarence “Ducky” Nash provided Donald’s distinctive voice until his death in 1985. (Trained by “Ducky” Nash himself, Disney animator Tony Anselmo took over the role and today remains the official voice of Donald Duck.) A star was hatched with the June 9, 1934 release of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony, in which the self-centered duck danced a clever hornpipe and faked a bellyache. Supposedly a minor supporting character, Donald waddled away with the show.
Donald Duck
Lazy and greedy, this first version of Donald lacked what would become his most famous characteristic: a hair-trigger temper. That alarming attribute was on full display in Donald’s next film, Orphan’s Benefit (1934). In this landmark short, Donald eagerly began to recite “Mary Has a Little Lamb” (inspired by Clarence Nash’s radio performance) only to be continually interrupted by the raucous audience of orphans. His short-fused temper, explosive tantrums, and flustered incompetence in the face of obstacles and irritants had audiences delirious with laughter at his antics — and empathizing with his enraged response to life’s frustrations. “The uncontrolled temper, the immediate impulse to fight, and the childish desire for revenge made him an easily recognizable type for the audience,” observed master animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. “People relieved their own frustrations through him, particularly when he had created his own problems.”
Donald quickly became Mickey’s co-star, and was also often teamed with both Mickey and Goofy as one of the screen’s greatest comedy teams. But Donald’s popularity eclipsed even that of Mickey’s and the cocky Duck was showcased in his own star vehicles, starting with Don Donald (1937). Donald’s story team and animators delighted in coming up with one exasperating situation after another for their funny, spirited star. “The Duck was very versatile,” said Duck director and story artist Jack Hannah. “He had every emotion a human being had. He could be cute, mischievous, go from warm to cold at any moment.” Walt Disney noted that the design of his fine feathered leading man had a lot to do with his success: “Donald’s got a big mouth, big belligerent eyes, a twistable neck, and a substantial backside that’s highly flexible. The Duck comes near to being the animator’s ideal subject. He’s got plasticity plus!”
Reflecting his fame and worldwide fan base, Donald starred in over 150 short subjects, more than any other of the Disney stars. Donald also boosted the box office of feature films The Reluctant Dragon (1941), Saludos Amigos (1943), The Three Caballeros (1945), Fantasia/2000 (2000) and the featurettes Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and The Prince and the Pauper (1990). Donald’s piano duel with a daffy cartoon colleague was a highlight of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
Like any star Donald needed a stable of supporting players and his family and friends were pressed into service. In Don Donald the gallant romancer wooed an exotic señorita named Donna. Donna evolved into Daisy Duck — every bit Donald’s match in independent thinking, fortitude and tenacity. In Donald’s Nephews (1938), Huey, Dewey and Louie stormed into their “unca’s” life and inspiring even more aggravation for the temperamental Duck.
Following in the footsteps of fellow Hollywood superstars James Stewart and Clark Gable, Donald Duck served in the military when duty called. Patriotic Donald boosted morale in Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943), one of the most famous Donald Duck cartoons ever made, and the winner of the Academy Award® as Best Cartoon Short Subject of 1942-43. His personal Army experiences were documented in a number of wartime shorts, beginning with Donald Gets Drafted (1942), but when peacetime returned, the Army overlooked one thing — his discharge. Finally, in 1984, the U.S. Army granted an honorable discharge to Private Donald Fauntleroy Duck.
Donald continued is tradition of public service by headlining a number of “awareness” productions, including How to Have an Accident in the Home (1956) and How to Have an Accident at Work (1959). In 1959, the celebrated Duck starred in one of the most popular educational films ever produced, Donald in Mathmagic Land, followed by Donald and the Wheel (1961) and The Litterbug (1961) and his widely screened safety film, Donald’s Fire Survival Plan (1966).
Starting with his frequent appearances in the Silly Symphony Sunday comic page, Donald began his reign as an international comic superstar. The feisty fowl was awarded his own long-running newspaper comic strip in 1938, which co-starred his screen family and friends as well as some new players, such as Grandma Duck, an old-fashioned, no-nonsense matriarch who employs as her farmhand Donald’s cousin, Gus Goose, a lovably lazy and gluttonous galoot introduced in the 1939 cartoon, Donald’s Cousin Gus. Donald Duck comic books, especially those essayed by the “Good Artist,” Carl Barks, are read, studied and reprinted around the globe. The comic book misadventures of everyone’s favorite mallard have introduced a whole flock of family and fowl-weather friends populating Donald’s hometown of Duckburg, including his obnoxiously lucky cousin Gladstone Gander, the wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose and most famously, his fantastically rich uncle, Scrooge McDuck.
When Walt Disney entered weekly television in 1954, Donald Duck was right at his side, making numerous appearances over three decades on the primetime television shows Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and The Wonderful World of Disney. On The Mickey Mouse Club Donald quacked out his own name instead of Mickey’s, indicating a mostly good-natured (and entirely one-sided) rivalry between Duck and Mouse. He has also appeared in a number of network and cable television series, including DuckTales, Quack Pack, Donald’s Quack Attack and House of Mouse.
Donald’s continued popularity is demonstrated by the fan mail he receives from around the world. In 1984, he received one of the greatest show-biz honors, when he left his webbed footprints in cement in a ceremony at the world-famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood, an honor rarely afforded non-human stars. And of course, the lovably irascible quacker personally greets millions of Guests annually at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resorts. Walt Disney himself may have said it best when it came to summing up his ducky star: “Donald is a very outrageous fellow, with bad manners and a worse temper, and everyone is fond of him, including myself.”
Donald Duck Filmography
1. The Wise Little Hen (1934)
2. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
3. The Dognapper (1934)
4. The Band Concert (1935)
5. Mickey’s Service Station (1935)
6. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
7. On Ice (1935)
8. Mickey’s Polo Team (1935)
9. Orphan’s Picnic (1936)
10. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
11. Moving Day (1936)
12. Alpine Climbers (1936)
13. Mickey’s Circus (1936)
14. Donald and Pluto (1936)
15. Don Donald (1937)
16. Magician Mickey (1937)
17. Moose Hunters (1937)
18. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
19. Modern Inventions (1937)
20. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
21. Clock Cleaners (1937)
22. Donald’s Ostrich (1937)
23. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
24. Self Control (1938)
25. Boat Builders (1938)
26. Donald’s Better Self (1938)
27. Donald’s Nephews (1938)
28. Mickey’s Trailer (1938)
29. Polar Trappers (1938)
30. Good Scouts (1938)
31. The Fox Hunt (1938)
32. The Whalers (1938)
33. Donald’s Golf Game (1938)
34. Donald’s Lucky Day (1939)
35. Hockey Champ (1939)
36. Donald’s Cousin Gus (1939)
37. Beach Picnic (1939)
38. Sea Scouts (1939)
39. Donald’s Penguin (1939)
40. The Autograph Hound (1939)
41. Officer Duck(1939)
42. The Standard Parade (commercial) (1939)
43. The Riveter (1940)
44. Donald’s Dog Laundry (1940)
45. Tugboat Mickey (1940)
46. Billposters (1940)
47. Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)
48. Put-put Troubles (1940)
49. Donald’s Vacation (1940)
50. Window Cleaners (1940)
51. Fire Chief (1940)
52. The Volunteer Worker (commercial) (1940)
53. Timber (1941)
54. Golden Eggs (1941)
55. A Good Time for a Dime (1941)
56. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
57. Early to Bed (1941)
58. Truant Officer Donald (1941)
59. Old Mac Donald Duck (1941)
60. Orphan’s Benefit (1941)
61. Donald’s Camera (1941)
62. Chef Donald (1941)
63. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1941)
64. The Reluctant Dragon (“Old Mac Donald Duck”) (1941)
65. The Village Smithy (1942)
66. Symphony Hour (1942)
67. Donald’s Snow Fight (1942)
68. Donald Gets Drafted (1942)
69. Donald’s Garden (1942)
70. Donald’s Gold Mine (1942)
71. The Vanishing Private (1942)
72. Sky Trooper (1942)
73. Bellboy Donald (1942)
74. The New Spirit (commercial) (1942)
75. Donald’s Decision (commercial) (1942)
76. All Together (commercial) (1942)
77. Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943)
78. Donald’s Tire Trouble (1943)
79. Flying Jalopy (1943)
80. Fall Out – Fall In (1943)
81. The Old Army Game (1943)
82. Home Defense (1943)
83. Saludos Amigos (“Lake Titicaca”) (1943)
84. The Spirit of ’43 (coordinator) (1943)
85. Trombone Trouble (1944)
86. Donald Duck and the Gorilla (1944)
87. Contrary Condor (1944)
88. Commando Duck (1944)
89. The Plastics Inventor (1944)
90. Donald’s Off Day (1944)
91. The Clock Watcher (1945)
92. The Eyes Have It (1945)
93. Donald’s Crime (1945)
94. Duck Pimples (1945)
95. No Sail (1945)
96. Cured Duck (1945)
97. Old Sequoia (1945)
98. The Three Caballeros (1945)
99. Donald’s Double Trouble (1946)
100. Wet Paint (1946)
101. Dumb Bell of the Yukon (1946)
102. Lighthouse Keeping (1946)
103. Frank Duck Brings ‘em Back Alive (1946)
104. Straight Shooters (1947)
105. Sleepy Time Donald (1947)
106. Clown of the Jungle (1947)
107. Donald’s Dilemma (1947)
108. Crazy with the Heat (1947)
109. Bootle Beetle (1947)
110. Wide Open Spaces (1947)
111. Chip an’ Dale (1947)
112. Fun and Fancy Free (“Mickey and the Beanstalk”) (1947)
113. Drip Dippy Donald (1948)
114. Daddy Duck (1948)
115. Donald’s Dream Voice (1948)
116. The Trial of Donald Duck (1948)
117. Inferior Decorator (1948)
118. Soup’s On (1948)
119. Three for Breakfast (1948)
120. Tea for Two Hundred 1948
121. Melody Time (“Blame it on the Samba”) (1948)
122. Donald’s Happy Birthday (1949)
123. Sea Salts (1949)
124. Winter Storage (1949)
125. Honey Harvester (1949)
126. All in a Nutshell (1949)
127. The Greener Yard (1949)
128. Slide, Donald, Slide (1949)
129. Toy Tinkers (1949)
130. Lion Around (1950)
131. Crazy Over Daisy (1950)
132. Trailer Horn (1950)
133. Hook, Lion and Sinker (1950)
134. Bee at the Beach (1950)
135. Out on a Limb (1950)
136. Dude Duck (1951)
137. Corn Chips (1951)
138. Test Pilot Donald (1951)
139. Lucky Number (1951)
140. Out of Scale (1951)
141. Bee on Guard (1951)
142. Donald Applecore (1952)
143. Let’s Stick Together (1952)
144. Uncle Donald’s Ants (1952)
155. Trick or Treat (1952)
156. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
157. Don’s Fountain of Youth (1953)
158. The New Neighbor (1953)
159. Rugged Bear (1953)
160. Working for Peanuts (1953)
161. Canvas Back Duck (1953)
162. Spare the Rod (1954)
163. Donald’s Diary (1954)
164. Dragon Around (1954)
165. Grin and Bear It (1954)
166. Grand Canyonscope (1954)
167. Flying Squirrel (1954)
168. No Hunting (1955)
169. Bearly Asleep (1955)
170 Beezy Bear (1955)
171. Up a Tree (1955)
172. Lake Titicaca (short from Saludos Amigos) (1955)
173. Blame it on the Samba (short from Melody Time) (1955)
174. Chips Ahoy (1956)
175. How to Have an Accident in the Home (1956)
176. Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959)
177. How to Have an Accident at Work (1959)
178. Donald and the Wheel (1961)
179. The Litterbug (1961)
180. Steel and America (commercial) (1965)
181. Donald’s Fire Survival Plan (educational) (1966)
182. Mickey Mouse Disco (1980)
183. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
184. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
185. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
186. Donald’s Dynamite: Opera Box (1999)
187. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
188. Fantasia 2000 (2000)
189. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
190. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Donald Duck also appeared in various television productions.
Goofy
Think of the Goof as a composite of an everlasting optimist, a gullible Good Samaritan… no matter what happens, he accepts it finally as being for the best, or at least amusing. He has music in his heart — even though it may be the same tune forever — and I see him humming to himself while working or thinking. He talks to himself because it is easier for him to know what he is thinking if he hears it first.
Disney Animator Art Babbitt (c.1935)
For almost eighty years, Goofy — the amiable, awkward, good-spirited and buck-toothed “everyman” of the Disney classic characters — has been entertaining generations with his endearingly simple-minded antics. An audience favorite, this good sport can demonstrate anything from athletics and games to dancing and sleeping — trouble is, he manages to do everything in exactly the wrong way. In fact, the new animated short, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007), brings Goofy’s hilariously clumsy flubs and foibles into the 21st century.
It’s no wonder Goofy’s popularity is so enduring — his happy-go-lucky humor is universal. In any language, with any age group, Goofy’s merry misadventures always resonate with every audience. No matter the mishap, Goofy never gives up. Even though he goofs things up, he always manages to come up smiling. Cheerful, eternally loyal, and always willing to help his friends, Goofy has a gentle, childlike innocence and wonder about the world around him. And, perhaps most importantly, Goofy always assumes the best in everyone.
Goofy
Like Donald Duck, the character we know as Goofy started with a unique, comical voice, or in Goofy’s case, a laugh. Ex-circus clown, story man and voice artist Vance “Pinto” Colvig came up with a novelty laugh, a ridiculously infectious guffaw that could only come from an easily amused rube. The ludicrous laugh itself inspired laughter so Walt Disney embodied the uncontrollable chortle in a hayseed hound with whiskers and square spectacles in Mickey’s Revue (1932). As a member of the barnyard audience, this grizzled “dawg” laughed himself silly at the corny acts onstage and instantly became a hit with audiences himself. Given a more youthful appearance and named Dippy Dawg, this hilarious hick became a regular member of Mickey’s reparatory company. Dippy — also known in his early days as Dippy the Goof or the Goof — continued to yuck it up in Mickey’s cartoon adventures, developing his own unique brand of slapstick. As for Pinto Colvig, he goofed around as Goofy’s voice on and off until his death in 1967. (Today, vocal artist Bill Farmer is the official voice of Goofy.)
