The Jazz Fool

Prior to the creation of the Hays Office (named for Will Hays, the first official censor, who left Washington just ahead of the posse, having been part of the Harding administration, the most corrupt administration pre-1968) and the installation of the Code in the early 1930s by these paragons of virtue, films were more free-wheeling and cartoons were no exception. The Mickey of this timeframe was closer to Dennis the Menace than the Mouse he came to be just a few years hence. In some ways, this Mickey was more interesting and more fun. Music was almost always large part of cartoons in general and in the early days of sound, was hugely important just as something of a novelty. Excellent score here and hilarious almost from first frame to last. Well worth tracking down. Most recommended.

The Jazz Fool isn't one of the Mickey Mouse cartoons that people go 'Oh, yeah, I LOVE that one!' But then it isn't presenting itself as anything super ambitious; it's something that has some fun ideas, and is there to show Mickey having a good time at the piano. The most creative parts of this involve actually some of the other characters or, you know, 'things'; it's hard to forget the clothes that come off the hanger to dance around, or the cow who takes out its teeth and uses them as xylophone keys and proceeds to make one of the best musical moments of the whole thing.

In this short, Mickey is playing in his 'Big Show' for the animals in the audience, and plays the piano in such a way that it's practically abuse (!) By the end the piano gets its just desserts, but for the most part this short almost acts like one of the Silly Symphony shorts (or a prototype of them); just showing characters having some dilly-dallying to swinging music is enough for five minutes sometimes.

If you'd like to know what made the Disney studio's output so special, and stand out so strongly from the rest of the pack, take a look at some of the early Mickey Mouse cartoons from around 1929-30. The Jazz Fool was produced just as Mickey was catching on as a highly popular character, and like so many of the early efforts it's a plot-free, high-spirited romp consisting of non-stop music and dancing. This particular cartoon isn't one of the select few usually ranked among the "classics" by connoisseurs; it is, in essence, just another release in the ongoing Mickey series, but it's a charmer from start to finish which demonstrates just how good the Disney studio's routine product from this period could be.

The show kicks off with a parade: Mickey rolls along on a horse-drawn wagon, playing a goofy tune on a calliope while dozens of animals dance along behind. He's parading through a rural area, inspiring local cows to stop grazing and waltz to the music. Even pairs of flannel long johns drop off a clothes-line to join in. When the wagon halts Mickey plays for the gathering crowd, while his horse—who looks like an early version of Horace Horsecollar—provides percussion alternately on a drum, on a local cat who happens to be handy, and then on his own dentures. Once the crowd has gathered in the auditorium Mickey takes the stage looking dapper and self-confident: he wears a top hat, spins a cane, and carries a satchel. First he opens the satchel and it becomes a baby grand piano, then he smoothly turns his hat and cane into a stool. (Mickey possesses Felix the Cat-like magical powers in this cartoon.) Seated, he launches into a jaunty melody, and performs some cute musical gags: for instance, when he slams the keyboard several keys fly into the air, and land just in time to complete a melodic phrase.

As the performance continues, however, something interesting happens. Mickey's playing becomes more and more aggressive. He beats time on the side of the piano, then pounds the lid, then starts hammering the keys with his fists, and we gradually become aware that the piano itself is reacting angrily to this treatment. It grimaces, bears its "teeth" at its tormentor, and puts up resistance as the treatment gets rougher. Mickey responds by playing more intensely and actually spitting tobacco juice onto the keys. Finally, striking a masterful lion tamer stance, he beats his adversary into submission for an exhilarating finale. The piano crumples, exhausted—then, in a surprise finish, it comes back to life and bites the seat of Mickey's pants! This is a terrific cartoon, better seen than described. Hardly any words are spoken and none are needed: the progress of Mickey's battle with the baby grand is easily followed, told entirely through witty character animation, music, and sound effects. The Jazz Fool is simplicity itself, yet it somehow strikes a deeper chord, like the most memorable scenes in the best silent comedies.

P.S. The title of this short is a play on two of Al Jolson's then-recent successes for Warner Brothers, The Jazz Singer and The Singing Fool, but there are no Jolson impressions or specific references to either feature. This cartoon stands on its own, with no topical references to date it.

The shorts in those times were more about showing some pictures on screen rather than telling a story. This one is very similar to Mickey mouse shorts of that period, i.e, it's just music and dancing. If it had amazingly great music or great choreography, I could have liked it. But it's nothing more than normal dancing, with added a naughty piano and some cows.

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.

Mickey's Big Road Show arrives with THE JAZZ FOOL himself as the star attraction.

This is an enjoyable early black & white film, with the plot driven entirely by the musical soundtrack, which features elements of ragtime & Dixieland jazz. Horace Horsecollar gets to showoff his solo instrumentalist talents. The animators threw in a heavy dose of their favorite posterior jokes - even Mickey's piano has its bare bottom smacked. The title is a salute to two recent Al Jolson film hits, THE JAZZ SINGER (1927) & THE SINGING FOOL (1928). Walt Disney performs Mickey's squeaky voice.

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 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 simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.