Mickey Mouse was at his best in the 1930s.
There isn’t an animated character who is more recognized than Mickey Mouse. Created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928 after the loss of their first creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, he quickly became the mascot for Walt’s new company when he appeared in “Steamboat Willy”, one of the first shorts to use synchronized sound. For the rest of the 1920s, Iwerks animated several hilarious and innovative shorts, before leaving Disney in 1930.
Despite Iwerk’s departure, Mickey’s popularity skyrocketed in the 1930s, and dozens of shorts featuring him were released over the decade. Many of them continued to push the limits of what animation could do at the time and entertain thanks to their hilarious slapstick. Mickey also went through development as a character, shifting away from his original trickster, antihero archetype, into the lovable everyman he’s known as today.
10 ‘Giantland’
November 25, 1933
While looking after his many nieces and nephews, Mickey entertains them with the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk but inserts himself as the main character. After climbing the titular Beanstalk, Mickey finds himself in Giantland and sneaks into an oversized castle. Unfortunately, the giant who lives there comes home and, while making himself a snack, almost eats Mickey.
Giantland is the first of Mickey’s many confrontations with giants, and though it’s a bit light on story, it makes up for this with its creativity. There are a lot of funny gags to be found, from Mickey using oversized food to hide from the giant to a newspaper headline reading “Giant’s Win”. Things heat up during the climax, where Mickey finds himself in the giant’s mouth before using his own food against him in a race for freedom. Imagery and jokes from this short would be re-used in shorts like “Gulliver Mickey” and the film Fun and Fancy-Free.
9 ‘Mickey’s Rival’
June 20, 1936
While trying to enjoy a picnic with Minie, another mouse named Mortimer drives up and inserts himself into their evening. While Minnie is charmed by Mortimer’s playful attitude, Mickey finds himself the butt of the jokes. However, Mortimer takes things too far when he provokes a bull to impress Minnie, leaving it to Mickey to save the day.
Mickey’s Rival sees the debut of Mortimer Mouse, who would resurface as a recurring foil to Mickey in the 1990s and 2000s. He’s an effective enemy for Mickey, as his prankster nature mirrors Mickey’s early personality, which is funnier when you realize Walt originally wanted to name Mickey Mortimer before his wife convinced him otherwise. Besides Mortimer, the short has a lot of fun gags, including Mickey and Mortimer’s cars having a rivalry of their own, and the slapstick as Mickey tries to defeat the bull.
8 ‘Orphan’s Benefit’
August 11, 1934
Mickey operates a theater and hosts a benefit performance for some orphaned mice. The acts include Donald Duck reciting nursery rhymes, Goofy, Horace Horsecollar, and Clarabelle Cow dancing, and newcomer Clara Cluck singing. Unfortunately, the orphans prove to be more rowdy than expected, especially towards Donald.
Orphan’s Benefit contains a lot of firsts for Disney, such as the first appearance of Clara Cluck, and the first time Donald and Mickey starred together in a short, though Donald’s first appearance was actually in The Silly Symphonies short, The Little Red Hen. However, this short developed many of his defining character traits, and most of the humor comes from how he gets frustrated with the audience. In 1941, Orphan’s Benefit received a colored remake with updated character designs, and even became an internet meme thanks to a Kurdish fan dub.
7 ‘Magician Mickey’
February 6, 1937
With Goofy helping him behind the scenes, Mickey performs feats of magic for an adoring crowd. Unfortunately, one of his viewers is Donald Duck, who begins to heckle him. As his antics become more and more disruptive, Mickey decides to make him part of the act.
Magician Mickey is a humorous short that reminds audiences that, while Donald and Goofy might have been rising in popularity by this time, Mickey was still the star of Disney. Mickey is mostly silent throughout the short, which lets the animators (among them one of Disney’s Nine Old Men, Les Clark) have fun with his facial expressions as he grows frustrated with Donald before finding some humorous way to humiliate him. The magical gags are also very creative, ranging from bubbles that pop into lobsters, a hoop that turns Donald into various animals, and Donald spewing playing cards from his beak.
6 ‘Thru the Mirror’
May 30, 1936
After falling asleep reading Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, Mickey dreams of walking through his mirror and into a parallel world. He eats a magic walnut that shrinks him down, allowing him to dance with various appliances and playing cards. Unfortunately, Mickey finds himself in trouble when he dances with the Queen of Hearts, which enrages the King.
