The Opry House

Last updated

The Opry House
5 - The Opry House.jpg
Directed by Walt Disney
Ub Iwerks
Produced by Walt Disney
Music by Carl Stalling
Animation by Ub Iwerks
Production
companies
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
March 20, 1929 [1]
Running time
7:25
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Opry House is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Pictures, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. [2] It was the fifth Mickey Mouse short to be released, the second of that year. [3] It cast Mickey as the owner of a small theater (or opera house according to the title). 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.

Contents

The short's copyright was renewed in 1956, so it will enter the US public domain on January 1, 2025. [4]

Plot

Mickey in the short. Opry house mickey mouse.jpg
Mickey in the short.

The cartoon starts with the opening of a theater and Mickey Mouse sweeping and using the broom as an instrument and a dance partner. Mickey is then faced with a large show goer, who must be deflated in order to fit through the doorway. The band takes over, with a large variety of short gags occurring throughout. Mickey becomes the star of the show, taking on the multiple roles of a vaudeville star. The cartoon ends with a humorous fight between Mickey, a piano and a stool. [5] Mickey's interactions are highly stylized in order to capture the essence of what a vaudeville performance should be. The "Asbestos" stage curtains hits Mickey, causing the stars to fill in and towards the screen, and ends the film. [6]

Production

The Opry House was the fifth Mickey Mouse cartoon released by Walt Disney Productions. It appears in black and white, and the audio was recorded using Pat Powers's cinephone system. [7] It was animated mostly by Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney's first employee who later became known as a "Disney Legend". The short became the most expensive early Disney short, its negative cost being almost $2,500 more than the Steamboat Willie cartoon produced just a year before. [6]

This short is an early example of how the Disney studio's animated shorts became more sophisticated. The short shows more realistic animating. The early Disney cartoons, like Steamboat Willie show many similarities to the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons that preceded them, but as Mickey Mouse evolved from the silent film era, the cartoons became more intricate. Mickey Mouse began interacting within his space in his cartoon world to create a more realistic feel. [8]

Walt Disney himself reinforces this idea:

"...Our characters were beginning to act & behave like real persons. Because of this we could begin to put real feeling and charm into our characterization. After all you can't expect charm from animated sticks and that is what Mickey Mouse was in his first pictures". [9]

Mickey's fight with the piano would be reused and extended seven months later in the cartoon The Jazz Fool .

Use of music

This short features no dialogue and consequently its humor relies on a long series of visual gags. The accompanying musical pieces include "Yankee Doodle", Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C-sharp Minor (Op. 3/2)", Georges Bizet's Carmen , the Klezmer tune "Chusen Kala Mazel Tov", and "Goodnight, Ladies". It is also the first appearance of "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt in a cartoon, [2] and its use heavily influenced later cartoons including the Merrie Melodies short Rhapsody in Rivets (1941), Bugs Bunny's Rhapsody Rabbit (1946), Tom and Jerry's The Cat Concerto (1947) and Woody Woodpecker's Convict Concerto .

The sound for the short was recorded in February 1929 in New York by Walt Disney and Carl Stalling. Because there is no dialogue, the music aids in telling the story. The music not only matches the actions being animated but the two are deeply connected. In one sequence a drummer pulls the tails of three different cats; those cat's meows become notes in the music sequence. Notable dialogue did not come until 1934, when Walt Disney voiced Mickey Mouse using a falsetto. The comedy of the short comes largely through the use of music. [9]

Mickey's gloves

Although Mickey had been wearing gloves on title cards and posters for his previous films, this is the first time he wears them in animation. They have since become part of his permanent appearance. [1] Reportedly, one reason for adding the white gloves was to allow audiences to distinguish the characters' hands when they appeared against their bodies, as both were tinted black. Mickey didn't appear in color up until The Band Concert in 1935.

Other characters

Mickey Mouse takes on multiple roles within the story of his vaudeville show. The short holds true to the early structure of Mickey Mouse cartoons. They are short, with less emphasis on storytelling and more focus on adventure and comedy. [6] A variety of additional animals make up the crowd and the band members. In addition, the instruments, especially the piano and stool take on human qualities, making them integral characters.

Minnie Mouse doesn't appear in person in this short. Instead, a poster of her can be seen which introduces her as a member of the Yankee Doodle Girls, apparently a group of female performers. The only other recurring character to appear in the short is known as Kat Nipp (apparently a play on the word catnip). This would be his debut, and he would appear in two more shorts during the year as a minor antagonist.

Trivia

The word "ASBESTOS" is written on the curtain. When electric light was not yet available, theatre fires were very common and often had multiple fatalities. At intermission time, theater staff would lower and raise the "asbestos curtain" to assure the audience they were safe and protected in case of a fire. If a fire occurred on stage, they would drop the curtain and shield the audience. Asbestos is very resistant to heat and fire, and it also dampens sound.