Walt often described the type of physical humor used in the Studio’s cartoons as being “goofy,” and with the gangly new star’s appearance in Orphan’s Benefit (1934), that apt name officially stuck. Goofy’s sincere but silly personality really began to take shape in Moving Day (1935), in which animator Art Babbitt built up Goofy’s role and gave the loose-limbed character definition. “The character gave me a chance to try out all kinds of animation tricks that hadn’t been tried before,” explained Art, “things that cannot happen in real life, and yet they’re perfectly acceptable in animation” — especially where Goofy was concerned.
As the affable Goof’s popularity grew, he was frequently teamed with the Studio’s other top stars, Mickey and Donald, in a variety of comedy situations that inevitably ended in chaos. Cartoon classics such as Mickey’s Service Station (1935), Moving Day (1936), Lonesome Ghosts (1937), and Boat Builders (1938) humorously examine how each character reacted to similar circumstances, with Goofy and his slow-motion-mind reaction to every comical challenge given plenty of screen time. As Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote, Goofy “was at his best as a character trying to figure out something that was beyond his reasoning powers. He was gullible, but his reaction to the disasters that always occurred was a puzzled concern.”
With Goofy a firmly established star, he was given his first solo starring vehicle, Goofy and Wilbur (1939), featuring his grasshopper pal and fishing buddy (and bait), Wilbur. In 1941, director Jack Kinney hit upon an idea that would showcase both Goofy’s can-do spirit and his knack for doing things exactly wrong — starring the accident-prone Goof in a spoof of documentary films in which the stodgy seriousness of the professorial narrator would play in sharp contrast to Goofy’s clumsy demonstrations. “The ‘how-to’ format opened up a vast area,” Jack later observed. “The subject could be anything… even the wide world of sports, all open to Goofy’s dum-dum exploration. What he would do in any given story would be the hook we’d hang it on. I got a call from Walt, ‘Jack, this is one hell of an idea! Go ahead on it!’ ” In these very successful “how-to” shorts, the Goof attempts to act out the droll directions, and the result is a hilarious visual depiction of “how not to” accomplish the task being described. But through it all, Goofy remains undaunted, ready to move on to the next lesson.
In the 1950s, Goofy was frequently cast in suburban settings as the “common man,” to showcase some of the pitfalls of modern living. In this unusual guise as a mid-century “Goof in the grey flannel suit,” he was often known as Mr. George Geef, and even shed his distinctive voice — and his floppy ears and buck teeth — for some of these roles. This mature role for Goofy utilized his skills as an “actor” rather than playing upon his traditional persona. But when Goofy started greeting guests at Disneyland Park, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, it was as his lovably “goofy” self.
Goofy’s multimedia status was launched in 1933, with appearances in the daily Mickey Mouse comic strip, as Mickey’s loyal but often loopy sidekick. Beginning in 1953, Goofy starred in his own series of comic book adventures, and in 1965 he became Super Goof, a comic book super hero parody. A Goof for all seasons, he has also starred in comic book spoofs of historical characters, literary and actual, including Rip Van Winkle and Leonardo da Vinci. Goofy continues to appear in comic books and comic strips published around the world.
From 1935 on, Goofy began to appear on a wide range of delightful merchandise, including novelty playing cards (on the joker, naturally), tin toys, jigsaw puzzles, and plush toys. Through the years and continuing today, our hapless and clueless pal has appeared on some memorable toys, games, furnishings and fashions, including a very goofy backwards-running wristwatch.
Walt Disney debuted his weekly Disneyland television series in 1954 and Goofy was along for the ride. In fact, on the weekly series and its successors, Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and The Wonderful World of Disney could be seen in the spotlight in such episodes as “The Goofy Success Story,” “The Goofy Sports Story” and “The Goofy Adventure Story.” Goofy became the first of the classic Disney “gang” to star in his own television series, Goof Troop, and was in movie theaters he was top-billed in A Goofy Movie (1995), and its direct-to-video sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000) — both of which featured the lovable goof trying to bond with his teenage son, Max.
Goofy’s positive “I’ll try anything” attitude was the focus of the 1980s Sport Goofy athletic programs. A natural development from the “how to” series, Sport Goofy was named the official mascot of the French Olympic team, was endorsed by the German Sport Association, and was the mascot of the International Tennis Federation Junior World Tennis Championship, his major message being: it doesn’t matter if you win or lose — just have fun.
Whatever Goofy’s guise, get-up or for that matter, goof-up, fun is the operative word. As Walt Disney observed, Goofy “has always been a modest, unassuming fellow, one who’s never let fame go to his head.” And Goofy’s positive attitude and high spirits are indeed inspirational to the rest of us who also tend to goof things up now and again — for though he may trip himself up, Goofy never loses his eagerness to always do his best. “A-hyuck!”
Goofy Filmography
1. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
2. The Whoopee Party (1932)
3. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
4. The Klondike Kid (1932)
5. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
6. Ye Olden Days (1933)
7. Orphan’s Benefit [first appearance as "Goofy"] (1934)
8. The Band Concert (1935)
9. Mickey’s Service Station (1935)
10. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
11. On Ice (1935)
12. Mickey’s Polo Team (1936)
13. Moving Day (1936)
14. Moose Hunters (1937)
15. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
16. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
17. Clock Cleaners (1937)
18. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
19. Magician Mickey (1937)
20. Boat Builders (1938)
21. Mickey’s Trailer (1938)
22. Polar Trappers (1938)
23. The Fox Hunt (1938)
24. The Whalers (1938)
25. The Standard Parade [commercial short] (1938)
26. Goofy and Wilbur (1939)
27. Tugboat Mickey (1940)
28. Billposters (1940)
29. Goofy’s Glider (1940)
30. Baggage Buster (1941)
31. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
32. Orphan’s Benefit (color remake) (1941)
33. The Art of Skiing (1941)
34. The Art of Self Defense (1941)
35. The Reluctant Dragon (“How to Ride A Horse”) (1941)
36. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
37. Symphony Hour (1942)
38. How to Play Baseball (1942)
39. The Olympic Champ (1942)
40. How to Swim (1942)
41. How to Fish (1942)
42. Saludos Amigos (“El Gaucho Goofy”) (1943)
43. Victory Vehicles (1943)
44. How to Be a Sailor (1944)
45. How to Play Golf (1944)
46. How to Play Football (1944)
47. Tiger Trouble (1945)
48. African Diary (1945)
49. Californy ‘er Bust (1945)
50. No Sail (1945)
51. Hockey Homicide (1945)
52. A Knight for a Day (1946)
53. Frank Duck Brings ‘Em Back Alive (1946)
54. Double Dribble (1946)
55. Crazy With the Heat (1947)
56. Fun and Fancy Free (“Mickey and the Beanstalk”) (1947)
57. Foul Hunting (1947)
58. They’re Off (1948)
59. The Big Wash (1948)
60. Tennis Racquet (1949)
61. Goofy Gymnastics (1949)
62. Crazy Over Daisy (cameo appearance) (1950)
63. Motor Mania (1950)
64. Hold That Pose (1950)
65. Lion Down (1951)
66. Home Made Home (1951)
67. Cold War (1951)
68. Tomorrow We Diet (1951)
69. Get Rich Quick (1951)
70. Fathers are People (1951)
71. No Smoking (1951)
72. Father’s Lion (1952)
73. Hello, Aloha (1952)
74. Man’s Best Friend (1952)
75. Two-Gun Goofy (1952)
76. Teachers are People (1952)
77 Two Weeks Vacation (1952)
78. How to Be a Detective (1952)
79. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
80. Father’s Day Off (1952)
81. For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953)
82. Father’s Week End (1953)
83. How to Dance (1953)
84. How to Sleep (1953)
85. Aquamania (1961)
86. Goofy Sports Story (1964)
86. Freewayphobia No. 1 (1965)
87. Square Peg in a Round Hole (1965)
88. Goofy’s Freeway Troubles (1965)
89. Mickey Mouse Disco (1980)
90. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
91. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
92. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
93. A Goofy Movie (1995)
94. Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe (1998)
95. Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Paracycling (1998)
96. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
97. An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)
98. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
99. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
100. How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007)
Goofy has also appeared in various television productions.
Horace Horsecollar
Best known for his most distinctive vocal characteristic, his whinnying and infectious horselaugh, supporting player Horace Horsecollar has never reached the heights of stardom. However his handsome physique, his toothsome smile and his unusual choice of neckwear — a horse collar usually adorned with a natty bowtie — along with a dapper derby carefully chosen from some horse haberdashery, have earned him a certain celebrity and an honored place in Mickey Mouse’s stable (an appropriate term for Horace) of supporting stars.
Like Clarabelle Cow (with whom he was often paired) Horace started out as an actual barnyard horse, but he quickly evolved to become Mickey’s crony in cartoons such as The Beach Party (1931) and Camping Out (1934). When Mickey put on a show in Mickey’s Revue (1932) and Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933), Horace is happily on hand to horse around. In Orphan’s Benefit (1934), the nimble-footed nag kicks up his horseshoes in a crowd-pleasing dance. Horace is chomping at the bit to do some pretty fancy skating in On Ice (1935) while in Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942) he expertly cuts a rug with Clarabelle. Sometimes Horace’s acts as an honored — if briefly seen — local dignitary, representing Mickey’s gang of good friends as in Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933), in which Mr. Horsecollar is quite a Hollywood clotheshorse as he emerges from a swank limousine, and in Boat Builders (1938), dressed in finery as Minnie christens Mickey’s shipshape new ship.
Horace Horsecollar
Of course, this hammy horse is always ready to display his many musical talents at the drop of a horseshoe. In The Band Concert (1935), Horace dramatically plays the drums, even while hurtling through the skies, thanks to an ill-timed cyclone, and crashing the cymbals to end the big performance as he crashes back to earth. In Symphony Hour (1942) Horace really outdoes himself as he plays the trumpet, the trombone and the French horn as an instrumental member of Mickey Mouse’s orchestra. More recently, Horace proved himself quite the equestrian thespian when he essayed his most challenging role — that of the Prince’s unflappable Royal Tutor in The Prince and the Pauper (1990). Though the horsy hayseed didn’t have much to say in his earlier appearances, today Bill Farmer is the official voice of Horace Horsecollar.
Through the years, the printed page has increased Horace’s popularity. Everyone needs a reliable buddy with horse sense and in the early years of the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip, Mickey could always saddle up for adventure with his pal in escapades such as 1933′s “Blaggard Castle” and 1935′s “Race For Riches.” Sometimes Horace was even the impetus for an entire adventure as in 1932′s “The Great Orphanage Robbery,” wherein Mickey set out to prove his long-faced pal innocent during the sensational trial of one falsely accused Horace Horsecollar. Goofy gradually took on the role of Mickey’s supportive sidekick but Horace continued to make regular appearances, usually to poke fun at Mickey’s latest mission or project — and why not? With a laugh like Horace’s, it’s easy to understand why he’d want to crack himself up as often as possible. But whatever the situation, Mickey always knows he can rely on Horace as an all-around handyman and mechanic.
On TV’s The Mickey Mouse Club the equine entertainer was spotlighted as a bright star of the Disney universe (and as an always loyal supporter of “the leader of the Club”), while on House of Mouse, Horace made himself useful as the mechanical technician at Mickey’s nightclub right out of the gate. But whatever the surroundings, Horace is always ready to take the situation by the reins and help out his pals, horse-laughing all the way.
Horace Horsecollar Filmography
1. The Plow Boy (1929)
2. The Jazz Fool (1929)
3. The Barnyard Concert (1930)
4. The Cactus Kid (1930)
5. The Fire Fighters (1930)
6. The Shindig (1930) — first entirely humanized appearance
7. Pioneer Days (1930, cameo; see Horace and Clarabelle sitting with cat between them at 03:42 and several subsequent scenes; also Horace alone at 04:27)
8. The Birthday Party (1931)
9. Traffic Troubles (1931, cameo: see prominent Horace in back row of cars at 01:23; in an animation error, his car passes twice)
10. Blue Rhythm (1931)
11. The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
12. The Beach Party (1931)
13. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
14. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
15. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932, cameo: see Horace and Clarabelle seated prominently in wedding chapel at 01:43)
16. The Whoopee Party (1932)
17. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
18. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
19. Mickey’s Gala Premier (1933)
20. Camping Out (1934)
21. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
22. The Band Concert (1935)
23. On Ice (1935)
24. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936, cameo: see Horace at far right of orchestra at 02:50 — his horse collar stands out)
25. Toby Tortoise Returns (1936, cameo: not a Mickey cartoon, but see an unmistakable Horace sitting to the right of Goofy, with Donald nearby, when the crowd greets Jenny wren at 00:58)
26. Boat Builders (1938, cameo: see Horace in top hat and Clarabelle in bonnet, standing on dock to right of Morty and Ferdie at 06:07)
27. The Fox Hunt (1938, cameo: see Horace in hunting party at 06:50 and subsequent scenes)
28. Orphan’s Benefit (1941, color remake of the 1934 original)
29. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
30. Symphony Hour (1942)
31. All Together (1942; reuses some Horace animation from The Band Concert)
32. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
33. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
34. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
NOTE: Horace does not appear in Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952), despite it being erroneously listed in his filmography many times over the years.
Mickey Mouse
Come on everyone, all together now: “M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!” That familiar, fun-filled song spells smiles and laughter of Mickey Mouse. One of the world’s most beloved personalities, the cheerful little guy made his screen debut on November 18, 1928 as star of the first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, at the Colony Theatre in New York.
Mickey has become an international personality whose success laid the foundation upon which Walt Disney built his creative organization. Besides being the personification of everything Disney, Mickey is one of the most enduring personalities of our culture and times. His beaming face is recognized around the globe, and his endearing personality has captured the imagination of generations, spanning two centuries.
