November 27, 2018

STEPHEN HILLENBURG DEAD AT 57



You can read the full story here.

He was best known for creating the long-running SpongeBob Squarepants franchise, which made sufficient use of his teaching background in marine biology. Beyond that, he also worked on fellow Nickelodeon shows Rugrats and Rocko’s Modern Life as a writer and storyboard artist.






November 24, 2018

THE VOICES OF MICKEY AND MINNIE

For Mickey's 90th anniversary, we present our infographic highlighting everyone who had ever voiced Mickey and his girl, Minnie, in shorts, films, television and more.


DISNEY'S HOUSE OF MOUSE

DISNEY’S HOUSE OF MOUSE
(ABC, Toon Disney, January 13, 2001-October 24, 2003)

Walt Disney Television Animation, Toon City Animation, Inc.




MAIN CAST:


For the history of Mickey Mouse, check out the post here.

Various characters flocking to the House of Mouse.

Disney’s House of Mouse was the new and improved version of Mickey Mouse Works. Developed by Roberts Gannaway and Tony Craig, the series was comprised of a collection of shorts like the previous show, however this time they were unified by being exhibited in a club, The House of Mouse, run by Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine). The House of Mouse was a trendy club frequented by characters from throughout the entire Disney library of film, shorts and comic characters (excluding live-action and CGI properties, although references and brief cameos were worked in for those). 


The staff takes a rare break: Mickey, Clarabelle, Donald, Daisy, Horace, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto.


Working with Mickey in the club was Minnie (Russi Taylor) as the club’s show planner and bookkeeper; Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo) as the deputy manager in charge of overall customer service; Daisy Duck (Tress MacNeille) as the reservation clerk; Goofy (Bill Farmer) as the head waiter; Pluto (Farmer) as Mickey and Minnie’s personal assistant, as well as the club’s mascot; Horace Horsecollar (Farmer) as the technical engineer; Clarabelle Cow (April Winchell) as the gossip monger who shared everyone’s secrets; Max Goof (Jason Marsden, reprising his role from the Goofy films) as the parking valet; Huey, Dewey and Louie (all Anselmo) as the house band usually employing different styles under different parody names (The Quackstreet Boys, Quackwork, Kid Duck, The Splashing Pumpkins); Gus Goose (Frank Welker) as the head chef who tended to indulge in as much as he made; Magic Mirror (Tony Jay) as the club’s on-site consultant who provided information and advice; and Mike (Rod Roddy), a talking microphone who served as the club’s announcer. Rounding out the staff were Penguin waiters (from Mary Poppins) and Magic Brooms (from Fantasia) as the custodial crew.


The crew confronts Pete and his latest scheme to shut them down.

Part of the entertainment at the club was the showcasing of the shorts. Employed were all but two of the shorts from Mouse Works, including a couple that never aired there, several classic shorts from the 40s and 50s (either in full or edited down for time), and a few all-new shorts created for the show. Framing their presentation were the adventures of Mickey and his friends as they ran into difficulties during the operation of the club, especially when those difficulties were caused by the club’s landlord, Pete (Jim Cummings), in an attempt to put it out of business. A running gag was that the Alley Cats from The Aristocats were always scheduled to be musical guests, but their act always ended up cancelled. Another running gag was the sponsorship of a particular episode by a fake Disney-related sponsor, such as “Long-term storage facilities for the House of Mouse have been provided by: Cave of Wonders”. Notably, the show was the final appearance of Pepper Ann and her mother (Winchell) from Pepper Ann, who had a cameo in the first episode. They were the only Walt Disney Television Animation characters to be featured.


Mickey introduces the next cartoon to the audience.

Disney’s House of Mouse debuted on ABC on January 13, 2001, the year of Walt Disney’s 100th birthday. It aired as part of the final season of Disney’s One Saturday Morning programming block before being dropped after the first two seasons aired. For its third season, it was moved to Toon Disney where it was shown sporadically, beginning with a nine-hour marathon. The series’ theme, “Rockin’ at the House of Mouse”, was composed and performed by Brian Setzer, with Stephen James Taylor providing the rest of the show’s music. The show was written by Gannaway, Kevin Campbell, Thomas Hart, Elizabeth Stonecipher, Henry Gilroy, Tracy Berna, Jess Winfield, Neil Alsip, Phil Walsh, Kevin Hopps, Jymn Magon, Rick Calabash, Mike Fontanelli, Bill Kopp, John Ludin, Jim Peterson, Steve Roberts, Randy Rogel, Cameron Selwood, Jan Strnad, Brian Swenlin and Gregg Taylor. It was animated by Toon City Animation, Inc. and rendered in a widescreen format (except for the classic shorts, which were shown in their original aspect ratios).


The villains take over.

House of Mouse aired in reruns on Disney Channel until 2006, and stayed on Toon Disney until it became Disney XD in 2009, marking the last time it was seen in United States broadcasts. During the show’s run, it was nominated for two Annie Awards, winning one, a Daytime Emmy Award that it won, and a Motion Picture Sound Editors award. Two direct-to-video movies were released spinning out of the show: Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, and Mickey’s House of Villains. The first dealt with the gang trying to keep the Christmas spirit alive while being stuck in the club, while the second had Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) leading a group of villains to take over the club for themselves. As with the show, both aired a combination of classic and more-recent shorts tying into the themes. Magical Christmas utilized scenes from House of Mouse episodes that had not yet aired, and parts of Villains were later reused for “House Ghosts”. 


Mickey catches Pete in a Kanga disguise.

