Clarabelle Cow is a cartoon character created by
The Walt Disney Company
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 ...
. As an
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
cow, Clarabelle is one of
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. The longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, w ...
's best friends. She was once depicted as the girlfriend of
Horace Horsecollar, although now she is often paired with
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 ...
.
Appearances
Animation
Clarabelle first appeared as a nonhumanized cow in the
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 ...
cartoon ''
Plane Crazy
''Plane Crazy'' is a 1929 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, is the first finished project to feature appearances of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and was origi ...
'' in 1928. Humanized soon afterward, she appeared frequently in cartoons from 1930 to 1932 and less frequently afterwards, taking her final classic-era bow in 1942.
As with most Disney characters, she was later given small cameos in the featurettes ''
Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (1983) and ''
The Prince and the Pauper
''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...
'' (1990) and the 1988 feature film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...
''.
Clarabelle mostly played bit-parts in the 30+ films in which she appeared and her character was never as fully developed as
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy,
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 ...
or
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...
. She and
Horace Horsecollar changed from normal farmyard animals into
anthropomorphized beings as necessary.
In modern animation, Clarabelle has returned to active use, appearing first in a few segments of ''
Mickey Mouse Works'' and in a brief scene in ''
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas''. In ''
House of Mouse
''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
'', she regularly turned up as a
gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities fr ...
with the
tagline
In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...
"
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.
Etymology
The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...
is Always True".
Clarabelle has also made appearances in the preschool series ''
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American animated interactive children's television series for preschoolers. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway. The series originally aired 125 epi ...
'' and is featured as Goofy's girlfriend (in which she owns a puppy named Bella) and in the direct-to-video movie ''
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers'' as
Pete's lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
and Goofy's love interest. She also appears in ''
Mickey and the Roadster Racers'', where she displays attraction towards both Goofy and Horace.
Filmography
Short films
#1928 – ''
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 and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...
''
#1928 – ''
Plane Crazy
''Plane Crazy'' is a 1929 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, is the first finished project to feature appearances of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and was origi ...
''
#1929 – ''
The Plowboy''
#1929 – ''
Mickey's Choo-Choo''
#1929 – ''
The Karnival Kid''
#1930 – ''
The Barnyard Concert''
#1930 – ''
The Shindig''
#1930 – ''
The Chain Gang''
#1930 – ''
Pioneer Days''
#1931 – ''
The Birthday Party''
#1931 – ''
Mother Goose Melodies''
#1931 – ''
Blue Rhythm''
#1931 – ''
The Barnyard Broadcast''
#1931 – ''
The Beach Party''
#1932 – ''
The Mad Dog''
#1932 – ''
Barnyard Olympics''
#1932 – ''
Mickey's Revue''
#1932 – ''
Mickey's Nightmare''
#1932 – ''
The Whoopee Party''
#1932 – ''
Touchdown Mickey''
#1932 – ''
Parade of the Award Nominees''
#1933 – ''
Mickey's Mellerdrammer''
#1933 – ''
Ye Olden Days''
#1933 – ''
Mickey's Gala Premiere''
#1934 – ''
Camping Out''
#1934 – ''
Orphan's Benefit''
#1935 – ''
The Band Concert''
#1935 – ''
On Ice''
#1935 – ''
Mickey's Fire Brigade''
#1936 – ''
Mickey's Grand Opera''
#1936 – ''
Mickey's Polo Team''
#1937 – ''
Mickey's Amateurs''
#1941 – ''
Orphan's Benefit'' (remake)
#1942 – ''
Mickey's Birthday Party''
#1942 – ''
Symphony Hour''
#1983 – ''
Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (cameo)
#1990 – ''
Roller Coaster Rabbit'' (cameo)
#1990 – ''
The Prince and the Pauper
''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...
''
#2013 – ''
Get a Horse!''
#2023 - ''
Once Upon a Studio'' (cameo)
Feature films
#1988 – ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...
'' (cameo)
#1999 – ''
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas'' (cameo)
#2004 – ''
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers''
#2018 – ''
Ralph Breaks the Internet
''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' is a 2018 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is the sequel to the 2012 film ''Wreck-It Ralph''. The film was directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Joh ...
'' (cameo)
Television series
#1993 – ''
Bonkers'' (Stork Exchange/Rubber Room Song (Casabonkers))
#1999 – ''
Mickey Mouse Works''
#2001 – ''
House of Mouse
''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
''
#2006 – ''
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American animated interactive children's television series for preschoolers. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway. The series originally aired 125 epi ...
''
#2011 – ''
Minnie's Bow-Toons''
#2013 – ''
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 ...