Mickey Mouse
Mickey was cast in Walt Disney’s imagination early in 1928, on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles. The producer was returning with his wife from a disastrous business meeting. Only 26 at the time, and with an active cartoon studio in Hollywood, Walt had gone East to arrange for more money to improve the quality of his Oswald the Lucky Rabbit pictures. Walt’s financial backers declined, and since the character was copyrighted under their name, they took control of Oswald.
“… So I was all alone and had nothing,” Walt recalled later. “Mrs. Disney and I were coming back from New York on the train and I had to have something… so, I had this mouse in the back of my head… because a mouse is sort of a sympathetic character in spite of the fact that everybody’s frightened of a mouse… including myself.”
Walt spent the train ride conjuring up a lively little mouse with big round ears and named him Mortimer, but by the time the train steamed into the station in Los Angeles, Walt’s new character had been re-christened. Walt’s wife, Lillian, thought the name Mortimer was too pompous and suggested Mickey. A star was born.
Upon returning to his studio, Walt immediately began work on the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Plane Crazy. The enthusiasm with which his small staff completed the project faded when no distributor wanted to buy the film. Refusing to give in, Walt forged into production on another silent Mickey, The Gallopin’ Gaucho. However, late in 1927 Warner Bros. ushered in “the talkies” with The Jazz Singer. Seeing sound films as the future of the motion picture industry, Walt dropped everything to begin a third Mickey cartoon, Steamboat Willie, this one with music and sound effects, all synchronized to Mickey’s antics aboard a riverboat.
To record the soundtrack Walt had to take his film to New York, since no one on the West Coast was properly equipped. Walt sank everything he had into the film, betting his studio and his future on the appeal of this new and untried character. When the short was finally completed, Walt screened Steamboat Willie for the New York exhibitors. The manager of the Colony Theatre decided to take a chance on the film. Overnight, Steamboat Willie scored an overwhelming success.
From the start, Mickey was more than popular — he was a sensation. Mickey’s cartoons were often billed on movie theatre marquees, often above the feature film’s title. “What — no Mickey Mouse?” became a national catchphrase signifying disappointment, as was experienced with a theatre program with no Mickey cartoon on the bill. Mickey’s popularity spawned a national Mickey Mouse Club starting in 1929, which met every Saturday for an afternoon of cartoons and games in local theaters. The several million Mouse Clubbers had a secret handshake, a special member greeting, a code of behavior and even a special club song, “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo,” a ditty with music by famed cartoon composer Carl Stalling and lyrics by Walt himself, which became Mickey and Minnie’s early theme song.
Mickey didn’t have much to say at first but with The Karnival Kid (1929), Mickey said his first words (“Hot dog!”) and from then on, in most of Mickey’s pictures through World War II, Walt himself supplied Mickey’s sometimes shy but always enthusiastic voice. By the time “Mickey and the Beanstalk” was released in 1947 as part of the feature film, Fun and Fancy Free, Walt had become too busy to continue voicing Mickey, so veteran sound and vocal effects artist Jim Macdonald took over for most of Mickey’s onscreen appearances. Wayne Allwine became Mickey’s voice with Mickey’s Christmas Carol in 1983, a role he has held ever since.
What was the secret of Mickey’s success? In a word: personality. “Mickey was the first cartoon character to stress personality,” said Walt. “I thought of him from the first as a distinct individual — not just a cartoon type or a symbol going through a comedy routine.” Adventurous and fun loving, this lovable “Everymouse” took on all challenges with clever resourcefulness and an all-American “can-do” spirit. Most of all, said Walt, “Mickey was simply a little personality assigned to the purposes of laughter.”
There is also Mickey’s pleasing design. Many artists, designers and commentators have noted the character has one of the most powerful and innately attractive graphic designs ever created. In fact, the simplified three-circle symbol of Mickey’s head-and-ears has become an instantly and internationally recognized icon.
The 1930s was Mickey’s Golden Age. Mickey played everything from fireman to giant killer, cowboy to inventor, detective to plumber. Technically and artistically, Mickey Mouse cartoons were far superior to other contemporary cartoons and gave life to an entire family of animated characters: Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, and many others. The artistic success of Mickey’s animated films led to an honorary Academy Award, presented to Walt Disney in 1932 for the creation of Mickey.
In addition to appearing on all manner of merchandise — much of it now considered classic, such as the Mickey Mouse doll, watch, and T-shirt — Mickey also starred in a long-running newspaper comic strip, acclaimed by readers and historians alike as one of the finest examples of the comic art form. The famed character also graced comic books, magazines and books, which continue to be published around the globe.
In 1940, Mickey made what many consider to be his greatest triumph: his starring role in Fantasia.This grand experiment in sound and color, music and Disney animation began with a Mickey Mouse short, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” starring Mickey in the title role. The idea of combing animation with classical music expanded into an entire feature of magnificently animated segments. With “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” starring Mickey Mouse as its cornerstone, Fantasia premiered at the Broadway Theatre — formerly the Colony where Mickey made his debut just over a decade earlier.
With the advent of World War II, the Disney Studio suspended much of its commercial activity and concentrated on aiding the war effort with training films, goodwill tours, and the design of posters and armed forces insignia. Mickey played his part by appearing on insignia and posters urging national security and the purchase of war bonds. When explaining why he provided the military insignia at no cost to the men and women fighting the war or their outfits, Walt said, “I had to do it. Those kids grew up on Mickey Mouse.” Significantly, a code word for the Allied forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944, was “Mickey Mouse.”
Through the 1940s and early 50s, Mickey returned to the screen in animated cartoons, but his next big success was in a new and immensely popular medium: television. Walt produced a Christmas special, One Hour in Wonderland, in 1950, and Mickey’s classic cartoon, Clock Cleaners (1937) was showcased as part of the festivities. Turning to weekly television in 1954, Walt introduced the Disneyland television series on the ABC network, and as part of the very first episode, he devoted much of the show to a Mickey tribute, tracing Mr. Mouse’s career and many accomplishments.
Following the huge success of the prime time program, Disney created an afternoon program for ABC — The Mickey Mouse Club. Introduced each day by Mickey himself, the show starring a group of youngsters called Mouseketeers who wore the famous “Mouseka-ear” hats (inspired by a sight gag from The Karnival Kid in which Mickey tipped the top of his head as if it were a hat) which remains one of the most successful children’s shows ever, and has inspired several new incarnations over the decades.
In addition, Mickey has been frequently seen on dozens of Disney television shows and specials, and in 1988, he actually appeared on the Academy Awards telecast, presenting an envelope to actor Tom Selleck. In 2003, Mickey again appeared at the Oscar® ceremonies with actress Jennifer Garner.
In 1983, Mickey returned to the theater screen in the featurette Mickey’s Christmas Carol, a Disney version of the Dickens classic, where Mickey played Bob Cratchit to Scrooge McDuck’s Ebenezer Scrooge. In 1990, Mickey again appeared in a theatrical featurette, this time playing a dual role in The Prince and the Pauper. In 1995, came a brand new theatrical Mickey short cartoon called Runaway Brain. Two new ABC animated television series soon followed, Disney’s Mickey MouseWorks, premiered on May 1, 1999, and House of Mouse premiered on January 13, 2001, with new cartoons starring Mickey and his pals.
Disneyland Park opened its gates in 1955 and Mickey became the theme park’s Chief Host. In 1988, he lent his name to the new “land,” Mickey’s Toontown, where guests can visit their pal in his own house and “movie barn.” Mickey continues to welcome millions of visitors annually not only at the Disneyland Resort, but also at Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland. In this role Mickey has greeted kings and presidents, prime ministers and princes, sports stars, film stars, TV stars and millions of just-plain-folks.
One of the finest tributes to Mickey was given by Walt Disney himself when, on the first episode of his weekly TV show, as he surveyed Disneyland, Walt said, “I hope we never lose sight of one thing … that it was all started by a mouse.” Forever let us hold his banner high!
Mickey Mouse Filmography
1. Steamboat Willie (1928)
2. The Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928)
3. Plane Crazy (1928)
4. The Barn Dance (1928)
5. The Opry House (1929)
6. When the Cat’s Away (1929)
7. The Barnyard Battle (1929)
8. The Plow Boy (1929)
9. The Karnival Kid (1929)
10. Mickey’s Follies (1929)
11. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929)
12. The Jazz Fool (1929)
13. Jungle Rhythm (1929)
14. The Haunted House (1929)
15. Wild Waves (1929)
16. Just Mickey (1930)
17. The Barnyard Concert (1930)
18. The Cactus Kid (1930)
19. The Fire Fighters (1930)
20. The Shindig (1930)
21. The Chain Gang (1930)
22. The Gorilla Mystery (1930)
23. The Picnic (1930)
24. Pioneer Days (1930)
25. The Birthday Party (1931)
26. Traffic Troubles (1931)
27. The Castaway (1931)
28. The Moose Hunt (1931)
29. The Delivery Boy (1931)
30. Mickey Steps Out (1931)
31. Blue Rhythm (1931)
32. Fishin’ Around (1931)
33. The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
34. The Beach Party (1931)
35. Mickey Cuts Up (1931)
36. Mickey’s Orphans (1931)
37. The Duck Hunt (1932)
38. The Grocery Boy (1932)
39. The Mad Dog (1932)
40. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
41. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
42. Musical Farmer (1932)
43. Mickey in Arabia (1932)
44. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932)
45. Trader Mickey (1932)
46. The Whoopee Party (1932)
47. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
48. The Wayward Canary (1932)
49. The Klondike Kid (1932)
50. Mickey’s Good Deed (1932)
51. Building a Building (1933)
52. The Mad Doctor (1933)
53. Mickey’s Pal Pluto (1933)
54. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
55. Ye Olden Days (1933)
56. The Mail Pilot (1933)
57. Mickey’s Mechanical Man (1933)
58. Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)
59. Puppy Love (1933)
60. The Steeplechase (1933)
61. The Pet Store (1933)
62. Giantland (1933)
63. Shanghaied (1934)
64. Camping Out (1934)
65. Playful Pluto (1934)
66. Gulliver Mickey (1934)
67. Mickey’s Steam-Roller (1934)
68. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
69. Mickey Plays Papa (1934)
70. The Dognapper (1934)
71. Two-Gun Mickey (1934)
72. Mickey’s Man Friday (1935)
73. The Band Concert [1st Color] (1935)
74. Mickey’s Service Station [B&W] (1935)
75. Mickey’s Kangaroo [B&W] (1935)
76. Mickey’s Garden (1935)
77. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
78. Pluto’s Judgement Day (1935)
79. On Ice (1935)
80. Mickey’s Polo Team (1936)
81. Orphans’ Picnic (1936)
82. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
83. Thru the Mirror (1936)
84. Mickey’s Rival (1936)
85. Moving Day (1936)
86. Alpine Climbers (1936)
87. Mickey’s Circus (1936)
88. Mickey’s Elephant (1936)
89. The Worm Turns (1937)
90. Magician Mickey (1937)
91. Moose Hunters (1937)
92. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
93. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
94. Clock Cleaners (1937)
95. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
96. Boat Builders (1938)
97. Mickey’s Trailer (1938)
98. The Whalers (1938)
99. Mickey’s Parrot (1938)
100. Brave Little Tailor (1938)
101. The Fox Hunt (cameo) (1938)
102. Society Dog Show (1939)
103. The Pointer (1939)
104. Mickey’s Surprise Party (commercial) (1939)
105. The Standard Parade (commercial) (1940)
106. Tugboat Mickey (1940)
107. Pluto’s Dream House (1940)
108. Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940)
109. Fantasia (“Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) (1940)
110. The Little Whirlwind (1941)
111. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
112. Orphans’ Benefit (remake) (1941)
113. A Gentleman’s Gentleman (1941)
114. Canine Caddy (1941)
115. Lend A Paw (1941)
116. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
117 All Together (Commercial) (1942)
118. Symphony Hour (1942)
119. Pluto and the Armadillo (1943)
120. Squatter’s Rights (1946)
121. Fun and Fancy Free (“Mickey and the Beanstalk”) (1947)
122. Mickey’s Delayed Date (1947)
123. Mickey Down Under (1948)
124. Pluto’s Purchase (1948)
125. Mickey and the Seal (1948)
126. Pueblo Pluto (1948)
127. Crazy Over Daisy (cameo) (1950)
128. Plutopia (1951)
129. R’coon Dawg (1951)
130. Pluto’s Party (1952)
131. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
132. The Simple Things (1953)
133. Mickey Mouse Disco (1980)
134. Once Upon a Mouse (1981)
135. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
136. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
137. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
138. Runaway Brain (1995)
139. Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship (1999)
140. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
141. Fantasia 2000( (“Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) (2000)
142. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
143. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Mickey Mouse has also appeared in various television productions.
Minnie Mouse
Mickey Mouse wasn’t the only star who made an auspicious debut in Steamboat Willie (1928). Mickey’s leading lady Minnie Mouse also made her motion picture bow in this groundbreaking short, making as much music (if not more) than Mickey in the world’s first animated film with fully synchronized sound. When a goat inconveniently eats her sheet music, for example, Minnie resourcefully cranks the goat’s tail hurdy-gurdy style, immediately demonstrating the spunk and happy spark of personality that would endear her to generations. And though there is no doubt Mickey became a phenomenon, Minnie shone as a star in her own right, right from the start.
Like Mickey, Minnie made her initial appearance in Plane Crazy (1928), the first Mickey Mouse cartoon produced although not the first released. Befitting her pioneering roles in early sound motion picture productions, Minnie displayed her musical talent whenever possible, as in Mickey’s Follies (1929), Blue Rhythm (1931) and The Wayward Canary (1932) and Puppy Love (1933), playing the piano with upbeat flair. Minnie is also an accomplished dancer, and many times, Minnie is heard humming to herself or simply “tra-la-la-ing” as she skips along. It’s no surprise that Minnie was the inspiration of the very first Disney song, “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo.” Minnie’s melodious voice was originated by Marcellite Garner, from Disney’s Ink and Paint Department. Over the years, several Ink-and-Painters gave Minnie voice. Today, Russi Taylor is the official voice of Minnie Mouse.