Only the first episode of the series was released in its entirely as a bonus feature of Magical Christmas. Several of the shorts exclusive to House of Mouse and others from Mouse Works were made available in Europe on the DVD Mickey’s Laugh Factory in 2005. Another collection of 10 Donald Duck-based shorts from both shows were included as bonus features on The Chronological Donald, Volume 4 in 2008.




EPISODE GUIDE (* repeated from Mickey Mouseworks, ^ classic short):
Season 1:
“The Stolen Cartons / Pluto Gets the Paper: Wet Cement / Donald’s Dynamite: Magic Act* / Hickory Dickory Mickey” (1/13/01) – Pete steals all the cartoons, forcing Mickey to leave Donald in charge as he and Goofy head off to film a new one. / Pluto gets stuck in some wet cement while fetching Mickey’s paper. / Donald’s magic act is interrupted by a reappearing bomb. /

“Big Bad Wolf Daddy / Donald’s Charmed Date / Pluto gets the Paper: Mortimer* / How to be Groovy, Cool and Fly” (1/27/01) – Donald hires the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs to perform at the club. / Donald’s date with Daisy is fraught with bad luck. / Mortimer tries to steal Mickey’s paper. / Goofy tries to keep up with the times.

“The Three Caballeros / Donald’s Fish Fry* / How to be Smart” (2/3/01) – When people forget he’s a Caballero, Donald takes steps to make himself more memorable. / Humphrey goes to get a big fish for the winter and ends up taking the one Donald just caught. / After losing a gameshow, Goofy tries to increase his intelligence.

“Goofy’s Valentine Date / Donald’s Valentine Dollar* / Mickey to the Rescue: Staircase* / Pluto’s Arrow Error*” (2/10/01) – Minnie and Daisy set Goofy up on a blind date. / The only dollar Donald has for Daisy’s gift gets blown away. / Mickey has to traverse a dangerous stairway to rescue Minnie. / Pluto plans to use Cupid’s arrows to win back Dinah.

“Unplugged Club / Music Store Donald / Mickey’s Cabin*” (2/17/01) – Pete sabotages the club’s electricity. / Co-workers Pete and Donald compete to make the next sale in order to keep their jobs. / Mickey ends up trapped with Pete and Zeke after they stole an ATM.

“Timon and Pumbaa / Pluto’s Magic Paws* / Mickey to the Rescue: Cage and Cannons* / Golf Nut Donald” (3/3/01) – Timon and Pumbaa split after arguing about their act. / Mickey accidentally gets magic gloves from the drycleaner. / Mickey must rescue Mnnie from Pete’s funhouse. / Chip and Dale complicate Donald’s desire to win the big trophy at his golf club.

“Gone Goofy / Pit Crew / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Shark Feeding* / Donald’s Goofy World” (3/10/01) – Budget problems leads Donald to try and get Goofy fired as head waiter. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy serve as Pete’s pit crew…if they can ever get to the track. / Goofy heads out to feed the sharks. / Donald’s annoyance over Goofy’s goofiness leads to him having a dream where everyone is Goofy.

“Jiminy Cricket / Mickey’s Mistake* / Daisy’s Road Trip*” (3/10/01) – Mickey tries to repair the rift between Jiminy and Pinocchio, but Jiminy ends up becoming his conscience instead. / Mickey uses money he found to buy Minnie a gift, only to discover that money belonged to the orphans. / Daisy invites herself on Mickey and Minnie’s quiet sunset drive.

“Rent Day / Mickey’s Mountain* / Maestro Minnie: Circus Symphony / Big House Mickey” (3/17/01) – Mickey unwittingly spends the rent money on cheese. / Mickey races Pete up a mountain to win the rights to name it after Minnie. / Minnie’s instruments act like a group of circus animals. / Mortimer frames Mickey for burglary in order to get him locked up and kept away from his date with Minnie.

“Donald’s Lamp Trade / Survival of the Woodchucks* / Goofy’s Radio*” (3/24/01) – Jafar offers to make Donald the club’s owner in exchange for Aladdin’s lamp. / Donald’s nephews discover he never finished a required Junior Woodchuck survival course. / Goofy decides to relax in the park with a radio.

“Donald’s Pumbaa Prank / Mickey’s April Fools / Whitewater Donald*” (3/31/01) – Mickey plays a prank on Donald and Pete encourages Donald to retaliate. / Mickey engages in a war of pranks with Mortimer on April Fool’s Day. / Daisy thinks Donald is taking her on a romantic date when he’s actually taking her fishing.

“Thanks to Minnie / Minnie Visits Daisy* / Mickey’s Big Break*” (4/7/01) – A rumor causes Minnie to feel unappreciated and quit her job. / Minnie brings a pie to Daisy but can’t seem to get her attention. / Mickey and Donald have to replace a picture they broke while playing football indoors.

“Pluto Saves the Day / Goofy’s Big Kitty* / Pluto’s Kittens*” (4/14/01) – Pete uses magic sleeping apples to put everyone in the club to sleep. / Goofy gets a new kitty at the same time a lion escapes from the zoo. / Pluto rescues three abandoned kittens and tries to hide them from Mickey.

Season 2:
“Disney’s Debut / Daisy’s Big Sale / Topsy Turvy Town*” (9/22/01) – Minnie feels left out when Daisy gets to perform a duet with Mickey. / Daisy gets Minnie to help her with her new hair bow business. / Mickey and Minnie accidentally break Topsy Turvy Town’s strange laws and end up imprisoned.

“Goofy for a Day / How to be a Waiter* / Maestro Minnie: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6* / Donald’s Dinner Date*” (9/29/01) – Goofy challenges Max to do his job when Max doubts its importance. / Tired of being a waiter, Goofy sets out to become a film star. / Minnie and the instruments disagree over the kind of music they want to play. / Donald has to hold his temper on his date with Daisy.

