''The Birthday Party'' is a

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

short animated film first released on January 2, 1931, as part of the ''

'' film series. It was the twenty-fifth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the first of that year.

Plot

Minnie Mouse 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 bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasionally w ...

throws a surprise birthday party for Mickey, and he is surrounded by a circle of friends singing and dancing his praises. A pig chef offers him a birthday cake, but Mickey blows so hard that all of the cake ends up on the pig's face. Mickey opens his present—a small piano, to match Minnie's -- and the two mice play and sing "

I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew Le ...

". Then they play "

Darktown Strutters' Ball "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' ...

" as the guests dance. After a while, the piano stools take over, and Mickey and Minnie dance as well.

Horace Horsecollar Horace Horsecollar is a cartoon character created in 1928 at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Horace is a tall anthropomorphic black horse and is one of Mickey Mouse's best friends. Characterized as a boastful show-off, Horace served as Mickey’s s ...

and Clarabelle Cow also have a spirited dance break. Heading to the xylophone, Mickey plays "

Home! Sweet Home! "Home, Sweet Home" is a song adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 opera ''Clari, or the Maid of Milan'', the song's melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop with lyrics by Payne. Bishop had earlier pub ...

" and then accompanies Minnie on "

Twelfth Street Rag "Twelfth Street Rag" is a ragtime musical composition published by Euday L. Bowman in 1914. Background A friend of Euday Bowman known as "Raggedy Ed" declared his intention to open a pawn shop on 12th Street in Kansas City while the two were ...

". The xylophone gets excited and Mickey ends up riding it like a bucking bronco, ending up with a fishbowl over his head.

Production

Mickey Mouse was a little over two years old at this point, having debuted in ''

Steamboat Willie ''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, Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celeb ...

'' in November 1928. Mickey's "official" birthday changed often --

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

declared in 1933 that Mickey's birthday was October 1, and in the ''

'' comic strip, Mickey celebrated his 7th birthday on September 28, 1935. Mickey's next birthday cartoon, ''

Mickey's Birthday Party ''Mickey's Birthday Party'' is a 1942 American animated short film directed by Riley Thomson, produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The 114th short to feature Mickey Mouse, it was released on February 7, 1942. ...

'', was released on February 7, 1942. It was not until the early 1970s that Dave Smith of the

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

Archives determined that the date of ''Steamboat Willie's'' premiere was November 18, and fixed that as Mickey's official birthday.

Reception

In ''Mickey's Movies: The Theatrical Films of Mickey Mouse'', Gijs Grob writes: "The short's most remarkable feature is a short scene in the beginning, animated by Tom Palmer: Mickey and Minnie bashfully asking each other whether they're fine may constitute the first funny dialogue in Disney history. At least, it's a wonderful example of character animation, elegantly establishing the relationship between the two." ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' (February 1, 1931): "A Mickey Mouse cartoon in which the animals stage a birthday party, featuring an enormous cake. They go through some clever antics and all in all it is a peppy animated, well up to the standard of the Walt Disney series. The harmony and musical effects override the theme and clutter up the cartoon work unnecessarily in spots, but that seems to be the prevailing idea in cartoons until the exhibs or the public register a definite objection."

Home media

The short was released on December 2, 2002 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White''.

Television

The short appears in the TV shows ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

'' (Season 2, Episode 22) and ''

Donald's Quack Attack ''Donald's Quack Attack'' is an American animated television series which ran on The Disney Channel and was later rerun on Toon Disney. It premiered on November 2, 1992,''The Disney Channel Magazine'', Vol. 10, no. 5, October/November 1992: p ...

'' (Season 1, Episode 40).

Voice cast

* Mickey Mouse:

* Minnie Mouse:

Marcellite Garner Edna Marcellite Garner ( ; July 3, 1910 – July 26, 1993) was an American artist and voice actress. She is most remembered as the first regular voice of Minnie Mouse during her time working at Walt Disney Productions and has been partially c ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Birthday Party 1931 Film Mickey Mouse short films 1930s Disney animated short films 1931 short films American black-and-white films 1931 animated films 1930s English-language films Films produced by Walt Disney American comedy short films Columbia Pictures short films Columbia Pictures animated short films Films directed by Burt Gillett Films about birthdays American animated short films Animated films about mice 1930s American films