Minnie Mouse
Though Minnie often serves as a damsel-in-distress so that Mickey can rescue her, our self-reliant heroine can hold her own, bopping a bully on the head and putting up an impressive fight, for though she may sometimes be outmuscled our gal is never outsmarted. In Building a Building (1933) it is Minnie who cleverly rescues Mickey from that bullying bruiser Pete. Three 1934 cartoon classics show Minnie off in a good light: she is Mickey’s seagoing co-adventurer in Shanghaied; Mickey’s Steamroller finds Minnie setting things right when heavy machinery runs amuck; and Two-Gun Mickey casts Miss Mouse as a Wild West cowgal who can take care of herself (for the most part).
Cheerful, upbeat and optimistic, Minnie has a sunny personality expressed in bouncy steps and dainty gestures, and her girlish femininity is a big factor in her star-making appeal. “We always drew Minnie with broad feminine gestures,” said master animator Frank Thomas. “Most of the time she was modest, shy and girlish.” Sometimes when upset or in a rare moment of uncertainty in her relationship with Mickey she can dissolve into tears. Very much in touch with her feelings, Minnie is sympathetic to the plight of her friends and she often strives to help her confidantes such as Clarabelle Cow out of sticky situations, as well as offering a supportive shoulder to cry on. Minnie’s emotional side can even extend to weeping at sentimental stage or film productions, as when she openly cries at the old-fashioned slide show in The Nifty Nineties (1941).
In the 1940s, Minnie embarked on a number of cartoons in which she starred on her own. Completely out of Mickey’s shadow, Minnie’s star shone brighter than ever, as in First Aiders (1944), in which Minnie practices her nursing skills on Pluto and Figaro, Bath Day (1946) and Pluto’s Sweater (1949). Yet much of Minnie’s fame comes from performances side-by-side with Mickey. The talented miss can act in any number of period roles in costume dramas such as Ye Olden Days (1933), Brave Little Tailor (1938), Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) — in which Minnie played Mrs. Cratchit, Mickey’s wife — and The Three Musketeers (2004). Thanks to these elaborate productions, Mickey and Minnie became the Lunt and Fontanne of animation — but whatever role she is playing or costume she is donning, Minnie’s sweet personality shines through.
Minnie was of course a big part of the long-running Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip. The charming Miss Mouse was an integral part of such thrilling adventures as “The Bat Bandit of Inferno Gulch” (1934), “The Sacred Jewel” (1934), “In Search of Jungle Treasure” (1937) and “The Monarch of Medioka” (1937-1938). Minnie was also a welcome co-star in the Mickey comic book,s with her name often spotlighted on Mickey’s comic book covers.
Minnie’s popularity has ensured her inclusion in such TV shows as Mickey Mouse Works — in one segment of which Minnie actually conducted an orchestra, filling a role her beau has played in several famous films, and House of Mouse in which Minnie manages the nightclub. And of course she joins with Mickey as a Disney goodwill ambassador, sweetly welcoming one and all to Disneyland® Park and the other Disney Theme Parks around the world. In fact, Disneyland declared 1986 as the year of Minnie and honored our favorite gal with an elaborate parade. In celebration of Minnie and her well-deserved fame, the lovely Miss Mouse was feted in a television special, Disney’s Totally Minnie, which aired in 1988. Through it all Minnie remains her own graceful self and maintains her unaffected girl-next-door charm. Yoo-hoo!
Minnie Mouse Filmography
1. Steamboat Willie (1928)
2. The Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928)
3. Plane Crazy (1928)
4. The Barn Dance (1928)
5. The Opry House (1929)
6. When the Cat’s Away (1929)
7. The Plow Boy (1929)
8. The Karnival Kid (1929)
9. Mickey’s Follies (1929)
10. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929)
11. Wild Waves (1929)
12. The Cactus Kid (1930)
13. The Fire Fighters (1930)
14. The Shindig (1930)
15. The Gorilla Mystery (1930)
16. The Picnic (1930)
17. Pioneer Days (1930)
18. The Birthday Party (1931)
19. Traffic Troubles (1931)
20. The Delivery Boy (1931)
21. Mickey Steps Out (1931)
22. Blue Rhythm (1931)
23. The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
24. Mickey Cuts Up (1931)
25. The Beach Party (1931)
26. Mickey’s Orphans (1931)
27. The Grocery Boy (1932)
28. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
29. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
30. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
31. Musical Farmer (1932)
32. Mickey in Arabia (1932)
33. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932)
34. The Whoopee Party (1932)
35. Touchdown Mickey 1932
36. The Wayward Canary (1932)
37. The Klondike Kid (1932)
38. Building a Building (1933)
39. Mickey’s Pal Pluto (1933)
40. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
41. Ye Olden Days (1933)
42. The Mail Pilot (1933)
43. Mickey’s Mechanical Man (1933)
44. Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)
45. Puppy Love (1933)
46. The Steeple Chase (1933)
47. The Pet Store (1933)
48. Shanghaied (1934)
49. Camping Out (1934)
50. Mickey’s Steam Roller (1934)
51. The Dognapper (cameo) (1934)
52. Two-Gun Mickey (1934)
53. On Ice (1935)
54. Mickey’s Rival (1936)
55. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
56. Boat Builders (1938)
57. The Fox Hunt (1938)
58. Brave Little Tailor (1938)
59. Mickey’s Surprise Party (1939)
59. The Little Whirlwind (1941)
59. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
60. Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line (Comm.) (1942)
61. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
62. First Aiders (1944)
63. Bath Day (1946)
64. Figaro and Frankie (1947)
65. Mickey’s Delayed Date (1947)
66. Pluto’s Sweater (1949)
67. Pluto and the Gopher (1950)
68. Crazy Over Daisy (cameo) (1950)
69. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
70. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
71. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
72. Runaway Brain (1995)
73. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
74. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
75. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Minnie Mouse also appeared in various television productions.
Picture Disney Cartoon Characters Biography
Clara
Clara Cluck was born — make that hatched — to shine in the spotlight. Blessed with buxom good looks, aristocratic bearing and a magnificent singing voice, Madame Cluck was known as “the barnyard nightingale,” the illustrious title with which Mickey Mouse introduced Clara in Orphan’s Benefit (1934). No stranger to the thrill of applause and curtain calls, Clara is a performer serenely confident in her singing abilities. This not-so-little hen radiates stage presence whether she’s squawking an aria or just being a good neighbor to Mickey and Minnie.
When did Clara first start clucking? As with Donald Duck and Goofy, it all started with a voice. A concert singer classically trained at London’s Royal Academy of Music named Florence Gill performed an impression of a hen clucking grand opera, and her unusual recital impressed Walt Disney. Florence was cast as the voice of the title character in the 1934 Silly Symphony The Wise Little Hen (which was also Donald’s debut film), and that her unique vocalizations inspired Walt and his artists to create Clara Cluck. Her debut was Orphan’s Benefit (1934) in which this grand dame took center stage as if she was born to it, and cackled her way to immortality (accompanied by pianist Mickey Mouse) with an unforgettable solo rendition of the sextet from Lucia.
From then on there was no stopping this ever-enthusiastic prima donna as she made every opera piece her own. Clara was spectacularly spotlighted in Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936), wherein she is given top billing on the opera house marquee, even outranking her co-star Donald Duck. In this uproarious operatic epic, Clara sensitively squawks a duet from Rigoletto with dashing Donald. Madame Cluck’s inimitable vocal stylings actually earned her a 1936 review in Stage magazine favoring her above her contemporaries at the Met.
Clara Cluck
As befitting a professional devoted to her craft, Clara is impassioned about her performances, and she is equally devoted to her friends. A regular and valued member of Mickey’s close-knit neighborhood, Clara always pitches in whenever Mr. Mouse’s community becomes involved in a performing project or just a fun get-together. In Mickey’s Amateurs (1937), Clara lends her clucky vocal chords to a radio recital, accompanied on the piano by friend and neighbor Clarabelle Cow. In Symphony Hour (1942) Clara is an instrumental member of Maestro Mouse’s orchestra, exposing even more musical expertise as she soulfully plays the bass violin. And when the gang gathers for a relaxing shindig at Minnie’s house in Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942), the feathers fly as Clara dances up a storm, almost pummeling poor Donald in the process.
As part of the Disney comic book cast, Clara often plays a supporting role in amusing stories featuring Daisy Duck. As Ms. Duck’s close friend and confidante, Clara is an honored member of Daisy’s Chit Chat Society, devoted to playing bridge and doing charitable work. She at times even double dates with Daisy and Donald, accompanied by her beau, Rockhead Rooster. On television, Clara has appeared with the rest of the gang on House of Mouse.
But it is with her dramatic and imposing singing voice that this extraordinary prima donna has feathered her own nest as a truly legendary performer. A distinctive and absolutely outsized personality, Madame Clara Cluck is one of the few greats of the stage who can rightly claim to have never laid an egg.
Clara Cluck Filmography
1. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
2. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
3. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
4. The Fox Hunt (1938)
5. Orphan’s Benefit (remake of 1934 original) (1941)
6. Symphony Hour (1942)
7. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
8. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Clarabelle Cow
Land sakes! Tall, lanky and, in her own way, lovely, Clarabelle Cow gained a name for herself as an eccentric friend and neighbor to Mickey Mouse and his pals. This ladylike busybody and dyed-in-the-cowhide romance novel fan gracefully wins fans wherever she appears — and though her film appearances are relatively few, the laughter this endearingly quaint cow character inspires is enduring.
An old-fashioned lady anyone might know and like in a small town, Clarabelle is the gossipy friend and advisor to Minnie Mouse. Even though others may consider her homely, Clarabelle thinks of herself as quite a beauty. She enjoys dressing in finery and getting a real moo-cow makeover (“getting all gussied up” is how Clarabelle herself might put it!) for example at a big Hollywood to-do as in Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933). Ms. Cow is a lady who knows how to make a fashion statement with a shiny cowbell for a necklace. Most of the time, however, this house-proud homebody spends her time cooking, tending her garden, shopping and also minding her neighbors’ business.
Clarabelle inauspiciously began her onscreen rise to silver screen fame and small town fortune as a bona fide barnyard cow in The Plow Boy (1929) but she quickly evolved to become Minnie’s close friend and confidante. Often paired with fellow supporting character Horace Horsecollar, she joined in the fun with Mickey and Minnie in films such as The Beach Party (1931) and Camping Out (1934). Although a supporting player, Clarabelle’s outsized personality and offbeat beauty occasionally gained her a spot in the limelight. In one of her best films, Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935), Clarabelle sings in the bathtub in her own inimitable way. Unfortunately, her boarding house catches fire, and when firefighter Goofy attempts to rescue her, Clarabelle will have none of it, continually hitting this “intruder” with her back scrubber while screaming with ear-shattering force. Proving herself quite a performer, Clarabelle flawlessly executes a modern dance in Orphan’s Benefit (1934), while in Mickey’s Amateurs (1937), she grandly plays the grand piano for Clara Cluck, emitting a ladylike laugh punctuated with a cattle-like snort. And of course Clarabelle is always part of the fun and frolics of Mickey and the gang in cartoons such as The Band Concert (1935), Symphony Hour (1942) and Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942).
Clarabelle Cow
In character roles, Clarabelle is anything but an udder failure. Ye Olden Days (1933) features the faithful old gal as Minnie’s lady-in-waiting, and more recently, in The Three Musketeers (2004), she really gets to spread her thespian wings as the lieutenant of Captain Pete of the Royal Musketeers. Though she rarely spoke in her early screen appearances, Clarabelle is today voiced by April Winchell.
Clarabelle’s modest but undeniable popularity led to this not-so-shrinking violet being featured in publications. She was the subject of a “tell-all,” Walt Disney’s Story of Clarabelle Cow , in 1938. Our glamour girl was even spotlighted on the front cover of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, a feat even more impressive considering she supplanted Donald Duck, who has appeared on most of the covers of the flagship Disney comic book.
In fact it is in comics that Clarabelle has really shone. The Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip featured our gossipy gal regularly, romantically involved with her equine Romeo, Horace. Clarabelle’s at the center of 1935′s “Race For Riches” as miserly Eli Squinch romances her in attempt to swindle away a family fortune. In one of Mickey’s (and Clarabelle’s) best comic strip stories, 1940′s “The Bar None Ranch,” she foolishly falls head-over-hoof for bad guy Peg-Leg Pete. In comic book stories, Clarabelle is often teamed up with her closest girl friend Minnie — and though she has been known to be both Minnie’s oldest friend and severest critic, Clarabelle never fails to be a supportive “sister in arms” to Miss Mouse and the other ladies of the neighborhood.
On TV, Clarabelle made merry as not one but two cheerleaders on the opening title sequence of The Mickey Mouse Club, and more recently, in the animated TV series House of Mouse, Clarabelle has been known to perform with gal pals Minnie and Daisy on the nightclub stage, where she naturally serves as the resident gossip columnist. Whether on TV, on the silver screen or on the printed page, this bovine beauty continues to amuse and even amaze — for like any true beauty, Clarabelle Cow is forever.
Clarabelle Cow Filmography
1. Plane Crazy (1928)
2. The Plow Boy (1929)
3. The Karnival Kid (1929)
4. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929; reuses some Clarabelle animation from Plane Crazy)
5. The Barnyard Concert (1930)
6. The Shindig (1930) — first entirely humanized appearance
7. The Chain Gang (1930)
8. Pioneer Days (1930, cameo: see Clarabelle and Horace sitting with cat between them at 03:42 and several subsequent scenes)
9. The Birthday Party (1931)
10. Mother Goose Melodies (1931, cameo: not a Mickey cartoon, but see an unmistakable Clarabelle tossing flowers at 00:48)
11. Blue Rhythm (1931)
12. The Barnyard Broadcast
(1931)
13. The Beach Party (1931)
14. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
15. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
16. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932, cameo: see Clarabelle and Horace seated together in wedding chapel at 01:43)
17. The Whoopee Party (1932)
18. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
19. Parade of the Award Nominees (1932; reuses some Clarabelle animation from Mother Goose Melodies)
20. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
21. Ye Olden Days (1933)
22. Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)
23. Camping Out (1934)
24. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
25. The Band Concert (1935)
26. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
27. On Ice (1935)
28. Mickey’s Polo Team (1936)
29. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
30. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
31. Boat Builders (1938, cameo: See Clarabelle in bonnet and Horace in top hat, standing on dock to right of Morty and Ferdie at 06:07)
32. The Fox Hunt (1938, cameo: see Clarabelle in hunting party at 02:11)
33. Orphan’s Benefit (1941, color remake of 1934 original)
34. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
35. Symphony Hour (1942)
36. All Together (1942; reuses some Clarabelle animation from The Band Concert)
37. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
38. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
39. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
40. The Three Musketeers (2004)
NOTE: Clarabelle does not appear in Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952), despite it being erroneously listed in her filmography many times over the years. Nor does Clarabelle appear in Alice on the Farm (1925), where the cow shown is a non-humanized, realistically drawn white Ayrshire type; this error derives from an online fan database that several authorized reference books later copied.