“Clarabelle’s Big Secret / How to be a Spy* / Double Date Don” (10/6/01) – When everyone tells Clarabelle they’re tired of her old gossip, she promises to reveal something big about someone. / Goofy gets a mail-order spy kit to find out what his neighbors are up to. / Donald just wants to build Daisy a wall, but Clara Cluck wants Donald.

“The Mouse Who Came to Dinner / Mickey’s Mix-Up* / Maestro Minnie: Flight of the Bumble Bee* / Donald’s Grizzly Guest*” (10/13/01) – The gang mistakes Mortimer for an important restaurant critic. / Mickey sends faxes to Minnie and Mortimer but is afraid he got them mixed up. / Minnie’s orchestrations are interrupted by a bumblebee.

“Max’s New Car / Mickey’s New Car* / Car Washers* / Motor Mania^” (11/3/01) – Max is told he’s not ready for his own car, so he takes a living one from one of the cartoons. / Mickey’s new car is too advanced for his own good. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy’s first customer is Pete, whose car goes through a destructive washing machine. / Everyman Goofy becomes a maniac when he gets behind the wheel.

“Not So Goofy / Roller Coaster Painters* / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Wakeboarding* / How to Wash Dishes*” (11/10/01) – The gang tries to teach Goofy to be more graceful. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy compete to paint the most of a rollercoaster for a free lifetime pass to the park. / Goofy wipes out as he tries some wakeboard stunts. / Goofy goes traveling and makes liberal use of his credit card.

“Everybody Loves Mickey / Mickey’s Rival Returns* / Mickey to the Rescue: Train Tracks* / Donald’s Failed Fourth*” (11/17/01) – Donald’s jealousy of Mickey leads him to become allies with Mortimer. / Mickey’s good day is ruined by the appearance of Mortimer Mouse. / Mickey must rescue Minnie from an approaching train. / Donald finds difficulty in setting up for a romantic fireworks viewing with Daisy.

“Max’s Embarrassing Date / Pluto’s Penthouse Sweet* / How to Ride a Bicycle*” (1/19/02) – Everyone at the club tries to help Max’s date with Roxanne go well by keeping Goofy away. / A lonely Pluto sets his sights on a dog that resides in a skyscraper penthouse. / Goofy learns how to ride a bike to feed his desire to compete.

“Where’s Minnie? / Mickey and the Color Caper / Donald’s Pool*” (1/26/02) – When Minnie goes to find a present for Mickey, everyone believes she’s disappeared and starts searching for her. / The Phantom Blot seeks to steal the world’s color to become The Phantom Rainbow. / Donald’s relaxing day at the pool is interrupted by Mrs. Turtle and Shelby.

“Super Goof / How to Take Care of Your Yard* / Locksmiths*” (2/2/02) – Contaminated peanuts turn Goofy into a superhero just in time to save the club from a meteor. / Goofy learns yard care for every season. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy are bumbling locksmiths.

“King Larry Swings In / Mickey and the Seal^ / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Paracycling* / How to be a Gentleman*” (2/16/02) – King Larry visits the club and ends up causing a mess. / After a visit to the zoo, a little seal follows Mickey home by hiding in his picnic basket. / Goofy demonstrates paracycling off of a cliff. / Goofy learns manners in order to join a ritzy country club.

“Ladies’ Night / Purple Pluto* / Daisy Bothers Minnie* / Maestro Minnie: William Tell Overture*” (2/23/02) – The ladies are put in charge of the club for a night, and Mortimer tries to convince the guys that they’re doing a poor job. / While prepping Pluto for a dog show Minnie accidentally dyes him purple. / Minnie’s quiet evening is interrupted when Daisy wants to hang out. / Minnie’s orchestral duties are put on hold due to a runaway trumpet.

“Dennis the Duck / The Whoopee Party^ / Pioneer Days^ / Mickey and the Goat Man” (5/18/02) – Black and White Day at the club finds Dennis the duck trying to win over Donald, who finds him annoying. / Mickey and Minnie throw a party for all of their friends. / Mickey and Minnie are captured by Indians until Minnie escapes and rescues him. / Mickey, Minnie and Mortimer are kidnapped by the mysterious Goat Man.

Season 3:
“Suddenly Hades / Donald’s Pool* / Donald’s Lighthouse*” (9/2/02) – Pete breaks the club’s A/C, running off all the guests except Hades. / Donald’s relaxing day at the pool is interrupted by Mrs. Turtle and Shelby. / Donald attempts to get rid of a stubborn pelican.

“Pete’s One-Man Show / Pinball Mickey / Von Drake’s House of Genius: Time Reverser* / Housesitters” (9/2/02) – Pete agrees to be nicer if Mickey lets him perform, however nobody comes to his show. / Mickey gets so into a pinball game his imagination begins to make it seem real. / Von Drake’s time machine ends up landing him in some trouble. / While housesitting at a farm, Mickey, Donald and Goofy get into a fight with Pete over the use of the outhouse.

“House of Crime / Mickey Foils the Phantom Blot* / Von Drake’s House of Genius: Teledinger*” (9/2/02) – Mickey investigates a rash of thefts and disappearances at the club. / Von Drake’s mysterious package is stolen from Mickey, Donald and Goofy by the Phantom Blot. / Von Drake unwittingly invents…the telephone?

“Mickey and Minnie’s Big Vacation / Around the World in 80 Days* / Donald’s Dynamite: Fishing*” (9/2/02) – Mickey and Minnie head off on vacation, leaving Donald and Daisy in charge. / Mickey has to travel around the world in 80 days to get his inheritance and save an orphanage.
/ While fishing, Donald reels in a bomb.

