Mickey's Garden (1935)
Here's the last post in our short series dedicated to the unusual and "disturbing" Mickey Mouse cartoons from the mid-'30s. In case you missed the previous two entries, here are the links:
The Worm Turns
Pluto's Judgement Day
The subject of today's post is "Mickey's Garden", the second MM cartoon released in color (exactly on July 13th, 1935). As everybody knows, first color Mickey Mouse cartoon was the legendary masterpiece "The Band Concert", and both that cartoon and "Mickey's Garden" were directed by Wilfred Jackson.
I'm not sure if "Mickey's Garden" has been often shown on TV, and I certainly can't remember ever seeing it as the kid. "Mickey Mouse in Living Color" was my introduction to this cartoon, and it was in my opinion one of the greatest highlights and surprises of that entire DVD set.
Starting from 1932, Mickey Mouse cartoons began to deviate from the musical or purely gag-oriented cartoons and move towards the adventure stories. "Mickey's Garden" is a continuation of this direction, augmented with the strong dose of Disney-style surrealism. It's a beautifully animated and highly imaginative cartoon, with excellent design of various insect characters.
I wasn't able to find out more info about the animators who worked on this cartoon, and only Dick Huemer has been confirmed. However, another well known name is related to this cartoon: the in-betweening on "Mickey's Garden" was Ollie Johnston's first assignment at Disney. Johnston will quickly establish himself as one of Disney's principal animators.
Mickey gets high!
Labels: Disney, Mickey Mouse
6 Comments:
I do remember watching and loving this cartoon as a kid. I think I have it on VHS somewhere. Very entertaining.
6:33 am
I've always loved this period of Mickey cartoons(1935-1938) I think they were best cartoons Disney ever did.
3:20 pm
That last frame is quite bizarre.
3:26 pm
I just picked a few nits over at "Something Old, Nothing New" about arthropod anatomy. Though with this one, some bugs had too few legs, others had too many.
But a truly wonderful toon and that Praying Mantis creeps me out!
3:28 am
Andrea,
Nice screenshots.
DAMN, this was a disturbing short (and since it was the last cartoon on the American Here's Mickey VHS tape, It got to see it millions of times growing up). Seeing all the unnerving footage in this (potatoes with eyes, bugs sucking out the juices of a tomato, Mickey wrestling a beetle, and Pluto being swallowed by a lighning bug) traumatized me for life, and it's almost like a Famous Studios short in that regard.
12:09 am
Im an owner of a Pest Control Company and i love this cartoon i wish Disney had some prints of Mickey with his Duster!!
matt
10:17 pm
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