Daisy Duck
Ms. Daisy Duck is best known as Donald Duck’s lady friend but this glamorous femme fatale is most decidedly not one to stand in anyone’s shadow. Part coquette and part steamroller, this alluring leading lady is sassy and sophisticated — and though she is strong-willed and temperamental, this romantic socialite loves to be pampered and to be the center of attention. Most of all, Daisy is an enticing enchantress who has a powerful effect on the opposite sex — and she knows it.
Befitting the fascinating nature of her feminine mystique, Daisy’s origins are a bit misty. Feisty Donald needed a girlfriend and she undoubtedly had to be someone who could hold her own (and then some) with the hot-tempered Duck. This flirtatious siren made her grand and attention-grabbing entrance in the south-of-the-border adventure, Don Donald (1937). But it was not as Daisy but as Donna that this fiery senorita made her bow, and she matched Donald squawk for angry squawk, flying into a fury over Senor Duck’s reckless driving. In her next film, Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940), Daisy is given her proper and rightful name as she demonstrates some pretty fancy footwork — and in true Daisy Duck fashion, she captivates not only Mr. Duck but also Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Daisy Duck
From these earliest films, Daisy proved herself to be a formidable but fashionable force of nature. A modern woman of taste and sophistication, Daisy luxuriates in the finer things, such as jewelry, fashion, fancy perfume and stylish shoes, into which Daisy somehow fits her webfeet. When it comes to Donald, she simply adores the boy, but she expects perfection from the far-from-perfect Duck, and continually demands results from Donald with either feminine wiles or persuasive scolding. And though she sometimes becomes frustrated over Donald’s shortcomings, the possessive lady will stop at nothing to keep Donald as her beau. Eternally secure in her ability to turn every head in the room, Daisy can be compared to a strong-willed Southern belle — she knows what she wants and how to get it.
Daisy appeared in many more of Donald’s films and though she was rarely included in even the titles of these Donald-centric cartoons, she effortlessly stole the show and somehow saw to it that everything centered around her. The promise of a good-night kiss even drives Donald to criminal activity as he raids his nephews’ piggy bank so he can take his gal out on the town in Donald’s Crime (1945) while in that same year’s Cured Duck, Daisy demands that Donald take anger management training. In Donald’s Double Trouble (1946), incensed Daisy hangs up the telephone on her “uncouth” beau with so much force it causes an explosion. Daisy also co-starred with Donald in the “Pomp and Circumstance” segment of Fantasia/2000 (2000), the sequel to Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940), in which she is the faithful love of Donald, who portrays Noah’s helper.
Her greatest screen role, however, is in Donald’s Dilemma (1947). Daisy is uncharacteristically unsettled when Donald is hit on the head and becomes a smooth-voiced singing sensation — and in the process forgets all about Daisy. Though she may at times reject Donald under no circumstances can Daisy accept being rejected herself — and Daisy takes matters into her own hands (even going against the advice of her psychiatrist), ensuring Donald reverts to his old self and his adoration of his lady love. Onscreen Daisy originally had a duck-like voice performed by the original voice of Donald Duck, Clarence Nash, but after her initial appearances this glamorous screen star was given a more appropriately ladylike voice. Today her official voice is supplied by Tress MacNeille.
As if to indicate her undeniable star power, Daisy even has her own theme song, written for Crazy Over Daisy (1950) by Studio staff composer Oliver Wallace. It’s one of the great ironies of Daisy’s career that the lovely Ms. Duck only appears very briefly in this short that is both named for her and also features her signature tune. The song took on a life of its own as it was adapted as the unofficial theme song of Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland.
Daisy was an integral part of the popular Donald Duck newspaper comic strip. Perhaps as a response to the popular “romance” comic books of the 1950s, Daisy was awarded her own title Daisy Duck’s Diary in 1954, making our flirtatious female one of the relatively few distaff characters to have her own comic book. In these chic stories, our independent-minded gal struggled to work out relationships with her women friends, dieting, fashion, and of course romance. Her friend and confidante in these stylish adventures is Clara Cluck, a member of Daisy’s Chit Chat Society, dedicated to playing bridge and doing charitable work. In other comic adventures, Daisy also teams up with best friend Minnie Mouse.
In a textbook example of “you’re not just dating him, you’re dating his family,” Daisy often finds herself entangled with Donald’s relatives. She has a pleasant relationship with Grandma Duck, and in some comic stories, visits Grandma on her farm to get a break from the stress of being a contemporary diva in the big city. In some comics, Daisy is paired with mega-billionaire Scrooge McDuck, offering both a soothing feminine presence and an annoying irritant to Donald’s cantankerous uncle. Sometimes, Daisy is actually employed as Uncle Scrooge’s executive secretary. (Interestingly, Daisy took on the role of Belle, Scrooge’s sweetheart, in Disney’s 1983 animated version of the Dickens classic Mickey’s Christmas Carol. There’s no record of what Donald thought of that bit of casting.)
Daisy is of course not one to be outdone by Donald or anyone, so it should come as no surprise that she has a set of three identical nieces, female counterparts to Huey, Dewey and Louie. It was in the comic books where April, May, and June were introduced in 1953. These pretty nieces were occasionally on hand for Aunt Daisy to look after and to involve as accomplices in her schemes.
Aside from the silver screen and the comic pages, Daisy has appeared on Donald’s Quack Pack TV show as a television news journalist and on TV’s House of Mouse as the nightclub’s reservation clerk. Whatever her role or occupation, or whatever medium in which she effortlessly steals the spotlight, Daisy is a liberated individual, yet she adores being treated as a lady. Walt Disney once described Daisy as “one of our favorites,” and no wonder. This glamour gal is irresistible to everyone, and everyone is simply crazy for Daisy.
Daisy Duck Filmography
1. Don Donald (as “Donna Duck”) (1937)
2. Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)
3. A Good Time for a Dime (1941)
4. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
5. Donald’s Crime (1945)
6. Cured Duck (1945)
7. Donald’s Double Trouble (1946)
8. Dumb Bell of the Yukon (only mentioned) (1946)
9. Sleepy Time Donald (1947)
10. Donald’s Dilemma (1947)
11. Donald’s Dream Voice (1948)
12. Crazy Over Daisy (1950)
13. Donald’s Diary (1954)
14. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
15. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
16. Fantasia/2000 (2000)
17. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
18. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Daisy Duck also appeared in various television productions.
Donald Duck
Donald has developed into one of the most interesting screen comics. The audience always likes him, provided he plays true to his own character. His best features are his cocky, show-off boastful attitude that turns to anger as soon as he is crossed.
Disney Animator Fred Spencer (c.1935)
Universally acclaimed and internationally adored for his often-explosive qualities, Donald Duck is one of the world’s most famous and beloved personalities. The usually happy but often hotheaded fellow in the sailor suit has movie fans in 76 countries, readers who follow his daily comic strip in 100 foreign newspapers, friends who read his comic books published in 47 nations and television families who watch him in 29 countries.
The success story of this friendly and feisty Duck began in the early 1930s when Walt Disney heard Los Angeles performer Clarence Nash creating animal sounds on the radio. When Nash performed a nervous recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” (in a voice that he had intended as a frightened baby goat) Walt declared, “That’s our talking duck!” For the next fifty years, Clarence “Ducky” Nash provided Donald’s distinctive voice until his death in 1985. (Trained by “Ducky” Nash himself, Disney animator Tony Anselmo took over the role and today remains the official voice of Donald Duck.) A star was hatched with the June 9, 1934 release of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony, in which the self-centered duck danced a clever hornpipe and faked a bellyache. Supposedly a minor supporting character, Donald waddled away with the show.
Donald Duck
Lazy and greedy, this first version of Donald lacked what would become his most famous characteristic: a hair-trigger temper. That alarming attribute was on full display in Donald’s next film, Orphan’s Benefit (1934). In this landmark short, Donald eagerly began to recite “Mary Has a Little Lamb” (inspired by Clarence Nash’s radio performance) only to be continually interrupted by the raucous audience of orphans. His short-fused temper, explosive tantrums, and flustered incompetence in the face of obstacles and irritants had audiences delirious with laughter at his antics — and empathizing with his enraged response to life’s frustrations. “The uncontrolled temper, the immediate impulse to fight, and the childish desire for revenge made him an easily recognizable type for the audience,” observed master animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. “People relieved their own frustrations through him, particularly when he had created his own problems.”
Donald quickly became Mickey’s co-star, and was also often teamed with both Mickey and Goofy as one of the screen’s greatest comedy teams. But Donald’s popularity eclipsed even that of Mickey’s and the cocky Duck was showcased in his own star vehicles, starting with Don Donald (1937). Donald’s story team and animators delighted in coming up with one exasperating situation after another for their funny, spirited star. “The Duck was very versatile,” said Duck director and story artist Jack Hannah. “He had every emotion a human being had. He could be cute, mischievous, go from warm to cold at any moment.” Walt Disney noted that the design of his fine feathered leading man had a lot to do with his success: “Donald’s got a big mouth, big belligerent eyes, a twistable neck, and a substantial backside that’s highly flexible. The Duck comes near to being the animator’s ideal subject. He’s got plasticity plus!”
Reflecting his fame and worldwide fan base, Donald starred in over 150 short subjects, more than any other of the Disney stars. Donald also boosted the box office of feature films The Reluctant Dragon (1941), Saludos Amigos (1943), The Three Caballeros (1945), Fantasia/2000 (2000) and the featurettes Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and The Prince and the Pauper (1990). Donald’s piano duel with a daffy cartoon colleague was a highlight of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
Like any star Donald needed a stable of supporting players and his family and friends were pressed into service. In Don Donald the gallant romancer wooed an exotic señorita named Donna. Donna evolved into Daisy Duck — every bit Donald’s match in independent thinking, fortitude and tenacity. In Donald’s Nephews (1938), Huey, Dewey and Louie stormed into their “unca’s” life and inspiring even more aggravation for the temperamental Duck.
Following in the footsteps of fellow Hollywood superstars James Stewart and Clark Gable, Donald Duck served in the military when duty called. Patriotic Donald boosted morale in Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943), one of the most famous Donald Duck cartoons ever made, and the winner of the Academy Award® as Best Cartoon Short Subject of 1942-43. His personal Army experiences were documented in a number of wartime shorts, beginning with Donald Gets Drafted (1942), but when peacetime returned, the Army overlooked one thing — his discharge. Finally, in 1984, the U.S. Army granted an honorable discharge to Private Donald Fauntleroy Duck.
Donald continued is tradition of public service by headlining a number of “awareness” productions, including How to Have an Accident in the Home (1956) and How to Have an Accident at Work (1959). In 1959, the celebrated Duck starred in one of the most popular educational films ever produced, Donald in Mathmagic Land, followed by Donald and the Wheel (1961) and The Litterbug (1961) and his widely screened safety film, Donald’s Fire Survival Plan (1966).
Starting with his frequent appearances in the Silly Symphony Sunday comic page, Donald began his reign as an international comic superstar. The feisty fowl was awarded his own long-running newspaper comic strip in 1938, which co-starred his screen family and friends as well as some new players, such as Grandma Duck, an old-fashioned, no-nonsense matriarch who employs as her farmhand Donald’s cousin, Gus Goose, a lovably lazy and gluttonous galoot introduced in the 1939 cartoon, Donald’s Cousin Gus. Donald Duck comic books, especially those essayed by the “Good Artist,” Carl Barks, are read, studied and reprinted around the globe. The comic book misadventures of everyone’s favorite mallard have introduced a whole flock of family and fowl-weather friends populating Donald’s hometown of Duckburg, including his obnoxiously lucky cousin Gladstone Gander, the wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose and most famously, his fantastically rich uncle, Scrooge McDuck.
When Walt Disney entered weekly television in 1954, Donald Duck was right at his side, making numerous appearances over three decades on the primetime television shows Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and The Wonderful World of Disney. On The Mickey Mouse Club Donald quacked out his own name instead of Mickey’s, indicating a mostly good-natured (and entirely one-sided) rivalry between Duck and Mouse. He has also appeared in a number of network and cable television series, including DuckTales, Quack Pack, Donald’s Quack Attack and House of Mouse.
Donald’s continued popularity is demonstrated by the fan mail he receives from around the world. In 1984, he received one of the greatest show-biz honors, when he left his webbed footprints in cement in a ceremony at the world-famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood, an honor rarely afforded non-human stars. And of course, the lovably irascible quacker personally greets millions of Guests annually at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resorts. Walt Disney himself may have said it best when it came to summing up his ducky star: “Donald is a very outrageous fellow, with bad manners and a worse temper, and everyone is fond of him, including myself.”