“Donald and the Aracuan Bird / Pluto vs. the Watchdog* / Bird Brained Donald*” (9/2/02) – Donald isn’t too happy about the Aracuan bird being the club’s special guest. / Mickey gets a new watchdog, which plays perfectly into Pete’s plans. / Donald attempts to get a picture of the Aracuan Bird.

“Goofy’s Menu Magic / Sandwich Makers* / Mickey Tries to Cook* / Pluto Gets the Paper: Bubble Gum*” (9/2/02) – Goofy’s covering for Gus is a disaster until he finds the Fairy Godmother’s wand amongst the dirty dishes. / Goofy’s management of a sandwich shop makes him mad with power. / Mickey tries to cook to win back Minnie’s affections. / Pluto battles with a piece of gum for the newspaper.

“Music Day / Symphony Hour^ / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe* / How to be a Rock Star / Donald’s Rocket Ruckus*” (9/2/02) – Mickey, Donald and Goofy try to reunite Huey, Dewey and Louie in time for their band’s performance at the club. / Goofy drops the orchestra’s instruments down an elevator shaft just before their performance. / Goofy tries to become a rock star. / Donald tries to prevent his nephews from riding the best ride at the park.

“House of Scrooge / A Midsummer Night’s Dream* / Von Drake’s House of Genius: Money Increaser*” (9/2/02) – Scrooge buys the club and begins making changes to increase its profit. / The mice and ducks deal with mismatched lovers and a love potion. / Von Drake’s new invention was meant to quell poverty, but ends up getting him busted.

“Donald Wants to Fly / Mickey’s Airplane Kit* / Mickey and the Seagull*” (9/2/02) – Various characters attempt to help Donald achieve his dream of flying. / Mickey rushes to assemble his airplane kit for his date with Minnie. / Mickey is assigned a replacement seagull after his regular one is injured.

“Dining Goofy / Answering Service* / Von Drake’s House of Genius: Remote Controlled Laser Lawnmower* / computer.don*” (9/2/02) – Goofy attempts to help the other staff when technologically-advanced penguins take over his duties. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy start a telephone answering service. / Von Drake’s latest invention goes out of control.

“Chip ‘n’ Dale / Up a Tree^ / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Rock Climbing* / Two Chips and a Miss^” (9/2/02) – Donald tries to keep Chip and Dale from stealing all the club’s nuts but gets blamed for the theft himself. / Chip and Dale try to save their tree home from lumberjack Donald. / Goofy’s goofiness adds a challenge to rock climbing. / Chip and Dale both unknowingly have a date with the same girl.

“Humphrey in the House / Hot Tub Humphrey / Beezy Bear^” (9/2/02) – When the club covers the Magic Brooms’ vacation with the Brownstone Park Bears, Humphrey helps himself to their food. / With the river too cold for a bath, Humphrey plots to get into Ranger Woodlore’s hot tub. / Humphrey keeps going after Donald’s honeycombs.

“Ask Von Drake / Hydrosquirter* / Relaxing with Von Drake*” (9/2/02) – Mickey tries to prove Von Drake wrong when he claims to know everything. / Fixing his shower leads Von Drake to accidentally make it a teleporter. / Von Drake uses Donald to demonstrate various methods of stress management.

“Salute to Sports / How to Be a Baseball Fan* / Goofy Gymnastics^” (9/2/02) – Goofy fudges the national anthem while Donald tries to keep his temper in check and prove he’s a good sport. / Goofy takes a break from sports to be a fan. / Tired of being tired, Goofy decides to buy a home gym and get fit.

“Pluto vs. Figaro / Pluto Runs Away* / Donald and the Big Nut* / Pluto Gets the Paper: Street Cleaner*” (9/2/02) – Minnie hires Figaro to take some of the workload off of Pluto and it doesn’t end well. / Pluto runs away after Mickey disciplines him for digging up the yard. / Donald has to defend his giant nut from Chip and Dale so that he can enter it into competitions. / Fetching the newspaper leads Pluto to be sucked up by a street cleaner.

“House of Magic / Presto Pluto* / Donald’s Dynamite: Bowling Alley* / Babysitters” (9/2/02) – When Daisy’s magic act makes EVERYTHING disappear, Mickey is forced to turn to Jafar to get it all back. / Pluto swallows a magic wand while competing for Dinah’s affections. / Donald’s bowling ball ends up being a bomb. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy are tasked by the sick Mother Time to take care of Baby New Year…once they find him.

“Mickey vs. Shelby / Donald’s Shell Shots* / Domesticated Donald*” (9/2/02) – Mickey babysits Shelby and discovers what a handful he is. / Donald is hired to take a photo of the uncooperative turtle, Shelby. / Donald has to babysit Shelby.

“House of Turkey / Turkey Catchers* / Mickey’s Mixed Nuts*” (9/2/03) – Everyone eagerly awaits Mr. Turkey’s arrival as the literal dinner guest. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy start a turkey catching business but end up befriending their prey. / Mickey competes with Chip and Dale to get a store’s last batch of nuts.

“Pete’s Christmas Caper / The Nutcracker* / Donald’s Dynamite: Snowman*” (12/2/02) – Pete volunteers to play Santa at the party in order to steal all the gifts. / Minnie’s nutcracker doll turns into a handsome prince in order to rescue her from the Mouse King. / Donald discovers his snowman’s head is a bomb.

“Clarabelle’s Christmas List / Donald on Ice* / Mickey’s Christmas Crisis*” (12/2/02) – Clarabelle gets her hands onto Santa’s list and adds anyone who tries to look at it to the “naughty” side. / Donald accidentally destroys the snowman his nephews were building for a contest. / Mickey and Mortimer compete for a house decorating contest.

