''Mickey's Amateurs'' is a 1937 American animated

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

and released by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

. Originally entitled ''Mickey's Amateur Concert'' during production, the cartoon depicts an amateur talent show hosted by

Mickey Mouse 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 ...

. It was the 94th short film in the ''

'' film series, and the fifth for that year. It was co-directed by

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), known professionally as Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. Co ...

, Erdman Penner, and Walt Pfeiffer, and features original and adapted music by

Oliver Wallace Oliver George Wallace (August 6, 1887 – September 15, 1963) was a British-American composer and conductor from London.''Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans During Wartime'', Volume 3, ed. Benjamin F. Shearer (Westport, CT: ...

. The voice cast includes

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

as Mickey,

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor and impressionist. He is best remembered as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of W ...

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...

, Florence Gill as

Clara Cluck The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving Disney cartoon characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto as the primary members (colloquially known ...

, and Pinto Colvig as

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a characte ...

and

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fe ...

Plot

Mickey Mouse hosts an amateur radio talent show in front of a live audience, in which he terminates unworthy performances by ringing a

gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

. After ending

's rendition of " Asleep in the Deep", Mickey introduces Donald Duck, who tries reciting "

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is an English lullaby. The lyrics are from an early-19th-century English poem written by Jane Taylor, "The Star". The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in '' Rhymes for the Nursery'', a c ...

", but forgets the words. Mickey rings the gong, and Donald is pulled backstage.

performs the show's next set with a clucking version of the

Luigi Arditi Luigi Arditi (16 July 1822 – 1 May 1903) was an Italian violinist, composer and conductor. Life Arditi was born in Crescentino, Piemonte, Kingdom of Sardinia. He began his musical career as a violinist, and studied music at the Milan Cons ...

waltz "Il Bacio", accompanied by

Clarabelle Cow Clarabelle Cow is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As an anthropomorphic Cattle, cow, Clarabelle is one of Minnie Mouse's best friends. She was once depicted as the girlfriend of Horace Horsecollar, although now she is oft ...

on piano. Despite several blunders, the performance is the first to avoid the gong. Later, Donald returns to the stage with a submachine gun and tries reciting "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" while holding Mickey and the audience at gunpoint, but he once again forgets the words. When the audience laughs at him, he opens fire and is pulled backstage. For the show's final set,

uses a multi-instrumental device on wheels to perform "

In the Good Old Summer Time "In the Good Old Summer Time" is an American Tin Pan Alley song first published in 1902 with music by George "Honey Boy" Evans, George Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields. The song is in the public domain. Background Shields and Evans were at first ...

" and "

There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight "A Hot Time in the Old Town", also titled as "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight", is an American popular music, American popular song, copyrighted and perhaps composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden. Metz ...

", but the tempo and intensity of the latter song destroy the machine. Donald performs a rapid-fire word-perfect recitation of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" from within Goofy's hat, and the "iris out" effect which ends the cartoon closes on his neck. He struggles to keep it open, but it finally closes.

Voice cast

as Mickey Mouse *

as Donald Duck *

as Goofy and Pete * Florence Gill as Clara Cluck

History

''Mickey's Amateurs'' pokes fun at "amateur hour" radio shows, popular entertainment in the 1930s and '40s. Perhaps the most famous example is the ''

Major Bowes Amateur Hour The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...

'' in which the host,

Edward Bowes Edward Bowes (June 14, 1874 – June 13, 1946), professionally known as Major Edward Bowes, was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s whose '' Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was the best-known amateur talent show on radio during its ...

, was known to strike a gong to stop an amateur performance. Mickey Mouse's repeating of the words "Okay, okay" in the film was recognized by audiences at the time as a parody of Bowes. The film was also inspired by the 1934 Disney film '' Orphan's Benefit''. This film also featured a stage show with acts interspersed by Donald attempting a poetic recitation. The short film inspired the model of the game show ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...

'', hosted in the '70s by

Chuck Barris Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host, author, and songwriter. A key crew member of several hugely successful game shows, he was the creator of ''The Dating Game'' (1965– ...

, who used the same method of show-host Mickey use in the short.

Reception

The ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' (MPH) was an American film industry trade paper first published as the ''Exhibitors Herald'' in 1915, and MPH from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals ...

'' published a review of ''Mickey's Amateurs'' on June 19, 1937: "The subject must be seen to be appreciated and enjoyed. The fun it offers defies description."

Home media

The short was released on December 4, 2001, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color''.

References