Donald Duck Filmography
1. The Wise Little Hen (1934)
2. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
3. The Dognapper (1934)
4. The Band Concert (1935)
5. Mickey’s Service Station (1935)
6. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
7. On Ice (1935)
8. Mickey’s Polo Team (1935)
9. Orphan’s Picnic (1936)
10. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
11. Moving Day (1936)
12. Alpine Climbers (1936)
13. Mickey’s Circus (1936)
14. Donald and Pluto (1936)
15. Don Donald (1937)
16. Magician Mickey (1937)
17. Moose Hunters (1937)
18. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
19. Modern Inventions (1937)
20. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
21. Clock Cleaners (1937)
22. Donald’s Ostrich (1937)
23. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
24. Self Control (1938)
25. Boat Builders (1938)
26. Donald’s Better Self (1938)
27. Donald’s Nephews (1938)
28. Mickey’s Trailer (1938)
29. Polar Trappers (1938)
30. Good Scouts (1938)
31. The Fox Hunt (1938)
32. The Whalers (1938)
33. Donald’s Golf Game (1938)
34. Donald’s Lucky Day (1939)
35. Hockey Champ (1939)
36. Donald’s Cousin Gus (1939)
37. Beach Picnic (1939)
38. Sea Scouts (1939)
39. Donald’s Penguin (1939)
40. The Autograph Hound (1939)
41. Officer Duck(1939)
42. The Standard Parade (commercial) (1939)
43. The Riveter (1940)
44. Donald’s Dog Laundry (1940)
45. Tugboat Mickey (1940)
46. Billposters (1940)
47. Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)
48. Put-put Troubles (1940)
49. Donald’s Vacation (1940)
50. Window Cleaners (1940)
51. Fire Chief (1940)
52. The Volunteer Worker (commercial) (1940)
53. Timber (1941)
54. Golden Eggs (1941)
55. A Good Time for a Dime (1941)
56. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
57. Early to Bed (1941)
58. Truant Officer Donald (1941)
59. Old Mac Donald Duck (1941)
60. Orphan’s Benefit (1941)
61. Donald’s Camera (1941)
62. Chef Donald (1941)
63. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1941)
64. The Reluctant Dragon (“Old Mac Donald Duck”) (1941)
65. The Village Smithy (1942)
66. Symphony Hour (1942)
67. Donald’s Snow Fight (1942)
68. Donald Gets Drafted (1942)
69. Donald’s Garden (1942)
70. Donald’s Gold Mine (1942)
71. The Vanishing Private (1942)
72. Sky Trooper (1942)
73. Bellboy Donald (1942)
74. The New Spirit (commercial) (1942)
75. Donald’s Decision (commercial) (1942)
76. All Together (commercial) (1942)
77. Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943)
78. Donald’s Tire Trouble (1943)
79. Flying Jalopy (1943)
80. Fall Out – Fall In (1943)
81. The Old Army Game (1943)
82. Home Defense (1943)
83. Saludos Amigos (“Lake Titicaca”) (1943)
84. The Spirit of ’43 (coordinator) (1943)
85. Trombone Trouble (1944)
86. Donald Duck and the Gorilla (1944)
87. Contrary Condor (1944)
88. Commando Duck (1944)
89. The Plastics Inventor (1944)
90. Donald’s Off Day (1944)
91. The Clock Watcher (1945)
92. The Eyes Have It (1945)
93. Donald’s Crime (1945)
94. Duck Pimples (1945)
95. No Sail (1945)
96. Cured Duck (1945)
97. Old Sequoia (1945)
98. The Three Caballeros (1945)
99. Donald’s Double Trouble (1946)
100. Wet Paint (1946)
101. Dumb Bell of the Yukon (1946)
102. Lighthouse Keeping (1946)
103. Frank Duck Brings ‘em Back Alive (1946)
104. Straight Shooters (1947)
105. Sleepy Time Donald (1947)
106. Clown of the Jungle (1947)
107. Donald’s Dilemma (1947)
108. Crazy with the Heat (1947)
109. Bootle Beetle (1947)
110. Wide Open Spaces (1947)
111. Chip an’ Dale (1947)
112. Fun and Fancy Free (“Mickey and the Beanstalk”) (1947)
113. Drip Dippy Donald (1948)
114. Daddy Duck (1948)
115. Donald’s Dream Voice (1948)
116. The Trial of Donald Duck (1948)
117. Inferior Decorator (1948)
118. Soup’s On (1948)
119. Three for Breakfast (1948)
120. Tea for Two Hundred 1948
121. Melody Time (“Blame it on the Samba”) (1948)
122. Donald’s Happy Birthday (1949)
123. Sea Salts (1949)
124. Winter Storage (1949)
125. Honey Harvester (1949)
126. All in a Nutshell (1949)
127. The Greener Yard (1949)
128. Slide, Donald, Slide (1949)
129. Toy Tinkers (1949)
130. Lion Around (1950)
131. Crazy Over Daisy (1950)
132. Trailer Horn (1950)
133. Hook, Lion and Sinker (1950)
134. Bee at the Beach (1950)
135. Out on a Limb (1950)
136. Dude Duck (1951)
137. Corn Chips (1951)
138. Test Pilot Donald (1951)
139. Lucky Number (1951)
140. Out of Scale (1951)
141. Bee on Guard (1951)
142. Donald Applecore (1952)
143. Let’s Stick Together (1952)
144. Uncle Donald’s Ants (1952)
155. Trick or Treat (1952)
156. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
157. Don’s Fountain of Youth (1953)
158. The New Neighbor (1953)
159. Rugged Bear (1953)
160. Working for Peanuts (1953)
161. Canvas Back Duck (1953)
162. Spare the Rod (1954)
163. Donald’s Diary (1954)
164. Dragon Around (1954)
165. Grin and Bear It (1954)
166. Grand Canyonscope (1954)
167. Flying Squirrel (1954)
168. No Hunting (1955)
169. Bearly Asleep (1955)
170 Beezy Bear (1955)
171. Up a Tree (1955)
172. Lake Titicaca (short from Saludos Amigos) (1955)
173. Blame it on the Samba (short from Melody Time) (1955)
174. Chips Ahoy (1956)
175. How to Have an Accident in the Home (1956)
176. Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959)
177. How to Have an Accident at Work (1959)
178. Donald and the Wheel (1961)
179. The Litterbug (1961)
180. Steel and America (commercial) (1965)
181. Donald’s Fire Survival Plan (educational) (1966)
182. Mickey Mouse Disco (1980)
183. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
184. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
185. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
186. Donald’s Dynamite: Opera Box (1999)
187. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
188. Fantasia 2000 (2000)
189. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
190. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Donald Duck also appeared in various television productions.
Goofy
Think of the Goof as a composite of an everlasting optimist, a gullible Good Samaritan… no matter what happens, he accepts it finally as being for the best, or at least amusing. He has music in his heart — even though it may be the same tune forever — and I see him humming to himself while working or thinking. He talks to himself because it is easier for him to know what he is thinking if he hears it first.
Disney Animator Art Babbitt (c.1935)
For almost eighty years, Goofy — the amiable, awkward, good-spirited and buck-toothed “everyman” of the Disney classic characters — has been entertaining generations with his endearingly simple-minded antics. An audience favorite, this good sport can demonstrate anything from athletics and games to dancing and sleeping — trouble is, he manages to do everything in exactly the wrong way. In fact, the new animated short, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007), brings Goofy’s hilariously clumsy flubs and foibles into the 21st century.
It’s no wonder Goofy’s popularity is so enduring — his happy-go-lucky humor is universal. In any language, with any age group, Goofy’s merry misadventures always resonate with every audience. No matter the mishap, Goofy never gives up. Even though he goofs things up, he always manages to come up smiling. Cheerful, eternally loyal, and always willing to help his friends, Goofy has a gentle, childlike innocence and wonder about the world around him. And, perhaps most importantly, Goofy always assumes the best in everyone.
Goofy
Like Donald Duck, the character we know as Goofy started with a unique, comical voice, or in Goofy’s case, a laugh. Ex-circus clown, story man and voice artist Vance “Pinto” Colvig came up with a novelty laugh, a ridiculously infectious guffaw that could only come from an easily amused rube. The ludicrous laugh itself inspired laughter so Walt Disney embodied the uncontrollable chortle in a hayseed hound with whiskers and square spectacles in Mickey’s Revue (1932). As a member of the barnyard audience, this grizzled “dawg” laughed himself silly at the corny acts onstage and instantly became a hit with audiences himself. Given a more youthful appearance and named Dippy Dawg, this hilarious hick became a regular member of Mickey’s reparatory company. Dippy — also known in his early days as Dippy the Goof or the Goof — continued to yuck it up in Mickey’s cartoon adventures, developing his own unique brand of slapstick. As for Pinto Colvig, he goofed around as Goofy’s voice on and off until his death in 1967. (Today, vocal artist Bill Farmer is the official voice of Goofy.)
Walt often described the type of physical humor used in the Studio’s cartoons as being “goofy,” and with the gangly new star’s appearance in Orphan’s Benefit (1934), that apt name officially stuck. Goofy’s sincere but silly personality really began to take shape in Moving Day (1935), in which animator Art Babbitt built up Goofy’s role and gave the loose-limbed character definition. “The character gave me a chance to try out all kinds of animation tricks that hadn’t been tried before,” explained Art, “things that cannot happen in real life, and yet they’re perfectly acceptable in animation” — especially where Goofy was concerned.
As the affable Goof’s popularity grew, he was frequently teamed with the Studio’s other top stars, Mickey and Donald, in a variety of comedy situations that inevitably ended in chaos. Cartoon classics such as Mickey’s Service Station (1935), Moving Day (1936), Lonesome Ghosts (1937), and Boat Builders (1938) humorously examine how each character reacted to similar circumstances, with Goofy and his slow-motion-mind reaction to every comical challenge given plenty of screen time. As Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote, Goofy “was at his best as a character trying to figure out something that was beyond his reasoning powers. He was gullible, but his reaction to the disasters that always occurred was a puzzled concern.”
With Goofy a firmly established star, he was given his first solo starring vehicle, Goofy and Wilbur (1939), featuring his grasshopper pal and fishing buddy (and bait), Wilbur. In 1941, director Jack Kinney hit upon an idea that would showcase both Goofy’s can-do spirit and his knack for doing things exactly wrong — starring the accident-prone Goof in a spoof of documentary films in which the stodgy seriousness of the professorial narrator would play in sharp contrast to Goofy’s clumsy demonstrations. “The ‘how-to’ format opened up a vast area,” Jack later observed. “The subject could be anything… even the wide world of sports, all open to Goofy’s dum-dum exploration. What he would do in any given story would be the hook we’d hang it on. I got a call from Walt, ‘Jack, this is one hell of an idea! Go ahead on it!’ ” In these very successful “how-to” shorts, the Goof attempts to act out the droll directions, and the result is a hilarious visual depiction of “how not to” accomplish the task being described. But through it all, Goofy remains undaunted, ready to move on to the next lesson.
In the 1950s, Goofy was frequently cast in suburban settings as the “common man,” to showcase some of the pitfalls of modern living. In this unusual guise as a mid-century “Goof in the grey flannel suit,” he was often known as Mr. George Geef, and even shed his distinctive voice — and his floppy ears and buck teeth — for some of these roles. This mature role for Goofy utilized his skills as an “actor” rather than playing upon his traditional persona. But when Goofy started greeting guests at Disneyland Park, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, it was as his lovably “goofy” self.
Goofy’s multimedia status was launched in 1933, with appearances in the daily Mickey Mouse comic strip, as Mickey’s loyal but often loopy sidekick. Beginning in 1953, Goofy starred in his own series of comic book adventures, and in 1965 he became Super Goof, a comic book super hero parody. A Goof for all seasons, he has also starred in comic book spoofs of historical characters, literary and actual, including Rip Van Winkle and Leonardo da Vinci. Goofy continues to appear in comic books and comic strips published around the world.
From 1935 on, Goofy began to appear on a wide range of delightful merchandise, including novelty playing cards (on the joker, naturally), tin toys, jigsaw puzzles, and plush toys. Through the years and continuing today, our hapless and clueless pal has appeared on some memorable toys, games, furnishings and fashions, including a very goofy backwards-running wristwatch.
Walt Disney debuted his weekly Disneyland television series in 1954 and Goofy was along for the ride. In fact, on the weekly series and its successors, Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and The Wonderful World of Disney could be seen in the spotlight in such episodes as “The Goofy Success Story,” “The Goofy Sports Story” and “The Goofy Adventure Story.” Goofy became the first of the classic Disney “gang” to star in his own television series, Goof Troop, and was in movie theaters he was top-billed in A Goofy Movie (1995), and its direct-to-video sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000) — both of which featured the lovable goof trying to bond with his teenage son, Max.
Goofy’s positive “I’ll try anything” attitude was the focus of the 1980s Sport Goofy athletic programs. A natural development from the “how to” series, Sport Goofy was named the official mascot of the French Olympic team, was endorsed by the German Sport Association, and was the mascot of the International Tennis Federation Junior World Tennis Championship, his major message being: it doesn’t matter if you win or lose — just have fun.
Whatever Goofy’s guise, get-up or for that matter, goof-up, fun is the operative word. As Walt Disney observed, Goofy “has always been a modest, unassuming fellow, one who’s never let fame go to his head.” And Goofy’s positive attitude and high spirits are indeed inspirational to the rest of us who also tend to goof things up now and again — for though he may trip himself up, Goofy never loses his eagerness to always do his best. “A-hyuck!”