“Snow Day / Pluto’s Seal Deal* / Mickey’s Remedy* / Donald’s Dynamite: Snowman*” (12/14/02) – Salty the Seal is the only guest at the club during a raging snowstorm. / Pluto must guard Mickey’s package, which mistakenly ends up being a live seal. / Donald lets Mickey try watching his nephews. / Donald discovers his snowman’s head is a bomb.

“Pete’s House of Villains / Li’l Bad Wolf / Donald’s Dynamite: Opera Box* / Organ Donors*” (3/2/03) – Mickey lets Pete and other villains run the club to show them how difficult it really is. / Big Bad Wolf tries to teach his son how to catch pigs. / A night at the opera is interrupted when Donald finds a bomb in Daisy’s purse. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy’s organ delivery ends up becoming far too literal for their liking.

“Halloween With Hades / How to Camp / Donald’s Halloween Scare*” (10/3/03) – Mickey tries to help Hades and Maleficent come together. / Goofy’s adventure in camping leads to his being abducted by aliens. / When Donald scares his nephews to get their candy, they plot their revenge.

“House Ghosts / Hansel and Gretel* / Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship* / How to Haunt a House*” (10/10/03) – Donald sets out to win the costume contest while Pete unleashes ghosts on the club to scare everyone off. / Mickey and Minnie encounter an old witch in the woods. / Fetching the paper leads Pluto to be abducted by aliens. / Goofy plays a ghost tasked with scaring Donald.

“House of Genius / Futuremania / Mickey’s Mechanical House*” (10/17/03) – Von Drake replaces the staff with more efficient robotic versions. / Von Drake invites Mickey, Donald and Goofy to test out his new device that lets people see into the future. / Mickey buys a new house that can run itself.

“Mickey and the Culture Clash / Mickey’s Piano Lesson* / Dance of the Goofys* / Maestro Minnie: Brahms’ Lullabye*” (10/24/03) – Mickey thinks Minnie wants a more sophisticated boyfriend. / Minnie signs herself and Mickey up for a piano recital that Mickey doesn’t believe he needs to practice for. / The head Goofy Fairy is captured by a young boy with ambitions to be a mad scientist. / Minnie dozes off while conducting her favorite lullaby.

Films:
“Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse” (11/6/01) – The staff tries to get Donald into the Christmas spirit while they’re stuck at the club.
Shorts: Donald on Ice*, Pluto’s Christmas Tree^, Mickey’s Christmas Chaos*, The Nutcracker*, Mickey’s Christmas Carol^

“Mickey’s House of Villains” (9/3/02) – The villains take over the club.
Shorts: Trick or Treat*, Mickey’s Mechanical House*, How to Haunt a House*, Lonesome Ghosts^, Dance of the Goofys*, Donald Duck and the Gorilla^, Donald’s Halloween Scare*, Hansel and Gretel*

DISNEY'S MICKEY MOUSE WORKS

DISNEY’S MICKEY MOUSE WORKS
(ABC, May 1, 1999-December 16, 2000)

Walt Disney Television Animation, Toon City Animation, Inc.




MAIN CAST:
Wayne Allwine & Quinton Flynn (several episodes) – Mickey Mouse
Tress MacNeille – Daisy Duck, Chip


For the history of Mickey Mouse, check out the post here.

Promo image for "Roller Coaster Painters".

Feeling Disney had begun to lose touch with its characters and the traditions that built it, Roberts Gannaway and Tony Craig pitched a new series to the studio designed to recapture the feel of its golden days of animated theatrical shorts.


Ludwig invents money!

Disney’s Mickey Mouse Works was Mickey’s (Wayne Allwine, with Quinton Flynn covering in several episodes) first time being the subject of short films since 1953; although he had appeared in full-length features in the interim. The series was built around being an eclectic collection of short stories of varying length utilizing a simple color palette and the studio’s original sound effects from its Golden Age. Gannaway and Craig’s long-term ambition for the series was to reinvigorate the concept of the theatrical short, using these shorts to air before Disney features once they had finished their network run. Allwine, the official voice of Mickey, was looking forward to playing the character closer to the mischievous and cunning version he had once been as opposed to the white-bread, goody goody corporate mascot he had become.


Minnie being startled by an unruly trumpet.

The majority of the skits involved individual characters from Mickey’s universe, including new characters Mrs. Turtle (Estelle Harris) and her son, Baby Shelby (Jeff Bennett). A recurring series would feature Mickey, Donald (Tony Anselmo) and Goofy (Bill Farmer) running some kind of specialized business; often with disastrous results. There were also several recurring 90-second gag segments marked with umbrella titles: Mickey to the Rescue, which showed Mickey rescuing Minnie (Russi Taylor) from the sinister machinations of his arch-rival, Pete (Jim Cummings); Maestro Minnie, which had Minnie trying to conduct an orchestra of sentient instruments as an homage to the Silly Symphonies series; Goofy’s Extreme Sports had Goofy showing off various sports to the words of an unseen narrator (Corey Burton); Donald’s Dynamite saw the hapless duck always ending up with a bomb he had to get rid of safely; Von Drake’s House of Genius explored the many inventions of Ludwig Von Drake (Burton); and Pluto Gets the Paper followed the misadventures of Pluto (Farmer) as he tried to retrieve a newspaper for Mickey. Goofy also starred in a segment of “How to” shorts with the narrator explaining to him how to preform his given tasks; an homage to the series of theatrical shorts that began with 1940’s Goofy’s Glider.


Pluto battles some sticky gum for Mickey's paper.