The cartoon was very much liked by composer Sergei Rachmaninov. He praised Mickey's performance of his prelude. Rachmaninov met Disney in 1942 together with the pianist Vladimir Horowitz and said: "I have heard my piece beautifully done by some of the best pianists and cruelly murdered by amateurs, but I have never been more moved than by the performance of the great maestro Mickey Mouse".[ citation needed ]

Reception

Variety (April 10, 1929): "Another of the Mickey Mouse series captioned "The Opery House", [sic] from Walt Disney's cartoonistic shop. The opery idea provides for a stage presentment of vaude bits effectively sounded. Sound accompaniment has made the cartoon strips much more valuable. And the comedy point intended is more decided in the building. Some funny stuff here, especially the piano number which has the instrument given the real planner synchronization, surprising in comparison with former silent strips." [10]

The Film Daily (July 28, 1929): "Perfectly Swell. Even the piano takes on life in this Mickey Mouse release. Walt Disney is maintaining the high standard established with Steamboat Willie . The Op'ry House demonstrates this fact in view of the amusing kinks injected into the animation and the funny situations thereby created. One of the best sound shorts on the market, this release merits attention as a laugh-provoker." [11]

Home media

The short was released on December 7, 2004 on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Volume Two: 1929-1935 . [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Mouse</span> Disney cartoon character and mascot

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 yellow shoes, and white gloves. Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Disney. Mickey is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ub Iwerks</span> American animator and special effects pioneer (1901–1971)

Ubbe Ert Iwerks, known as Ub Iwerks, was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician, known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in general, and for having worked on the development of the design of the character of Mickey Mouse, among others. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious relationship with his father, who abandoned him as a child. Iwerks met fellow artist Walt Disney while working at a Kansas City art studio in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald the Lucky Rabbit</span> Early animated Disney character

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.

<i>Plane Crazy</i> 1928 Mickey Mouse short by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks

Plane Crazy is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first appearance of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, and an executive from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer saw the film, but 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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnie Mouse</span> Disney cartoon character

Minnie Mouse is a 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.

Silly Symphony is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the Silly Symphonies were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music. As such, the films usually did not feature continuing characters, unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts produced by Disney at the same time. The series is notable for its innovation with Technicolor and the multiplane motion picture camera, as well as its introduction of the character Donald Duck making his first appearance in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen in 1934. Seven shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl W. Stalling</span> American composer (1891–1972)

Carl William Stalling was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.

The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928, began to decline around 1957, and ended by 1969, when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the Golden Age were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited animation techniques by companies such as Terrytoons, UPA, Famous Studios, Jay Ward Productions, Hanna-Barbera, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Rankin/Bass and Filmation. In artefact, the history of animation became very important in the United States.

<i>The Gallopin Gaucho</i> 1928 Mickey Mouse cartoon directed by Ub Iwerks

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.

<i>The Skeleton Dance</i> 1929 film

The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphony animated short subject produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. In the film, four human skeletons dance and make music around a spooky graveyard—a modern film example of medieval European "danse macabre" imagery. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphony series. In 1993, to coincide with the opening of Mickey's Toontown in Disneyland, a shortened cover of the cartoon's music was arranged to be featured in the land's background ambiance. The short's copyright was renewed in 1957, and as a published work from 1929 it will enter the US public domain on January 1, 2025.

<i>Mickey Mouse</i> (film series) Short film series

Mickey Mouse is a series of American animated comedy short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. The series started in 1928 with Steamboat Willie and ended in 2013 with Get a Horse!, taking a hiatus from 1953 to 1983. The series is notable for its innovation with sound synchronization and character animation, and also introduced well-known characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Pluto and Goofy.

<i>Wild Waves</i> 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon

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.

<i>The Barn Dance</i> 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon

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.

<i>The Karnival Kid</i> 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon

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.

Fiddlesticks is a 1930 Celebrity Pictures theatrical cartoon short directed and animated by Ub Iwerks, in his first cartoon since he departed from Walt Disney's studio. The short features Iwerks' character Flip the Frog. It is the first complete sound cartoon to be photographed in color.

<i>Steamboat Willie</i> 1928 American animated short film

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 Studio and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, although both characters appeared several months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy. 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.

<i>When the Cats Away</i> (1929 film) 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon

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.

<i>Just Mickey</i> 1930 Mickey Mouse cartoon

Fiddlin’ Around is a 1930 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Columbia Pictures as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the sixteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the first of that year.

<i>The Haunted House</i> (1929 film) 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon

The Haunted House, also known as Haunted House, is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Productions, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. The cartoon was produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Celebrity Productions. It was the fourteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the eleventh of that year.

<i>The Jazz Fool</i> 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon

The Jazz Fool is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on December 21, 1929, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the twelfth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the ninth of that year.

References

  1. 1 2 Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2018). Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History. Cologne: Taschen. p. 39. ISBN   978-3-8365-5284-4.
  2. 1 2 Grob, Gijs (2018). "The Opry House". Mickey's Movies: The Theatrical Films of Mickey Mouse. Theme Park Press. ISBN   978-1683901235.
  3. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 108–109. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  4. ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Library of Congress. 1956.
  5. ↑ Mickey Mouse in The Opry House. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjxVJwH_89o
  6. 1 2 3 Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. OUP Oxford, 2003 pg. 59.
  7. ↑ Iwerks, Ub. The Opry House. Comedy, Family, Animation, Short, Music, 1929.
  8. ↑ Telotte, J.P. "The Stereoscopic Mickey: Space, Animation, and the Mouse".
  9. 1 2 Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. OUP Oxford, 2003 pg. 86
  10. ↑ "Talking Shorts". Variety : 16. April 10, 1929. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Short Subjects". The Film Daily : 10. July 28, 1929. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Mickey Mouse in Black & White Volume 2 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.