Goofy Filmography
1. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
2. The Whoopee Party (1932)
3. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
4. The Klondike Kid (1932)
5. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
6. Ye Olden Days (1933)
7. Orphan’s Benefit [first appearance as "Goofy"] (1934)
8. The Band Concert (1935)
9. Mickey’s Service Station (1935)
10. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
11. On Ice (1935)
12. Mickey’s Polo Team (1936)
13. Moving Day (1936)
14. Moose Hunters (1937)
15. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
16. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
17. Clock Cleaners (1937)
18. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
19. Magician Mickey (1937)
20. Boat Builders (1938)
21. Mickey’s Trailer (1938)
22. Polar Trappers (1938)
23. The Fox Hunt (1938)
24. The Whalers (1938)
25. The Standard Parade [commercial short] (1938)
26. Goofy and Wilbur (1939)
27. Tugboat Mickey (1940)
28. Billposters (1940)
29. Goofy’s Glider (1940)
30. Baggage Buster (1941)
31. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
32. Orphan’s Benefit (color remake) (1941)
33. The Art of Skiing (1941)
34. The Art of Self Defense (1941)
35. The Reluctant Dragon (“How to Ride A Horse”) (1941)
36. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
37. Symphony Hour (1942)
38. How to Play Baseball (1942)
39. The Olympic Champ (1942)
40. How to Swim (1942)
41. How to Fish (1942)
42. Saludos Amigos (“El Gaucho Goofy”) (1943)
43. Victory Vehicles (1943)
44. How to Be a Sailor (1944)
45. How to Play Golf (1944)
46. How to Play Football (1944)
47. Tiger Trouble (1945)
48. African Diary (1945)
49. Californy ‘er Bust (1945)
50. No Sail (1945)
51. Hockey Homicide (1945)
52. A Knight for a Day (1946)
53. Frank Duck Brings ‘Em Back Alive (1946)
54. Double Dribble (1946)
55. Crazy With the Heat (1947)
56. Fun and Fancy Free (“Mickey and the Beanstalk”) (1947)
57. Foul Hunting (1947)
58. They’re Off (1948)
59. The Big Wash (1948)
60. Tennis Racquet (1949)
61. Goofy Gymnastics (1949)
62. Crazy Over Daisy (cameo appearance) (1950)
63. Motor Mania (1950)
64. Hold That Pose (1950)
65. Lion Down (1951)
66. Home Made Home (1951)
67. Cold War (1951)
68. Tomorrow We Diet (1951)
69. Get Rich Quick (1951)
70. Fathers are People (1951)
71. No Smoking (1951)
72. Father’s Lion (1952)
73. Hello, Aloha (1952)
74. Man’s Best Friend (1952)
75. Two-Gun Goofy (1952)
76. Teachers are People (1952)
77 Two Weeks Vacation (1952)
78. How to Be a Detective (1952)
79. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
80. Father’s Day Off (1952)
81. For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953)
82. Father’s Week End (1953)
83. How to Dance (1953)
84. How to Sleep (1953)
85. Aquamania (1961)
86. Goofy Sports Story (1964)
86. Freewayphobia No. 1 (1965)
87. Square Peg in a Round Hole (1965)
88. Goofy’s Freeway Troubles (1965)
89. Mickey Mouse Disco (1980)
90. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
91. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
92. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
93. A Goofy Movie (1995)
94. Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe (1998)
95. Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Paracycling (1998)
96. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
97. An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)
98. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
99. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
100. How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007)
Goofy has also appeared in various television productions.
Horace Horsecollar
Best known for his most distinctive vocal characteristic, his whinnying and infectious horselaugh, supporting player Horace Horsecollar has never reached the heights of stardom. However his handsome physique, his toothsome smile and his unusual choice of neckwear — a horse collar usually adorned with a natty bowtie — along with a dapper derby carefully chosen from some horse haberdashery, have earned him a certain celebrity and an honored place in Mickey Mouse’s stable (an appropriate term for Horace) of supporting stars.
Like Clarabelle Cow (with whom he was often paired) Horace started out as an actual barnyard horse, but he quickly evolved to become Mickey’s crony in cartoons such as The Beach Party (1931) and Camping Out (1934). When Mickey put on a show in Mickey’s Revue (1932) and Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933), Horace is happily on hand to horse around. In Orphan’s Benefit (1934), the nimble-footed nag kicks up his horseshoes in a crowd-pleasing dance. Horace is chomping at the bit to do some pretty fancy skating in On Ice (1935) while in Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942) he expertly cuts a rug with Clarabelle. Sometimes Horace’s acts as an honored — if briefly seen — local dignitary, representing Mickey’s gang of good friends as in Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933), in which Mr. Horsecollar is quite a Hollywood clotheshorse as he emerges from a swank limousine, and in Boat Builders (1938), dressed in finery as Minnie christens Mickey’s shipshape new ship.
Horace Horsecollar
Of course, this hammy horse is always ready to display his many musical talents at the drop of a horseshoe. In The Band Concert (1935), Horace dramatically plays the drums, even while hurtling through the skies, thanks to an ill-timed cyclone, and crashing the cymbals to end the big performance as he crashes back to earth. In Symphony Hour (1942) Horace really outdoes himself as he plays the trumpet, the trombone and the French horn as an instrumental member of Mickey Mouse’s orchestra. More recently, Horace proved himself quite the equestrian thespian when he essayed his most challenging role — that of the Prince’s unflappable Royal Tutor in The Prince and the Pauper (1990). Though the horsy hayseed didn’t have much to say in his earlier appearances, today Bill Farmer is the official voice of Horace Horsecollar.
Through the years, the printed page has increased Horace’s popularity. Everyone needs a reliable buddy with horse sense and in the early years of the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip, Mickey could always saddle up for adventure with his pal in escapades such as 1933′s “Blaggard Castle” and 1935′s “Race For Riches.” Sometimes Horace was even the impetus for an entire adventure as in 1932′s “The Great Orphanage Robbery,” wherein Mickey set out to prove his long-faced pal innocent during the sensational trial of one falsely accused Horace Horsecollar. Goofy gradually took on the role of Mickey’s supportive sidekick but Horace continued to make regular appearances, usually to poke fun at Mickey’s latest mission or project — and why not? With a laugh like Horace’s, it’s easy to understand why he’d want to crack himself up as often as possible. But whatever the situation, Mickey always knows he can rely on Horace as an all-around handyman and mechanic.
On TV’s The Mickey Mouse Club the equine entertainer was spotlighted as a bright star of the Disney universe (and as an always loyal supporter of “the leader of the Club”), while on House of Mouse, Horace made himself useful as the mechanical technician at Mickey’s nightclub right out of the gate. But whatever the surroundings, Horace is always ready to take the situation by the reins and help out his pals, horse-laughing all the way.
Horace Horsecollar Filmography
1. The Plow Boy (1929)
2. The Jazz Fool (1929)
3. The Barnyard Concert (1930)
4. The Cactus Kid (1930)
5. The Fire Fighters (1930)
6. The Shindig (1930) — first entirely humanized appearance
7. Pioneer Days (1930, cameo; see Horace and Clarabelle sitting with cat between them at 03:42 and several subsequent scenes; also Horace alone at 04:27)
8. The Birthday Party (1931)
9. Traffic Troubles (1931, cameo: see prominent Horace in back row of cars at 01:23; in an animation error, his car passes twice)
10. Blue Rhythm (1931)
11. The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
12. The Beach Party (1931)
13. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
14. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
15. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932, cameo: see Horace and Clarabelle seated prominently in wedding chapel at 01:43)
16. The Whoopee Party (1932)
17. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
18. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
19. Mickey’s Gala Premier (1933)
20. Camping Out (1934)
21. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
22. The Band Concert (1935)
23. On Ice (1935)
24. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936, cameo: see Horace at far right of orchestra at 02:50 — his horse collar stands out)
25. Toby Tortoise Returns (1936, cameo: not a Mickey cartoon, but see an unmistakable Horace sitting to the right of Goofy, with Donald nearby, when the crowd greets Jenny wren at 00:58)
26. Boat Builders (1938, cameo: see Horace in top hat and Clarabelle in bonnet, standing on dock to right of Morty and Ferdie at 06:07)
27. The Fox Hunt (1938, cameo: see Horace in hunting party at 06:50 and subsequent scenes)
28. Orphan’s Benefit (1941, color remake of the 1934 original)
29. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
30. Symphony Hour (1942)
31. All Together (1942; reuses some Horace animation from The Band Concert)
32. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
33. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
34. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
NOTE: Horace does not appear in Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952), despite it being erroneously listed in his filmography many times over the years.
Mickey Mouse
Come on everyone, all together now: “M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!” That familiar, fun-filled song spells smiles and laughter of Mickey Mouse. One of the world’s most beloved personalities, the cheerful little guy made his screen debut on November 18, 1928 as star of the first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, at the Colony Theatre in New York.
Mickey has become an international personality whose success laid the foundation upon which Walt Disney built his creative organization. Besides being the personification of everything Disney, Mickey is one of the most enduring personalities of our culture and times. His beaming face is recognized around the globe, and his endearing personality has captured the imagination of generations, spanning two centuries.
Mickey Mouse
Mickey was cast in Walt Disney’s imagination early in 1928, on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles. The producer was returning with his wife from a disastrous business meeting. Only 26 at the time, and with an active cartoon studio in Hollywood, Walt had gone East to arrange for more money to improve the quality of his Oswald the Lucky Rabbit pictures. Walt’s financial backers declined, and since the character was copyrighted under their name, they took control of Oswald.
“… So I was all alone and had nothing,” Walt recalled later. “Mrs. Disney and I were coming back from New York on the train and I had to have something… so, I had this mouse in the back of my head… because a mouse is sort of a sympathetic character in spite of the fact that everybody’s frightened of a mouse… including myself.”
Walt spent the train ride conjuring up a lively little mouse with big round ears and named him Mortimer, but by the time the train steamed into the station in Los Angeles, Walt’s new character had been re-christened. Walt’s wife, Lillian, thought the name Mortimer was too pompous and suggested Mickey. A star was born.
Upon returning to his studio, Walt immediately began work on the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Plane Crazy. The enthusiasm with which his small staff completed the project faded when no distributor wanted to buy the film. Refusing to give in, Walt forged into production on another silent Mickey, The Gallopin’ Gaucho. However, late in 1927 Warner Bros. ushered in “the talkies” with The Jazz Singer. Seeing sound films as the future of the motion picture industry, Walt dropped everything to begin a third Mickey cartoon, Steamboat Willie, this one with music and sound effects, all synchronized to Mickey’s antics aboard a riverboat.
To record the soundtrack Walt had to take his film to New York, since no one on the West Coast was properly equipped. Walt sank everything he had into the film, betting his studio and his future on the appeal of this new and untried character. When the short was finally completed, Walt screened Steamboat Willie for the New York exhibitors. The manager of the Colony Theatre decided to take a chance on the film. Overnight, Steamboat Willie scored an overwhelming success.
From the start, Mickey was more than popular — he was a sensation. Mickey’s cartoons were often billed on movie theatre marquees, often above the feature film’s title. “What — no Mickey Mouse?” became a national catchphrase signifying disappointment, as was experienced with a theatre program with no Mickey cartoon on the bill. Mickey’s popularity spawned a national Mickey Mouse Club starting in 1929, which met every Saturday for an afternoon of cartoons and games in local theaters. The several million Mouse Clubbers had a secret handshake, a special member greeting, a code of behavior and even a special club song, “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo,” a ditty with music by famed cartoon composer Carl Stalling and lyrics by Walt himself, which became Mickey and Minnie’s early theme song.
Mickey didn’t have much to say at first but with The Karnival Kid (1929), Mickey said his first words (“Hot dog!”) and from then on, in most of Mickey’s pictures through World War II, Walt himself supplied Mickey’s sometimes shy but always enthusiastic voice. By the time “Mickey and the Beanstalk” was released in 1947 as part of the feature film, Fun and Fancy Free, Walt had become too busy to continue voicing Mickey, so veteran sound and vocal effects artist Jim Macdonald took over for most of Mickey’s onscreen appearances. Wayne Allwine became Mickey’s voice with Mickey’s Christmas Carol in 1983, a role he has held ever since.
What was the secret of Mickey’s success? In a word: personality. “Mickey was the first cartoon character to stress personality,” said Walt. “I thought of him from the first as a distinct individual — not just a cartoon type or a symbol going through a comedy routine.” Adventurous and fun loving, this lovable “Everymouse” took on all challenges with clever resourcefulness and an all-American “can-do” spirit. Most of all, said Walt, “Mickey was simply a little personality assigned to the purposes of laughter.”
There is also Mickey’s pleasing design. Many artists, designers and commentators have noted the character has one of the most powerful and innately attractive graphic designs ever created. In fact, the simplified three-circle symbol of Mickey’s head-and-ears has become an instantly and internationally recognized icon.
The 1930s was Mickey’s Golden Age. Mickey played everything from fireman to giant killer, cowboy to inventor, detective to plumber. Technically and artistically, Mickey Mouse cartoons were far superior to other contemporary cartoons and gave life to an entire family of animated characters: Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, and many others. The artistic success of Mickey’s animated films led to an honorary Academy Award, presented to Walt Disney in 1932 for the creation of Mickey.
In addition to appearing on all manner of merchandise — much of it now considered classic, such as the Mickey Mouse doll, watch, and T-shirt — Mickey also starred in a long-running newspaper comic strip, acclaimed by readers and historians alike as one of the finest examples of the comic art form. The famed character also graced comic books, magazines and books, which continue to be published around the globe.
In 1940, Mickey made what many consider to be his greatest triumph: his starring role in Fantasia.This grand experiment in sound and color, music and Disney animation began with a Mickey Mouse short, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” starring Mickey in the title role. The idea of combing animation with classical music expanded into an entire feature of magnificently animated segments. With “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” starring Mickey Mouse as its cornerstone, Fantasia premiered at the Broadway Theatre — formerly the Colony where Mickey made his debut just over a decade earlier.
With the advent of World War II, the Disney Studio suspended much of its commercial activity and concentrated on aiding the war effort with training films, goodwill tours, and the design of posters and armed forces insignia. Mickey played his part by appearing on insignia and posters urging national security and the purchase of war bonds. When explaining why he provided the military insignia at no cost to the men and women fighting the war or their outfits, Walt said, “I had to do it. Those kids grew up on Mickey Mouse.” Significantly, a code word for the Allied forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944, was “Mickey Mouse.”
Through the 1940s and early 50s, Mickey returned to the screen in animated cartoons, but his next big success was in a new and immensely popular medium: television. Walt produced a Christmas special, One Hour in Wonderland, in 1950, and Mickey’s classic cartoon, Clock Cleaners (1937) was showcased as part of the festivities. Turning to weekly television in 1954, Walt introduced the Disneyland television series on the ABC network, and as part of the very first episode, he devoted much of the show to a Mickey tribute, tracing Mr. Mouse’s career and many accomplishments.
Following the huge success of the prime time program, Disney created an afternoon program for ABC — The Mickey Mouse Club. Introduced each day by Mickey himself, the show starring a group of youngsters called Mouseketeers who wore the famous “Mouseka-ear” hats (inspired by a sight gag from The Karnival Kid in which Mickey tipped the top of his head as if it were a hat) which remains one of the most successful children’s shows ever, and has inspired several new incarnations over the decades.