Disney’s Mickey Mouse Works debuted on ABC on May 1, 1999 as part of the Disney’s One Saturday Morning programming block. Each episode’s intro ended with Donald attempting to steal the spotlight in different ways and usually ending up being punished somehow for it (such as riding in on an elephant that ends up sitting on him, or opening an umbrella with his starring credit written on it only to be struck by lightning, etc.). These gags were removed for the broadcasts in Finland where the show was called Akun Tehdas (Donald’s Factory), due to Donald’s popularity in the country. The series was written by Gannaway and Craig, along with Tracy Berna, Kevin Campbell, Thomas Hart, Elizabeth Stonecipher, Jess Winfield, Steve Roberts and Rick Calabash. Stephen James Taylor composed the series’ music, and Toon City Animation, Inc. handled the animation duties.


Minnie held captive by Pete and awaiting Mickey's rescue.

Mouse Works ran for two seasons, receiving nominations for three Annie Awards, three Daytime Emmy Awards, winning two, and three Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards, also winning two. Despite that, and the high quality of the production, the series failed to draw a significant audience. Gannaway and Craig ended the series in order to retool and revamp it with a unifying feature, debuting Disney’s House of Mouse that January. House of Mouse would go on to reuse all of the shorts produced for Mouse Works, save “Minnie Takes Care of Pluto” and “Pluto Gets the Paper: Vending Machine” due to their violent content (which also got them banned from ABC after their initial airings, although were still seen in international broadcasts). 


Goofy prepares to tackle an EXTREEEEEEEEEME ramp.

Even though Gannaway and Craig’s grand plan of reviving the theatrical short didn’t come to fruition, three of the gag segments were shown in theaters: “Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe” with I’ll Be Home For Christmas and Mighty Joe Young; “Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship” with My Favorite Martian; and “Donald’s Dynamite: Opera Box” with Doug’s 1st Movie. Some of the shorts were used before and after Toon Disney’s Big Movie Show on weekdays, maintaining the Mouse Works closing credits. 


Some days Donald just can't get rid of a bomb.

Several of the shorts from Mouse Works and exclusively from House of Mouse had been made available in Europe on the DVD Mickey’s Laugh Factory in 2005. “Around the World in Eighty Days” and “Mickey’s Mechanical House” were included in Disney’s Learning Adventures: Mickey’s Seeing the World. Another collection of 10 Donald Duck-based shorts from both shows were included as bonus features on The Chronological Donald, Volume 4 in 2008.





EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Mickey to the Rescue: Train Tracks / How to be a Waiter / Maestro Minni: William Tell Overture / Donald’s Failed Fourth / Roller Coaster Painters” (5/1/99) – Mickey must rescue Minnie from an approaching train. / Tired of being a waiter, Goofy sets out to become a film star. / Minnie’s orchestral duties are put on hold due to a runaway trumpet. / Donald finds difficulty in setting up for a romantic fireworks viewing with Daisy. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy compete to paint the most of a rollercoaster for a free lifetime pass to the park.
 
“Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe / Mickey’s New Car / Pluto’s Penthouse Sweet / Donald’s Shell Shots” (5/8/99) – Goofy demonstrates rollerblading. / Mickey’s new car is too advanced for his own good. / A lonely Pluto sets his sights on a dog that resides in a skyscraper penthouse. / Donald is hired to take a photo of the uncooperative turtle, Shelby.
 
“Donald’s Dynamite: Bowling Alley / Mickey’s Airplane Kit / Von Drake’s House of Genius: Time Reverser / Turkey Catchers / Dance of the Goofys” (5/15/99) – Donald’s bowling ball ends up being a bomb. / Mickey rushes to assemble his airplane kit for his date with Minnie. / Von Drake’s time machine ends up landing him in some trouble. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy start a turkey catching business but end up befriending their prey. / The head Goofy Fairy is captured by a young boy with ambitions to be a mad scientist.
 
“Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship / Donald’s Rocket Ruckus / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Paracycling / Organ Donors / Mickey’s Mistake” (5/22/99) – Fetching the paper leads Pluto to be abducted by aliens. / Donald tries to prevent his nephews from riding the best ride at the park. / Goofy demonstrates paracycling off of a cliff. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy’s organ delivery ends up becoming far too literal for their liking. / Mickey uses money he found to buy Minnie a gift, only to discover that money belonged to the orphans.
 
“Maestro Minnie: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 / How to be A Spy / Donald’s Valentine Dollar / Pluto’s Kittens” (5/29/99) – Minnie and the instruments disagree over the kind of music they want to play. / Goofy gets a mail-order spy kit to find out what his neighbors are up to. / The only dollar Donald has for Daisy’s gift gets blown away. / Pluto rescues three abandoned kittens and tries to hide them from Mickey.
 
“Von Drake’s House of Genius: Remote Controlled Laser Lawn Mower / Pluto vs. the Watchdog / Donald’s Dynamite: Opera Box / Around the World in Eighty Days” (6/5/99) – Von Drake’s latest invention goes out of control. / Mickey gets a new watchdog, which plays perfectly into Pete’s plans. / A night at the opera is interrupted when Donald finds a bomb in Daisy’s purse. / Mickey has to travel around the world in 80 days to get his inheritance and save an orphanage.
 
“Donald’s Dynamite: Fishing / Purple Pluto / Von Drake’s House of Genius: Money Increaser / Sandwich Makers / Pluto’s Arrow Error” (6/12/99) – While fishing, Donald reels in a bomb. / While prepping Pluto for a dog show Minnie accidentally dyes him purple. / Von Drake’s new invention was meant to quell poverty, but ends up getting him busted. / Goofy’s management of a sandwich shop makes him mad with power. / Pluto plans to use Cupid’s arrows to win back Dinah.
 
