Building a Building | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | David Hand |
Produced by | Walt Disney |
Starring | Pinto Colvig Walt Disney Marcellite Garner |
Animation by | Johnny Cannon Les Clark Frenchy Detremaudan Clyde Geronimi Dick Lundy Tom Palmer Ben Sharpsteen [1] |
Color process | Black-and-white Redrawn colorized (TV) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 7 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Building a Building is a 1933 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Production and released by United Artists. A remake of the 1928 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit film Sky Scrappers, the cartoon depicts Mickey Mouse working at a construction site under the supervision of Peg-Leg Pete while Minnie Mouse is selling box lunches to the workers. It was directed by David Hand, his first directorial assignment at Disney, [3] and features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey, Marcellite Garner as Minnie, and Pinto Colvig as Pete. [1] It was the 51st Mickey Mouse short film, and the first of that year. [4]
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 6th Academy Awards, but lost to Disney's own Three Little Pigs. [5] This was the second Mickey Mouse cartoon nominated for an Oscar. [6]
At a construction site, Mickey is operating a steam shovel. Minnie appears on a cart pulled by Pluto; she is selling box lunches to the workers.
After he uses the steam shovel to retrieve Minnie's hat (which had blown off and landed by him), Mickey inadvertently throws dirt from the steam shovel onto foreman Peg-Leg Pete (whose peg leg is on the left leg rather than the right), to the latter's frustration. Mickey hurriedly brings up a load of bricks in a wheelbarrow. Meanwhile, Pete sees Minnie and flirts with her, though she is not interested. Distracted by Minnie, Mickey accidentally drops the bricks on Pete.
After Mickey eventually falls through the blueprint, Pete begins to strangle Mickey, but the workers have their lunch break soon after. Mickey settles down to eat a fish sandwich, but it is stolen by Pete. Minnie offers Mickey a free box lunch, but Pete uses a crane to abduct her.
Mickey chases after Pete, and finally fights him high up on the building. Minnie grabs a pan of red-hot rivets and drops them down Pete's pants. This gives the mice enough time to flee as Pete pours water down his pants.
In the process of chasing Mickey and Minnie, Pete has an anvil fall on his head and fires rivets at them with a handheld pneumatic hammer. This turns on him when the hammer falls into his pants and gets attached to his peg leg. The mice escape down a chute riding a wheelbarrow, while Pete falls into a cement mixer, accidentally dismantles a large portion of the building. Enraged by the damage, Pete angrily fires Mickey, but the latter doesn't care as he immediately goes into business with Minnie selling box lunches.
Piotr Borowiec said that this cartoon has better animation, stronger story lines, and better gags than the previous ones. [7] Studio art instructor Don Graham taught a class in which students studied live-action films and compared them to Disney cartoons. In the class, the students compared Elmer Elephant and this cartoon. The students said that Building a Building was better. Michael Barrier disagreed about their decision, but he said that the students did have a point. [8]
The short was released on December 2, 2002, on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White . [9] It was released to Disney+ on July 7, 2023. [10]
Pete is a cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks of The Walt Disney Company. Pete is traditionally depicted as the villainous arch-nemesis of Mickey Mouse, and was made notorious for his repeated attempts to kidnap Minnie Mouse. Pete is the oldest continuing Disney character, having debuted in the cartoon Alice Solves the Puzzle in 1925. He originally bore the appearance of an anthropomorphic bear, but with the advent of Mickey in 1928, he was defined as a cat.
Goofy is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and is Max Goof's father. He is normally characterized as hopelessly clumsy and dim-witted, yet this interpretation is not always definitive; occasionally, Goofy is shown as intuitive and clever, albeit in his own unique, eccentric way.
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue polka-dotted dress, white bloomers and low-heeled shoes occasionally with ribbons on them. The Mickey Mouse comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse, although this is seldom used.
The Gallopin' Gaucho is a 1928 American animated short film and the second short film featuring Mickey Mouse to be produced, following Plane Crazy and preceding Steamboat Willie. The Disney studios completed the silent version in August 1928, but did not release it in order to work on Steamboat Willie. The Gallopin' Gaucho was released, with sound, after Steamboat Willie on December 30 of the same year.