''
#2017 – ''
Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures''
#2020 – ''
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse''
#2021 – ''
Mickey Mouse Funhouse''
#2025 – ''
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+''
Comics
When the Disney characters started to feature in comic strips and comic books, Clarabelle Cow was one of the first. Her first appearance was in the
''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip for April 2, 1930. Along with Horace Horsecollar,
Clara Cluck,
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 ...
, Minnie, and Mickey, she appeared in comics on a regular basis in the fifties, sixties and seventies.
For a brief time, during the late 1960s, Clarabelle began dating Goofy. During this time, Horace's whereabouts are unknown. Clarabelle's status with Goofy was challenged by a rival named Glory-Bee.
Glory-Bee
. Retrieved on March 16, 2008. In later comics, Clarabelle and Horace were a couple again. Clarabelle also has a young cousin, Bertie the Jinx, a niece, Itsy-Betsy, and a socialite aunt named Miss Bovina, who have appeared in several issues of ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American Comics anthology, anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Micke ...
''.
From the eighties forward, only a few stories with Clarabelle Cow were made in the United States. In Europe, especially in Italy, the production of stories continued to the present day. In Italian comics, Clarabelle (called ''Clarabella'') is very popular and she is the girlfriend of Horace Horsecollar (''Orazio Cavezza'').
Disney theme parks
From September 2006 to September 2008, Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar appeared together for meet-and-greets in Town Square at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Also, they were in the Main Street Family Fun Day Parade. Clarabelle appears seasonally in "Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade", "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade", and the "Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration" castle show. She and Horace both appear in the Hoedown Happening in Frontierland and as featured characters in the "Move It! Shake It! Mousekedance It!" street party, with Clarabelle in particular atop her own party box and with her own dialogue.
Clarabelle also appears (without Horace) at Disneyland Park. She has also appeared in several Disneyland parades and shows over the years, including The World According to Goofy, Light Magic, the Parade of the Stars, Fantasmic, A Christmas Fantasy Parade and Celebrate! A Street Party. Clarabelle and Horace come out for meet-and-greets and appear in parades and shows on a regular basis at Tokyo Disneyland
is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney park t ...
as well. In 2009, Clarabelle played a leading character in the New Year's Greeting at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
Clarabelle Cow was chosen to meet and greet for Character Fan Days at Disneyland. She is accompanied by Horace Horsecollar which is his first meet and greet at Disneyland in Anaheim.
At Disney California Adventure
Disney California Adventure is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The park is themed after Disney's interpretation of California ...
at the Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Experiences division and is home to two theme parks (Disneyland and Dis ...
, in the Buena Vista Street area there is an ice cream shop named ''Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream''.
She also features with Horace in ''Mickey's Halloween Celebration'' and ''Goofy's Garden Party'' in Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
. In Christmas 2016, Clarabelle returned to Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...
for ''Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration''.
Video games
Clarabelle appeared as the DJ of the song "Miwaku No Tango" in the 2000 Japanese Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
game '' Dance Dance Revolution Disney Dancing Museum''.
Clarabelle appears in '' Disney's Toontown Online''. She plays the role of giving the player furniture to decorate their estates, with the catalog players must order from is a "Cattlelog". Her appearance is also somewhat changed to look like an operator.
She also makes a minor appearance in ''Kingdom Hearts II
''Kingdom Hearts II'' is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios, Buena Vista Games for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sequel to ''Kingdom Hear ...
'' in the Timeless River World using her old black and white design. She appears with the same design in ''Kingdom Hearts III
is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third main installment in the '' Kingdom Hearts'' series and the twelfth game overall, and ser ...
'' in the minigame "The Karnival Kid".
Clarabelle is also seen in the ''Epic Mickey
''Epic Mickey'' is a 2010 platform game developed by Junction Point Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Wii. It was released in November 2010 in North America and PAL territories. The game focuses on Mickey Mouse, who a ...
'' video games, as one of the forgotten characters that Mickey sees during his journey. She lives in OsTown, one of the games environs, and is known to be romantically involved with Horace Horsecollar.
References
External links
*
*
Clarabelle's Profile @ HooZoo
Whither Clarabelle Cow?: 11 Semi-Forgotten Disney Characters
Clarabelle Cow
on IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts: Clarabelle Cow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cow, Clarabelle
Disney core universe characters
Fictional cattle
Disney comics characters
Fictional characters from Calisota
Film characters introduced in 1928
Comics characters introduced in 1930
Anthropomorphic cattle
Female characters in animation
Female characters in comics
Animated characters introduced in 1928
Characters created by Ub Iwerks
Characters created by Walt Disney
Minnie Mouse
Goofy (Disney)