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

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

and released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. Originally entitled ''Mickey's Amateur Concert'' during production, the cartoon depicts an amateur talent show hosted by Mickey Mouse. It was the 94th short film in the '' Mickey Mouse'' 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), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...

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

Oliver Wallace Oliver George Wallace (August 6, 1887 – September 15, 1963) was an English composer and conductor.''Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans During Wartime'', Volume 3, ed. Benjamin F. Shearer (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 200 ...

. The voice cast includes

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 ...

as Mickey,

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

as Donald Duck,

Florence Gill Florence Gill (27 July 1877 – 19 February 1965) was a British actress. In Walt Disney's animated films, Gill made a specialty for 20 years of voicing hens, including Clara Cluck, The Wise Little Hen and other assorted fowl. Gill was a member ...

Clara Cluck The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...

, 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 character ...

and Goofy.

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 and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

. 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 a popular 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 Nurser ...

", 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 (Italy). He began his musical career as a violinist, and studied music at the Milan Conservatory under ...

waltz "Il Bacio", accompanied by Clarabelle Cow 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, Goofy 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 Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields. Background Shields and Evans were at first unsuccessful in trying to sell the song to one of New Yor ...

" 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 song, copyrighted and perhaps composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden. Metz was the band leader of th ...

", 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 *

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 is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

, 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 ''Orphan's Benefit'' (sic; original title) is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions in black-and-white. It was first released in 1934 and was later remade in Technicolor in 1941 under the correc ...

''. This film also featured a stage show with acts interspersed by Donald attempting a poetic recitation. The short movie 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. Barris was known for hosting ''The Gong Show'' and creating ''The Dating Game'' and ''The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwrite ...

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

Reception

The ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Heral ...

'' published a review of ''Mickey's Amateurs'' on June 19, 1937, saying, "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