“Mickey to the Rescue: Staircase / Pluto Runs Away / Daisy Bothers Minnie / How to Ride a Bicycle” (6/19/99) – Mickey has to traverse a dangerous stairway to rescue Minnie. / Pluto runs away after Mickey disciplines him for digging up the yard. / Minnie’s quiet evening is interrupted when Daisy wants to hang out. / Goofy learns how to ride a bike to feed his desire to compete.
 
“Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Rock Climbing / Hansel and Gretel / Donald On Ice / Mickey’s Mechanical House” (9/11/99) – Goofy’s goofiness adds a challenge to rock climbing. / Mickey and Minnie encounter an old witch in the woods. / Donald accidentally destroys the snowman his nephews were building for a contest. / Mickey buys a new house that can run itself.
 
“Pluto Gets the Paper: Street Cleaner / Donald’s Dinner Date / Maestro Minnie: Brahms Lullabye / Hydro Squirter / Mickey’s Piano Lesson” (9/18/99) – Fetching the newspaper leads Pluto to be sucked up by a street cleaner. / Donald has to hold his temper on his date with Daisy. / Minnie dozes off while conducting her favorite lullaby. / Fixing his shower leads Von Drake to accidentally make it a teleporter. / Minnie signs herself and Mickey up for a piano recital that Mickey doesn’t believe he needs to practice for.
 
“Mickey to the Rescue: Cage and Cannons / Mickey’s Remedy / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Wakeboarding / A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (9/25/99) – Mickey must rescue Mnnie from Pete’s funhouse. / Donald lets Mickey try watching his nephews. / Goofy wipes out as he tries some wakeboard stunts. / The mice and ducks deal with mismatched lovers and a love potion.
 
“Pluto Gets the Paper: Bubble Gum / Mickey Tries to Cook / Donald and the Big Nut / Topsy Turvy Town” (10/2/99) – Pluto battles with a piece of gum for the newspaper. / Mickey tries to cook to win back Minnie’s affections. / Donald has to defend his giant nut from Chip and Dale so that he can enter it into competitions. / Mickey and Minnie accidentally break Topsy Turvy Town’s strange laws and end up imprisoned.
 
“Von Drake’s House of Genius: Teledinger / How to Haunt a House / Maestro Minnie: Flight of the Bumblebee / The Nutcracker” (10/30/99) – Von Drake unwittingly invents…the telephone? / Goofy plays a ghost tasked with scaring Donald. / Minnie’s orchestrations are interrupted by a bumblebee. / Minnie’s nutcracker doll turns into a handsome prince in order to rescue her from the Mouse King.
 
Season 2:
“Pluto gets the Paper: Vending Machine / Donald’s Grizzly Guest / Donald’s Dynamite: Snowman / Mickey Foils the Phantom Blot” (11/6/99) – Pluto tries to get the paper out of a vending machine. / The rainy seasons drives Humphrey the Bear from his leaky cave to Donald’s house. / Donald discovers his snowman’s head is a bomb. / Von Drake’s mysterious package is stolen from Mickey, Donald and Goofy by the Phantom Blot.
 
“Daisy’s Road Trip / Goofy’s Big Kitty / Relaxing with Von Drake” (12/4/99) – Daisy invites herself on Mickey and Minnie’s quiet sunset drive. / Goofy gets a new kitty at the same time a lion escapes from the zoo. / Von Drake uses Donald to demonstrate various methods of stress management.
 
“How to be a Baseball Fan / Locksmiths / Minnie takes Care of Pluto” (1/22/00) – Goofy takes a break from sports to be a fan. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy are bumbling locksmiths. / An abrupt drop-off at Minnie’s leads Pluto to believe she’s out to get him.
 
“Donald’s Dynamite: Magic Act / Survival of the Woodchucks / Mickey’s Rival Returns / Mickey and the Seagull” (2/19/00) – Donald’s magic act is interrupted by a reappearing bomb. / Donald’s nephews discover he never finished a required Junior Woodchuck survival course. / Mickey’s good day is ruined by the appearance of Mortimer Mouse. / Mickey is assigned a replacement seagull after his regular one is injured.
 
“Goofy’s Radio / Car Washers / Pluto’s Seal Deal” (3/11/00) – Goofy decides to relax in the park with a radio. / Mickey, Donald and Goofy’s first customer is Pete, whose car goes through a destructive washing machine. / Pluto must guard Mickey’s package, which mistakenly ends up being a live seal.
 
“Mickey’s Mixed Nuts / Goofy’s Extreme Sports: Shark Feeding / Mickey’s Mountain / computer.don” (4/15/00) – Mickey competes with Chip and Dale to get a store’s last batch of nuts. / Goofy heads out to feed the sharks. / Mickey races Pete up a mountain to win the rights to name it after Minnie. / Daisy convinces Donald to buy his first computer.
 
“Donald’s Halloween Scare / Donald’s Lighthouse / How to Take Care of Your Yard” (5/20/00) – When Donald scares his nephews to get their candy, they plot their revenge. / Donald attempts to get rid of a stubborn pelican. / Goofy learns yard care for every season.
 
“Pluto Gets the Paper: Mortimer / Minnie Visits Daisy / How to Wash Dishes / Domesticated Donald” (6/10/00) – Mortimer tries to steal Mickey’s paper. / Minnie brings a pie to Daisy but can’t seem to get her attention. / Goofy goes traveling and makes liberal use of his credit card. / Donald has to babysit Shelby.
 
