Shanghaied

Here's one of my favorite Mickey cartoons from 1934. I am very particular about a favorite cartoon short from a specific year. The narrative was simple: Captain Pegleg Pete and his pirates had captured Mickey and Minnie. Mickey manages to break free and duels with Pete to save Minnie. That's what I'll tell you. Watch and see how it ends.

I really love this cartoon. I found it odd that Mickey and Minnie had no dialogue, except for Pete and his pirate crew. Minnie did scream as well. The funniest part of this cartoon I thought was when a pirate repetitively sings "The captain's got a girl" in a falsetto voice.

This is a fairly exciting Disney cartoon where Mickey and Minnie were kidnapped and tied up by Peg-Leg Pete and his crew on his ship. However, Mickey breaks free and what results is a semi-amusing sword fight between him and Pete.

Nice black and white animation and a somewhat fast-paced story, but with lesser humor and a predictable climax.

Grade B-

Disney has always been a big part of my childhood, and Shanghaied is no exception to that rule. In fact I simply love this short in every way imaginable. True, we don't see Mickey and Minnie were shanghaied in the first place or why, but it is something that we imagine to ourselves. What makes Shanghaied so repeatedly watchable is many things. The animation is really beautifully done, especially in the opening sequence with the ship on the ocean. The music and sound effects have always been a big part of the Disney shorts' success, and here they are as rousing and energetic as ever. The story may read of a Mickey and Minnie vs Pete sort of story, but it is buoyantly paced and done in a fresh way, being in a different setting and having a different kind of action. The sword-fighting/swashbuckling is exciting to watch, very well-animated and I also think very funny as well, especially when Mickey's swordfish goes limp. There are some imaginative and fun gags that include Pete being knocked over and having a rolling chair's bottom attached to his peg leg, launching pots out of a cannon that stick on their heads and heaving a stove at them that the pirates get stuck in and Mickey launching a harpoon that corrals all the pirates and Pete, sticking them in an arc over the ocean. Mickey has never been more heroic and Pete(in these shorts that is) never more vile. Minnie is also likable, though Mickey and Pete have the best moments. I also liked how the identical pirate crew were reminiscent of the Beagle Boys. All in all, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.

Mickey & Minnie must try to escape after being SHANGHAIED by evil ship's captain Pegleg Pete & his nefarious crew.

With the Mice already captive when the cartoon begins, this rollicking little black & white film wastes no time in delivering plenty of exciting action. The influences of Buster Keaton's THE NAVIGATOR (1924), Doug Fairbanks' THE BLACK PIRATE (1926) & Harold Lloyd's THE KID BROTHER (1927) are fairly apparent. Pete has never been more vile than here, forcing his foul attentions upon helpless Miss Minnie. Good thing our Mickey has never been more heroic...

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off.

Shanghaied (1934) is fun as all get out. Mickey is never more entertaining than when he's the underdog action hero and that is precisely what he is here.

The short wastes no time to get us into the action, starting in medias res with Mickey and Minnie tied up and at the mercy of pirate captain Pete. Just as Pete tries forcing himself on Minnie, Mickey breaks free of his ropes and the two rivals engage in a hilarious duel with gags galore. The humor is well thought out and rivals the likes of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

Not particularly or groundbreaking, but Shanghaied is still tons of fun. The entertainment factor has not eroded with time.