''The Nifty Nineties'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

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 in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

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 to theaters on June 20, 1941 by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. The animated short was directed by Riley Thomson and animated by Ward Kimball, Walt Kelly, Fred Moore, Claude Smith, David Swift, and Les Clark with effects animation by Art Fitzpatrick.The Nifty Nineties
. ''www.bcdb.com'' It was the 113th short in the ''

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 ...

'' film series to be released, and the fourth for that year. The film stars

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

and

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 occasional ...

and romanticizes the decade of the 1890s. The film features original and adapted music by

Charles Wolcott Charles Frederick Wolcott (September 29, 1906 in Flint, United States – January 26, 1987 in Haifa, Israel) was a music composer who served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Baháʼí Faith, between 19 ...

. 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 and Thelma Boardman as Minnie. Animators

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honore ...

and Fred Moore have cameos where they each voice a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

d version of themselves.

Plot

Set in the springtime, sometime in the

1890s The 1890s (pronounced "eighteen-nineties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1890, and ended on December 31, 1899. In the United States, the 1890s were marked by a severe economic depression sparked by the Panic of ...

, Mickey and Minnie Mouse happen to meet each other in a public park one day. Minnie attracts Mickey by intentionally dropping her

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wi ...

, so Mickey will return it to her. They attend a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

show where they first see a slideshow presentation called "Father, Dear, Father", which features the song "

Come Home, Father "Come Home, Father" (also known as "Poor Benny") is a temperance song written by Henry Clay Work in 1864. According to George Birdseye, a contemporary biographer of the time, the song was the "pioneer and pattern for all the many temperance piece ...

" by

Henry Clay Work Henry Clay Work (October 1, 1832 – June 8, 1884) was an American composer and songwriter known for the songs Kingdom Coming, Marching Through Georgia, The Ship That Never Returned and My Grandfather's Clock. Early life and education Work w ...

. In the show, a daughter attempts to get her father to leave a local tavern because he had not come right home from work as promised and got drunk at the tavern. In the fourth picture in the slideshow, we see the clock tower, which reads 1:00 am. With the mother home watching since tea and her son very sick in her arms, there can only be hope that the father comes home. Unfortunately, the father is too drunk to listen to the daughter, eventually forcing her to bring her father home herself. The slideshow causes Minnie to cry, but Mickey tries to comfort her, saying, "Don't take it so hard. It's only a show". The final slide shows a postcard with the words P.S. "He came home!", indicating that the father and daughter had made it back home. The next act is "Fred & Ward, Two Clever Boys From Illinois" which features two song and dance men. Fred and Ward are caricatures of Disney animators Fred Moore and

, who also voiced the characters. After the show is over, Mickey and Minnie cruise the roads of the countryside in a

Brass Era car The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...

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 f ...

rides by on a

penny-farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds (owing to its travelling a large distance for every r ...

bicycle (which topples over), and

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

Daisy Duck Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...

Huey, Dewey and Louie Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-nephe ...

ride on a bicycle built for five. At last, in a scene reminiscent of ''

Plane Crazy ''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 Mickey Mouse film produced, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test sc ...

'', the car crashes with a cow. Mickey and Minnie emerge from the wreckage unhurt, but when they try to kiss each other, the cow pops her head up between them.

Songs

With the exception of one song, "The Gay Nineties" (the opening song), this short featured mostly authentic songs which would have been familiar around this era, most of which were performed by the vocal quartet The Sportsmen, which featured

Thurl Ravenscroft Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (; February 6, 1914May 22, 2005) was an American actor and bass singer. He was known as one of the booming voices behind Kellogg's Frosted Flakes animated spokesman Tony the Tiger for more than five decades. He was also ...

in one of his earliest projects for Disney. The songs include: * "

The Fountain in the Park "The Fountain in the Park", also known as "While Strolling Through (or Thru') the Park One Day", is a song by Ed Haley, a member of the vaudeville act the Haley Brothers. Some authors believe the song was written by Robert A. Keiser, to whom Haley ...

" * "

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 ...

" * "

Old Folks at Home "Old Folks at Home" (also known as " Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Ind ...

" * " In the Good Old Summertime"

Notes

Part of the dance sequence with Fred and Ward was reused in a scene in ''Jiminy Cricket's You and Your Senses of Taste and Smell.''

Voice cast

* Mickey Mouse:

* Minnie Mouse:

Thelma Boardman Thelma Boardman (born Thelma Joyce Hubbard, October 31, 1909 – April 21, 1978) was an American voice actress and writer best known for her work with the Walt Disney Studios, particularly as the voice actress for Minnie Mouse from 1937–1938 ...

* Fred: Fred Moore * Ward:

* Hens:

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 ...

And

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

* Singers:

, Max Smith, John Rarig, Bill Days

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two: 1939-Today''.

References

External links

*
''The Nifty Nineties''
at The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney Shorts

at the

Big Cartoon DataBase The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, Feature film, animated feature films, Animated television series, animated television shows, and cartoon Short film, shorts. The BCDB proj ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nifty Nineties, The 1941 short films 1941 animated films 1941 comedy films 1940s Disney animated short films Films set in the 1890s Mickey Mouse short films Films directed by Riley Thomson Films produced by Walt Disney 1940s English-language films American animated short films RKO Pictures short films RKO Pictures animated short films Animated films about mice