“Mickey’s Mix-Up / Whitewater Donald / Mickey’s Christmas Chaos” (9/16/00) – Mickey sends faxes to Minnie and Mortimer but is afraid he got them mixed up. / Daisy thinks Donald is taking her on a romantic date when he’s actually taking her fishing. / Mickey and Mortimer compete for a house decorating contest.
 
“Donald’s Fish Fry / Presto Pluto / Mickey’s Cabin” (10/21/00) – Humphrey goes to get a big fish for the winter and ends up taking the one Donald just caught. / Pluto swallows a magic wand while competing for Dinah’s affections. / Mickey ends up trapped with Pete and Zeke after they stole an ATM.
 
“Pluto Gets the Paper: Vending Machine* / Mickey’s Answering Service / Pluto’s Magic Paws / Mickey’s Big Break” (11/18/00) – Mickey, Donald and Goofy start a telephone answering service. / Mickey accidentally gets magic gloves from the drycleaner. / Mickey and Donald have to replace a picture they broke while playing football indoors.
*Repeat
 
“Bird Brained Donald / How to be a Gentleman / Donald’s Pool” (12/16/00) – Donald attempts to get a picture of the Aracuan Bird. / Goofy learns manners in order to join a ritzy country club. / Donald’s relaxing day at the pool is interrupted by Mrs. Turtle and Shelby.

THE HISTORY OF MICKEY MOUSE




            In 1927, Walt Disney had a hit with the creation of the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was one of the first cartoon characters to have a personality not only displayed by his dialogue, but through his every motion in what would be called “personality animation”. But, instead of getting a budget infusion, producer Charles Mintz wanted Disney to take a pay cut. And, at the same time, he was scalping most of the members of Disney’s studio to form his own. Since Oswald was owned by Mintz’s distributor, Universal Studios, Disney was forced to leave him behind when he and those still loyal to him quit.

Mickey takes Minnie flying in Plane Crazy/

            Disney realized he needed a new character, as well as to retain the rights of any character created by his studio. After some trial and error with various animal characters, Disney and animator Ub Iwerks finally found their character: a mouse. They named him Mortimer, but Disney’s wife Lillian convinced them to change it to Mickey (Mortimer would be reused later for one of Mickey’s rivals beginning in 1936). Mickey resembled Oswald, except for the nose, ears and tail. Iwerks designed Mickey’s body entirely out of circles to make him easier to animate. His ears were initially animated with a realistic perspective, but it was decided to have them always appear circular no matter which way he faced to keep him instantly recognizable (which proved problematic for merchandisers when they had to create a 3D model of the character). Mickey was also given four fingers on each hand to both make them seem less cluttered and to save money on having to animate an extra finger in the 45,000 drawings it took to make a 6 ½ minute short. Eventually, Mickey was also given white gloves to contrast his hands against his body.

The rivalry between Mickey and Pete begins in Steamboat Willie.



            Mickey’s first short was Plane Crazy in 1928. It was a silent film that also introduced Mickey’s long-time girlfriend, Minnie, and the prototype for what would become Clarabelle Cow. It was produced in just two weeks with Iwerks being the sole animator drawing at a rate of 700 drawings a day. Although it was shown to a test audience that May, it failed to pick up a distributor. Mickey and Minnie’s official debuts came in the next short, Steamboat Willie, which also introduced Mickey’s chief rival, Pete. It was distributed by Celebrity Productions on November 18 and became the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound, which included character sounds and a musical score arranged by Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis. Disney realized synchronized sound would be the future of film, and it was proven as it became the most popular cartoon of the day. Plane Crazy had sound added to it and would become the fourth Mickey short released.

Mickey's 5th comic strip, part of an adaptation of Plane Crazy.

            Mickey’s popularity began to grow as he appeared in more shorts, voiced by Disney himself until 1947, newspaper comic strips and in comic books (such as the long-running Italian Topolino). Characters were gradually added to his universe, including Horace Horsecollar (The Plow Boy, 1929), his dog, Pluto (a prototype in 1930’s The Chain Gang, as Minnie’s dog in in The Picnic, and finally as Mickey’s in 1931’s The Moose Hunt), Goofy (as Dippy Dawg in 1932’s Mickey’s Revue), Mickey’s nephews in 1934’s Mickey’s Steam Roller, and Clara Cluck and the introduction of Donald Duck to the Mickey universe in Orphan’s Benefit. By 1935, the Mickey series went to color beginning with The Band Concert (however, he was first colorized in 1932’s Parade of the Award Nominees which was made by Disney Studios for the 5th Academy Awards). In 1938, animator Fred Moore gave Mickey a redesign, changing his body to have more of a pear-shape, his face a Caucasian tone instead of pure white, and shrank his eyes so that the black at the top of his face became akin to a hairline rather than an eyeline. Mickey’s popularity experienced a slump after 1940, but kept appearing in shorts until 1953’s The Simple Things.

The core Disney gang: Daisy, Pluto, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and Donald.

            In 1954, Mickey made the transition to television as part of Walt Disney’s Disneyland anthology series, and then the following year with The Mickey Mouse Club where Disney resumed voicing the character. This saw a resurgence in his popularity, especially as his classic shorts were released to air on television. In the years that followed, Mickey appeared in feature films and television programs, as well as made cameos in various Disney productions. He became the mascot of the Walt Disney Company, which led to the alteration of his personality from a cheeky, lovable rogue into more of an all-around nice guy. This squeaky-clean version of Mickey would remain until 2009, when Disney decided to try and rebrand the character by bringing back some of his original mischievous side beginning with 2010’s Epic Mickey.

Mickey and his friends enter the third dimension.

            Despite Mickey’s role with the company and his endless cameos, it wouldn’t be until 1999 when he would finally come to Saturday mornings…