In addition, Mickey has been frequently seen on dozens of Disney television shows and specials, and in 1988, he actually appeared on the Academy Awards telecast, presenting an envelope to actor Tom Selleck. In 2003, Mickey again appeared at the Oscar® ceremonies with actress Jennifer Garner.
In 1983, Mickey returned to the theater screen in the featurette Mickey’s Christmas Carol, a Disney version of the Dickens classic, where Mickey played Bob Cratchit to Scrooge McDuck’s Ebenezer Scrooge. In 1990, Mickey again appeared in a theatrical featurette, this time playing a dual role in The Prince and the Pauper. In 1995, came a brand new theatrical Mickey short cartoon called Runaway Brain. Two new ABC animated television series soon followed, Disney’s Mickey MouseWorks, premiered on May 1, 1999, and House of Mouse premiered on January 13, 2001, with new cartoons starring Mickey and his pals.
Disneyland Park opened its gates in 1955 and Mickey became the theme park’s Chief Host. In 1988, he lent his name to the new “land,” Mickey’s Toontown, where guests can visit their pal in his own house and “movie barn.” Mickey continues to welcome millions of visitors annually not only at the Disneyland Resort, but also at Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland. In this role Mickey has greeted kings and presidents, prime ministers and princes, sports stars, film stars, TV stars and millions of just-plain-folks.
One of the finest tributes to Mickey was given by Walt Disney himself when, on the first episode of his weekly TV show, as he surveyed Disneyland, Walt said, “I hope we never lose sight of one thing … that it was all started by a mouse.” Forever let us hold his banner high!
Mickey Mouse Filmography
1. Steamboat Willie (1928)
2. The Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928)
3. Plane Crazy (1928)
4. The Barn Dance (1928)
5. The Opry House (1929)
6. When the Cat’s Away (1929)
7. The Barnyard Battle (1929)
8. The Plow Boy (1929)
9. The Karnival Kid (1929)
10. Mickey’s Follies (1929)
11. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929)
12. The Jazz Fool (1929)
13. Jungle Rhythm (1929)
14. The Haunted House (1929)
15. Wild Waves (1929)
16. Just Mickey (1930)
17. The Barnyard Concert (1930)
18. The Cactus Kid (1930)
19. The Fire Fighters (1930)
20. The Shindig (1930)
21. The Chain Gang (1930)
22. The Gorilla Mystery (1930)
23. The Picnic (1930)
24. Pioneer Days (1930)
25. The Birthday Party (1931)
26. Traffic Troubles (1931)
27. The Castaway (1931)
28. The Moose Hunt (1931)
29. The Delivery Boy (1931)
30. Mickey Steps Out (1931)
31. Blue Rhythm (1931)
32. Fishin’ Around (1931)
33. The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
34. The Beach Party (1931)
35. Mickey Cuts Up (1931)
36. Mickey’s Orphans (1931)
37. The Duck Hunt (1932)
38. The Grocery Boy (1932)
39. The Mad Dog (1932)
40. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
41. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
42. Musical Farmer (1932)
43. Mickey in Arabia (1932)
44. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932)
45. Trader Mickey (1932)
46. The Whoopee Party (1932)
47. Touchdown Mickey (1932)
48. The Wayward Canary (1932)
49. The Klondike Kid (1932)
50. Mickey’s Good Deed (1932)
51. Building a Building (1933)
52. The Mad Doctor (1933)
53. Mickey’s Pal Pluto (1933)
54. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
55. Ye Olden Days (1933)
56. The Mail Pilot (1933)
57. Mickey’s Mechanical Man (1933)
58. Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)
59. Puppy Love (1933)
60. The Steeplechase (1933)
61. The Pet Store (1933)
62. Giantland (1933)
63. Shanghaied (1934)
64. Camping Out (1934)
65. Playful Pluto (1934)
66. Gulliver Mickey (1934)
67. Mickey’s Steam-Roller (1934)
68. Orphan’s Benefit (1934)
69. Mickey Plays Papa (1934)
70. The Dognapper (1934)
71. Two-Gun Mickey (1934)
72. Mickey’s Man Friday (1935)
73. The Band Concert [1st Color] (1935)
74. Mickey’s Service Station [B&W] (1935)
75. Mickey’s Kangaroo [B&W] (1935)
76. Mickey’s Garden (1935)
77. Mickey’s Fire Brigade (1935)
78. Pluto’s Judgement Day (1935)
79. On Ice (1935)
80. Mickey’s Polo Team (1936)
81. Orphans’ Picnic (1936)
82. Mickey’s Grand Opera (1936)
83. Thru the Mirror (1936)
84. Mickey’s Rival (1936)
85. Moving Day (1936)
86. Alpine Climbers (1936)
87. Mickey’s Circus (1936)
88. Mickey’s Elephant (1936)
89. The Worm Turns (1937)
90. Magician Mickey (1937)
91. Moose Hunters (1937)
92. Mickey’s Amateurs (1937)
93. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
94. Clock Cleaners (1937)
95. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
96. Boat Builders (1938)
97. Mickey’s Trailer (1938)
98. The Whalers (1938)
99. Mickey’s Parrot (1938)
100. Brave Little Tailor (1938)
101. The Fox Hunt (cameo) (1938)
102. Society Dog Show (1939)
103. The Pointer (1939)
104. Mickey’s Surprise Party (commercial) (1939)
105. The Standard Parade (commercial) (1940)
106. Tugboat Mickey (1940)
107. Pluto’s Dream House (1940)
108. Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940)
109. Fantasia (“Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) (1940)
110. The Little Whirlwind (1941)
111. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
112. Orphans’ Benefit (remake) (1941)
113. A Gentleman’s Gentleman (1941)
114. Canine Caddy (1941)
115. Lend A Paw (1941)
116. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
117 All Together (Commercial) (1942)
118. Symphony Hour (1942)
119. Pluto and the Armadillo (1943)
120. Squatter’s Rights (1946)
121. Fun and Fancy Free (“Mickey and the Beanstalk”) (1947)
122. Mickey’s Delayed Date (1947)
123. Mickey Down Under (1948)
124. Pluto’s Purchase (1948)
125. Mickey and the Seal (1948)
126. Pueblo Pluto (1948)
127. Crazy Over Daisy (cameo) (1950)
128. Plutopia (1951)
129. R’coon Dawg (1951)
130. Pluto’s Party (1952)
131. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
132. The Simple Things (1953)
133. Mickey Mouse Disco (1980)
134. Once Upon a Mouse (1981)
135. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
136. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
137. The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
138. Runaway Brain (1995)
139. Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship (1999)
140. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
141. Fantasia 2000( (“Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) (2000)
142. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
143. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Mickey Mouse has also appeared in various television productions.
Minnie Mouse
Mickey Mouse wasn’t the only star who made an auspicious debut in Steamboat Willie (1928). Mickey’s leading lady Minnie Mouse also made her motion picture bow in this groundbreaking short, making as much music (if not more) than Mickey in the world’s first animated film with fully synchronized sound. When a goat inconveniently eats her sheet music, for example, Minnie resourcefully cranks the goat’s tail hurdy-gurdy style, immediately demonstrating the spunk and happy spark of personality that would endear her to generations. And though there is no doubt Mickey became a phenomenon, Minnie shone as a star in her own right, right from the start.
Like Mickey, Minnie made her initial appearance in Plane Crazy (1928), the first Mickey Mouse cartoon produced although not the first released. Befitting her pioneering roles in early sound motion picture productions, Minnie displayed her musical talent whenever possible, as in Mickey’s Follies (1929), Blue Rhythm (1931) and The Wayward Canary (1932) and Puppy Love (1933), playing the piano with upbeat flair. Minnie is also an accomplished dancer, and many times, Minnie is heard humming to herself or simply “tra-la-la-ing” as she skips along. It’s no surprise that Minnie was the inspiration of the very first Disney song, “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo.” Minnie’s melodious voice was originated by Marcellite Garner, from Disney’s Ink and Paint Department. Over the years, several Ink-and-Painters gave Minnie voice. Today, Russi Taylor is the official voice of Minnie Mouse.
Minnie Mouse
Though Minnie often serves as a damsel-in-distress so that Mickey can rescue her, our self-reliant heroine can hold her own, bopping a bully on the head and putting up an impressive fight, for though she may sometimes be outmuscled our gal is never outsmarted. In Building a Building (1933) it is Minnie who cleverly rescues Mickey from that bullying bruiser Pete. Three 1934 cartoon classics show Minnie off in a good light: she is Mickey’s seagoing co-adventurer in Shanghaied; Mickey’s Steamroller finds Minnie setting things right when heavy machinery runs amuck; and Two-Gun Mickey casts Miss Mouse as a Wild West cowgal who can take care of herself (for the most part).
Cheerful, upbeat and optimistic, Minnie has a sunny personality expressed in bouncy steps and dainty gestures, and her girlish femininity is a big factor in her star-making appeal. “We always drew Minnie with broad feminine gestures,” said master animator Frank Thomas. “Most of the time she was modest, shy and girlish.” Sometimes when upset or in a rare moment of uncertainty in her relationship with Mickey she can dissolve into tears. Very much in touch with her feelings, Minnie is sympathetic to the plight of her friends and she often strives to help her confidantes such as Clarabelle Cow out of sticky situations, as well as offering a supportive shoulder to cry on. Minnie’s emotional side can even extend to weeping at sentimental stage or film productions, as when she openly cries at the old-fashioned slide show in The Nifty Nineties (1941).
In the 1940s, Minnie embarked on a number of cartoons in which she starred on her own. Completely out of Mickey’s shadow, Minnie’s star shone brighter than ever, as in First Aiders (1944), in which Minnie practices her nursing skills on Pluto and Figaro, Bath Day (1946) and Pluto’s Sweater (1949). Yet much of Minnie’s fame comes from performances side-by-side with Mickey. The talented miss can act in any number of period roles in costume dramas such as Ye Olden Days (1933), Brave Little Tailor (1938), Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) — in which Minnie played Mrs. Cratchit, Mickey’s wife — and The Three Musketeers (2004). Thanks to these elaborate productions, Mickey and Minnie became the Lunt and Fontanne of animation — but whatever role she is playing or costume she is donning, Minnie’s sweet personality shines through.
Minnie was of course a big part of the long-running Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip. The charming Miss Mouse was an integral part of such thrilling adventures as “The Bat Bandit of Inferno Gulch” (1934), “The Sacred Jewel” (1934), “In Search of Jungle Treasure” (1937) and “The Monarch of Medioka” (1937-1938). Minnie was also a welcome co-star in the Mickey comic book,s with her name often spotlighted on Mickey’s comic book covers.
Minnie’s popularity has ensured her inclusion in such TV shows as Mickey Mouse Works — in one segment of which Minnie actually conducted an orchestra, filling a role her beau has played in several famous films, and House of Mouse in which Minnie manages the nightclub. And of course she joins with Mickey as a Disney goodwill ambassador, sweetly welcoming one and all to Disneyland® Park and the other Disney Theme Parks around the world. In fact, Disneyland declared 1986 as the year of Minnie and honored our favorite gal with an elaborate parade. In celebration of Minnie and her well-deserved fame, the lovely Miss Mouse was feted in a television special, Disney’s Totally Minnie, which aired in 1988. Through it all Minnie remains her own graceful self and maintains her unaffected girl-next-door charm. Yoo-hoo!
Minnie Mouse Filmography
1. Steamboat Willie (1928)
2. The Gallopin’ Gaucho (1928)
3. Plane Crazy (1928)
4. The Barn Dance (1928)
5. The Opry House (1929)
6. When the Cat’s Away (1929)
7. The Plow Boy (1929)
8. The Karnival Kid (1929)
9. Mickey’s Follies (1929)
10. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929)
11. Wild Waves (1929)
12. The Cactus Kid (1930)
13. The Fire Fighters (1930)
14. The Shindig (1930)
15. The Gorilla Mystery (1930)
16. The Picnic (1930)
17. Pioneer Days (1930)
18. The Birthday Party (1931)
19. Traffic Troubles (1931)
20. The Delivery Boy (1931)
21. Mickey Steps Out (1931)
22. Blue Rhythm (1931)
23. The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
24. Mickey Cuts Up (1931)
25. The Beach Party (1931)
26. Mickey’s Orphans (1931)
27. The Grocery Boy (1932)
28. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
29. Barnyard Olympics (1932)
30. Mickey’s Revue (1932)
31. Musical Farmer (1932)
32. Mickey in Arabia (1932)
33. Mickey’s Nightmare (1932)
34. The Whoopee Party (1932)
35. Touchdown Mickey 1932
36. The Wayward Canary (1932)
37. The Klondike Kid (1932)
38. Building a Building (1933)
39. Mickey’s Pal Pluto (1933)
40. Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933)
41. Ye Olden Days (1933)
42. The Mail Pilot (1933)
43. Mickey’s Mechanical Man (1933)
44. Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)
45. Puppy Love (1933)
46. The Steeple Chase (1933)
47. The Pet Store (1933)
48. Shanghaied (1934)
49. Camping Out (1934)
50. Mickey’s Steam Roller (1934)
51. The Dognapper (cameo) (1934)
52. Two-Gun Mickey (1934)
53. On Ice (1935)
54. Mickey’s Rival (1936)
55. Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
56. Boat Builders (1938)
57. The Fox Hunt (1938)
58. Brave Little Tailor (1938)
59. Mickey’s Surprise Party (1939)
59. The Little Whirlwind (1941)
59. The Nifty Nineties (1941)
60. Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line (Comm.) (1942)
61. Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
62. First Aiders (1944)
63. Bath Day (1946)
64. Figaro and Frankie (1947)
65. Mickey’s Delayed Date (1947)
66. Pluto’s Sweater (1949)
67. Pluto and the Gopher (1950)
68. Crazy Over Daisy (cameo) (1950)
69. Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
70. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
71. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
72. Runaway Brain (1995)
73. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
74. Mickey, Donald, Goofy The Three Musketeers (2004)
75. Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Minnie Mouse also appeared in various television productions.
Picture Disney Cartoon Characters
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Smoking in Disney Classics
