Bath Day

In this Minnie Mouse short it's is time for Figaro the cat to take a bath, and he doesn't much like being lathered in soapy water and groomed by his owner. She even ties a pink bow around his neck and sends him outside where he is quickly bullied and intimidated by some strays who don't take kindly to Minnie's humiliation tactics.

By chance he manages to thwart the most dangerous cat in the pack and win their respect, but not before getting dirty again and being threatened with another bath by his evil owner.

One of only eight shorts starring Figaro after his initial appearance in 1940's Pinocchio. He's a good character, a sort of Disney version of Sylvester or Tom. The short has nice, colorful animation and doesn't outstay its welcome.

It's a cartoon short featuring Minnie Mouse and Figaro, but mostly Figaro. Here, Minnie gives Figaro a bath and, after disliking it, he runs away outside and runs into an alley cat. What results are some funny cat-fight moments.

Minnie is hardly in this one, so Figaro definitely takes center stage. It's not as great as most of the Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoon, but it does have its funny moments. Figaro is one sassy cat you really don't want to mess with.

The animation is good and is one of the cartoons that brings back great childhood memories. Kids should like this one.

Grade B

A Walt Disney FIGARO Cartoon.

As if BATH DAY wasn't bad enough, a pampered & pomaded Figaro the kitten has a most nasty encounter with the meanest alley cat on the block.

This was one of a short series of cartoons that featured the little feline from PINOCCHIO (1940). There's plenty of good humor here, with the mangy villain getting exactly what he deserves. Minnie Mouse has a small role as Figaro's hygienically obsessed owner.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & 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 always pay off.

Another short recently added to the Disney Plus "short" film selection, "Bath Day" is my first Figaro short, Figaro of course being Minnie's pet cat (We'll gloss over the animals having animals as pets issue again as it's largely unresolvable). This looked good but the story was pretty basic.

Against his will, Minnie (Ruth Clifford) gives Figaro (Clarence Nash) a bath and a lovely new bow once she's finished. He heads out afterwards, chasing some nice smelling food and runs into a tough alley cat. Sensing that he can have some sport here, the cat begs Figaro off and allows him to corner him in an alley, before turning the tables. However, a series of dustbins fall on the cat, knocking him unconscious, his friends think that Figaro has beaten him up and run from the proud cat, as he makes his way home.

This short, from 1949 actually looks really nice, its' classic era Disney and has been cleaned up nicely for release on Disney Plus. Figaro started life as the cat in "Pinocchio" though I'm not clear enough on Disney-Lore as to whether it's supposed to be the same cat, or whether Minnie was inspired to get and name the cat having seen the film. The plot is fine, I described it as basic above, and it is, but it's also a cartoon for children and I'm sure it's slapsticky enough to keep them entertained. I can't honestly say I was charmed as I have been with some of the slightly older shorts though, particularly the ones set to music, those have been the most appealing.

This though was good, if perhaps not great.

Bath Day is a good cartoon, a little routine in the story perhaps, but has enough crisp pacing, fresh gags and cute moments(ie.Figaro's appearance) to satisfy. The animation is full of lively colouring and fluid background art, and the musical score is energetic and always dynamic with the action. Figaro is both adorable and funny, in regard to the latter it is especially true with the facial expressions, and the alley cat is a menacing contrast, and an effective one at that. Minnie isn't as prominent but still impressive.

All in all, a good cartoon, for what there isn't in story there is plenty in technical value, character and humour. 8/10 Bethany Cox