Thru the Mirror is one of the most surreal Disney shorts, which is very befitting for something based on the works of Lewis Carroll. It plays out more like a series of small gags, with Mickey interacting with one crazy thing after another, before building to a frantic climax as Mickey outruns the guards. Though a bit weak in the story, this makes for an unforgettable viewing experience, especially with how creative the short gets with depicting the anthropomorphic objects.
5 ‘Mickey’s Good Deed’
December 17, 1932
On Christmas Eve during the Great Depression, a homeless Mickey and Pluto try to earn some money for food by performing on the streets. As they pass by the house of a rich pig, he sends his butler to buy Pluto from Mickey, hoping that the dog will calm down his spoiled son. Mickey at first refuses the deal, but eventually relents when he sees a poor mother who can’t provide food or toys for her children.
“Mickey’s Good Deed” is one of the most heartwarming stories to come from Disney. It’s a straightforward tale about selflessness and helping those less fortunate than yourself in the holiday season, and its ending reinforces that one good deed always leads to another. It’s also a great short for showcasing Mickey’s transition during this period, as his earlier self likely wouldn’t have acted this selflessly.
4 ‘The Mad Doctor’
January 20, 1933
On a dark and stormy night, Mickey awakens to see Pluto kidnapped by a shadowy figure. The figure is a Mad Doctor who plans to splice Pluto with a chicken to see if a dog will hatch from any eggs he lays. To rescue him, Mickey must navigate the doctor’s gothic castle, past numerous traps and animated skeletons that seem to burst out from every nook and cranny.
The Mad Doctor was banned on release for being too scary, but since it entered the public domain, it has found new life among Disney fans for being so out of the norm for a Mickey Mouse story. It does a wonderful job building tension thanks to its creepy visuals and how palpable Mickey and Pluto’s fear feels. The Mad Doctor himself also makes for a terrific antagonist, with a constant manic smile and a design that has become the default image of a mad scientist.
3 ‘Lonesome Ghosts’
December 24, 1937
In this cartoon, released shortly after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy operate the Ajax Ghost Exterminators. They get a call to go and investigate an abandoned house, but the call is placed by four ghosts looking for someone to scare. Upon arriving, the trio split up to look for the ghosts, and each is subjected to numerous supernatural pranks.
Lonesome Ghosts is a fantastic short thanks to its impressive production design and hilarious slapstick. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy each get a chance to shine as characters and elicit many laughs as they’re put through the wringer by the ghosts, whose pranks range from creepy cackling to a mirror scene straight from the Marx Brothers. Its art style is also gorgeous, with the ghosts depicted with a transparent effect that makes them feel otherworldly, and the winter backdrop making the haunted house feel appropriately creepy.
2 ‘The Band Concert’
February 23, 1935
On a warm spring day, Mickey acts as a conductor for a concert band preparing to play William Tell Overture by Gioacchino Rossini. It starts well enough, but when Donald Duck arrives with snacks for the patrons, he jumps in with a flute and starts playing Turkey in the Straw. Mickey does what he can to get the band back on track, only for a storm to bring a tornado down upon the performance.
The Band Concert is regarded as one of the best of Disney’s classic cartoons for a good reason. It keeps the dialogue minimalistic, forcing the animators to go all in on the vibrant colors and facial expressions, especially for Mickey, who looks like he’s ready to kill Donald for interrupting his performance. The short is also well-paced, building up its jokes and pacing until it reaches a climax as Mickey and his band are swept up by the tornado but keep playing.
1 ‘The Brave Little Tailor’
September 23, 1938
When Mickey kills seven flies with one stroke, he brags about it to some townsfolk outside his shop. Because they were talking about a giant ravaging the countryside, they misunderstand Mickey’s brag to mean that he killed seven giants. Word of Mickey’s exploits eventually reaches the king, who offers Mickey riches and the hand of Princess Minnie in marriage if he can defeat the giant, which he reluctantly accepts.
The Brave Little Tailor is a phenomenal short from both a storytelling and animation standpoint. For the former, it’s the best example of Mickey’s transition into an underdog hero, establishing him as a humble everyman who, though reluctant at first, rises to face adversity and defeat the giant using his wits and his tailor skills instead of brute force. As for the animation, there are so many standout moments, such as Mickey’s expressive body language when talking to the King, and everything about the giant, animated by legendary animator Bill Tytla, who also animated Chernabog in Fantasia.
This article was originally published on collider.com