The Barn Dance is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on March 15, 1929, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series; it was the first of twelve shorts released during that year. It was directed by Walt Disney with Ub Iwerks as the head animator. The title is written as Barn Dance on the poster, while the full title is used on the title screen.
On Ice is a 1935 theatrical cartoon short in the Mickey Mouse film series, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was the 79th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, and the eighth of that year.
Playful Pluto (1934) is a Walt Disney cartoon, directed by Burt Gillett. It was the first cartoon to showcase Pluto as a major character. It was the 65th Mickey Mouse short film, and the third of that year.
When the Cat's Away is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on May 3, 1929, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks and Ben Sharpsteen. It was the sixth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the third of that year. In this cartoon, Mickey and Minnie are the size of regular mice, and Tom Cat is the size of a person.
The Spirit of Mickey is an American animated direct-to-video anthology film, produced and released by Walt Disney Home Video on July 14, 1998. It features clips from The Mickey Mouse Club, The Wonderful World of Disney, and A Goofy Movie, in the introductory scene, and some of the namesake character's shorts, including The Band Concert, Lend a Paw, Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip and Steamboat Willie.
Mickey's Choo-Choo is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Pictures, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. Ub Iwerks was the animator. It was the eleventh Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the eighth of that year, and was one of the series of early Disney cartoons that led Mickey Mouse to become a national fad by the end of 1929. Originally produced in black and white, this cartoon was one of 45 Mickey Mouse cartoons colorized by American Film Technologies in 1991.
The Dognapper is a 1934 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon stars Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as police officers who chase Pegleg Pete after he dognaps Fifi, Minnie Mouse's pet Pekingese. The film was directed by David Hand and features the voices of Clarence Nash as Mickey and Donald. Pinto Colvig as Pete and Melvin J. Gibby as Fifi. It was the 70th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, and the eighth of that year. This was the first and only time that Mickey was voiced by Nash; Walt was in Europe at the time and was unavailable to record his lines for Mickey, thus, Nash took over.
Mickey in Arabia is a 1932 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Columbia Pictures. This was also the final cartoon in the Mickey Mouse series to be released by Columbia Pictures. Walt Disney plays Mickey Mouse and Marcellite Garner plays Minnie. It was the 43rd Mickey Mouse film released, the seventh of that year. The date of its release is thought to be July 18, 1932, but at least one source gives July 11 as the date.
Hawaiian Holiday is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon stars an ensemble cast of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Goofy while vacationing in Hawaii. The film was directed by Ben Sharpsteen, produced by John Sutherland and features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey, Marcellite Garner as Minnie, Clarence Nash as Donald, and Pinto Colvig as Goofy and Pluto. It was Disney's first film to be released by RKO, ending a five-year distributing partnership with United Artists.
Get a Horse! is a 2013 American animated comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Lauren MacMullan. Combining black-and-white hand-drawn animation and color computer animation, the short features the characters of the late 1920s Mickey Mouse cartoons.
Mickey's Steam Roller is a 1934 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. In the cartoon, Mickey Mouse is the driver of a steamroller which is hijacked by his two nephews. It was directed by David Hand and features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey and Marcellite Garner as Minnie Mouse and Mickey's nephews. It was the 67th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, and the fifth of that year.
Mickey's Service Station is a 1935 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The film, which stars Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy as car mechanics, was also the final black-and-white appearance of Donald, Goofy, and Pete and the penultimate animated black-and-white film produced by Disney after Mickey's Kangaroo which was released later the same year. It was also the first team-up of the classic trio of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Mickey's Service Station was directed by Ben Sharpsteen, who at the time had directed only Silly Symphony shorts, and starred the voices of Walt Disney, Clarence Nash, Pinto Colvig, and Billy Bletcher. It was the 74th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, and the third of that year.
The Cactus Kid is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on May 10, 1930, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the eighteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the third of that year.
Traffic Troubles is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on March 7, 1931, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the twenty-sixth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, and the second of that year.
The Delivery Boy is a 1931 Mickey Mouse animated short film directed by Burt Gillett, produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was the twenty-ninth short in the Mickey Mouse film series, and the fifth of that year.
The Shindig is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on July 11, 1930, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the twentieth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the fifth of that year.
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