When the Cat's Away | |
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Directed by | Walt Disney |
Produced by | Walt Disney |
Music by | Carl Stalling |
Animation by | Ub Iwerks Ben Sharpsteen |
Color process | Black & white |
Production companies | Walt Disney Studios Celebrity Productions |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 6:42 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
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. [2] It was the sixth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the third of that year. [3] In this cartoon, Mickey and Minnie are the size of regular mice, and Tom Cat is the size of a person. [1]
After Tom Cat leaves his house, drunk on hooch to go hunting, Mickey organizes all his mice friends to break into the cat's house. Once inside, Mickey and Minnie play the piano by dancing on the keys and, later, others play some of the cat's musical instruments and records (using themselves as the speaker and stylus). In the end, Mickey and Minnie successfully kiss each other. [2]
The cartoon is a loose remake of Disney's 1925 film Alice Rattled by Rats , from the Alice Comedies series. [1] This is the last time Mickey is portrayed as the size of a mouse, although he remains fairly small in his next cartoon, The Barnyard Battle . [2]
The cat signs his name "Tom Cat", which was briefly used as a name for the character who was shortly afterwards identified as Peg-Leg Pete. [1]
In an early script, the cartoon ended with the pet parrot calling the police, causing the mice to scurry away. [1]
Motion Picture News (June 8, 1929): "This is one of the series of the Mickey Mouse cartoons. It is synchronized for sound, which brings the greater part of the laughs. The cat a-hunting goes and the mice play while the cat's away. They play everything from the piano, right down the line of musical instruments." [4]
The Film Daily (July 28, 1929): "Amusing. Mickey and his relatives crash their way into the cat's home while the latter is hunting. The results is a music festival which proves genuinely amusing. As usual in this Disney series, the cartoon work is well thought out and intelligently and divertingly presented. Sure-fire for any audience." [5]
The short was released on December 7, 2004, on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Volume Two: 1929-1935 . [6] It was released to Disney+ on October 6, 2023. [7]
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves. He is often depicted alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his friends Donald Duck and Goofy, and his nemesis Pete.
Plane Crazy is a 1929 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, is the first finished project to feature appearances of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test screening to a theater audience and potential distributors on May 15, 1928. An executive from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer saw the film, but the film failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success; Plane Crazy was officially released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be given a wide release after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho and The Barn Dance (1929).
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 yellow low-heeled shoes occasionally with ribbons on them.
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.
Wild Waves is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on December 18, 1929, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the fifteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the twelfth of that year, as well as the last to be released by Celebrity Productions before Columbia Pictures took over distribution.
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.
The Opry House is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Pictures, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the fifth Mickey Mouse short to be released, the second of that year. It cast Mickey as the owner of a small theater. Mickey performs a vaudeville show all by himself. Acts include his impersonation of a snake charmer, his dressing in drag and performing a belly dance, his caricature of a Hasidic Jew and, for the finale, a piano performance of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt.
The Barnyard Battle is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on June 1, 1929, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the seventh Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the fourth of that year. As the title implies, it features a battle between an invading army of cats and an army of mice trying to defend their homes and farms.
The Karnival Kid is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Productions, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks with music by Carl W. Stalling. It was the ninth Mickey Mouse short to be produced; the sixth of that year.
Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the public debut of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, although both appeared months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy and the then yet unreleased The Gallopin' Gaucho. Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but it was the first to be distributed, because Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to produce one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.
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, and features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey, Marcellite Garner as Minnie, and Pinto Colvig as Pete. It was the 51st Mickey Mouse short film, and the first of that year.
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.
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.
Blue Rhythm 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 31st short in the Mickey Mouse film series, and the seventh of that year. The plot focuses on a multifaceted performance of W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues". The film features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey and Marcellite Garner as Minnie Mouse.
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.
The Gorilla Mystery is a 1930 Mickey Mouse animated film produced by Walt Disney for Columbia Pictures, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the twenty-second Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the seventh of that year.
The Picnic is a 1930 American animated short film directed by Burt Gillett and produced by Walt Disney. It was first released on October 9, 1930, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the twenty-third Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the eighth of that year.
The Fire Fighters is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on June 20, 1930, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the nineteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the fourth 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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