The Simple Things

I didn't know until looking at the reviews on Letterboxd and IMDb trivia that this was the last Mickey Mouse cartoon that Walt Disney worked on, in other words the final one that was a short in this format (I have to think Mickey Mouse showed up *somewhere* in the 13 ensuing years until Disney died, maybe someone can bring this info up). It certainly was a good one to leave off on, and mostly because it goes back to the spirit of the early Mickey Mouse shorts: Mickey having lots of gags involving other animals that are screwing around with him.

Of course it's not quite the same since we also have Pluto, but the raison d'etre of Mickey Mouse can be seen here just as well as in those late 20's and early 30's shots (it's not quite that quality, but then what is). It's a lot of fun to see the hijinks ensue with the clams and then the seagulls, and the light but constantly mounting touch that Disney brought, where a gag builds on top of another and it's about the affronting personalities and clashing of conflicts more than anything, makes it memorable.

I think that it helps to watch it as a kid initially, as I got to do (thanks Disney Classics VHS series in the 80's, which introduced me and other kids to Steamboat Willie by the way), so that the history of it and that significance can come later. If you take it on its own, it's not any masterwork but it's fun and engaging and cute and that's what counts.

In this Disney cartoon short, Mickey and Pluto go fishing by the beach (kind of makes you want to relax on a quiet, sunny day). Pluto has a run-in with a clam and Mickey's bait are chased by a hungry seagull.

As the Mickey's final cartoon in the Walt Era, the story could have been a lot better. It seemed that both Mickey and Pluto got the bad end of the stick in the plot, with Pluto getting the clam caught in his mouth and Mickey's fishing trip getting spoiled by the stupid, hungry and irritating seagull.

I remembered watching this cartoon as a kid and, while I enjoyed seeing Mickey and Pluto on screen, the seagull annoyed the heck out of me. Not one of the better Mickey cartoons.

Grade D---

Mickey and Pluto decide to go fishing by the ocean. They have little success because Pluto has an encounter with a clam and Mickey with a seagull. What could have been the enjoyment of the simple things becomes an incredibly unpleasant day. The clam seems a bit over the top. I've never liked seagulls. Basically it's about two pleasant characters having their days ruined through no fault of their own.

Since this was the last mickey mouse short it made no sense for that bird to be in the finale scene as the cartoon closes. i liked the title song. On one of the disney videos "Canine Comando"i saw a small segment of this short. I enjoyed the music.

The Simple Things (1953)

*** (out of 4)

Delightful animated short from Disney has Mickey and Pluto going fishing but both are terrorized by some local creatures. Pluto comes under attack from a clam, which leads to Mickey and his bait coming under attack by a seagull. THE SIMPLE THINGS is best remembered today for being the final Mickey short during his classic early days. With that in mind, the historic aspect alone makes this here worth watching even though the actual short isn't the greatest that the mouse appeared in. Still, there are enough good moments and laughs here to make it worth sitting through with the highlight clearly being the sequence where the clam gets inside Pluto's mouth and causes him some trouble. As you'd expect the animation is extremely good and we're also treated to a good score.