Mickey's Choo-Choo

I have always loved the Disney and Mickey Mouse cartoons. Mickey's Choo-Choo is not one of the best, but it is still interesting and fun. Like a lot of Mickey cartoons of the time, Mickey's Choo-Choo's story is rather light, though more involving than for example When the Cat's Away. My feelings on the animation were mixed. There are still some very nice moments, the opening scene is unique with the locomotive backing away from us rather than towards us, Minnie hanging on for dear life when the train is out of spiral has some inspired behind shots and Mickey's design is more rounded and closer than the later design that I am more used to. However, the backgrounds could have been smoother, there are a few times here where things look rather stiff and dare I say ugly and aside from the three things I mentioned not much stands out as new or particularly interesting. However, the music is simply wonderful, full of Carl Stalling's usual energy and characterful orchestration. There are some great gags also like Mickey's using a dog's teeth for a can-opener and Mickey feeding the train coal and it belches. Mickey and Minnie as well as being very cute together are still likable characters and not as bland as they have been in some cartoons(though in their defence in those cases they are pitted with stronger characters like Donald and Goofy), while the humanised train is an inspired touch. Other than Mickey's design what also stood out as interesting was the dialogue, which is more full-on than the cartoons before it that consisted of squeaks and one-liners turning into musical numbers. The voice acting is fine, after seeing some cartoons where Mickey sounded as though he was yet to find his voice here it is distinctive as Walt Disney's voice for many more Mickey Mouse cartoons to follow. All in all, not one of my absolute favourites, but interesting and still with fun to be had. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.

MICKEY'S CHOO-CHOO takes Minnie on a dangerous ride on the roof into the countryside.

This little black & white film has a plot entirely controlled by the soundtrack. Energetic & fast moving, it is still quite humorous to watch. Walt supplies 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.

The same Mickey mouse, singing and dancing. But there's a little more to the story. First, there's a running train which plays a part, then Mickey and Mini have got voices, which are wierd to say at least. By 21st centuries standards, it is a poorly made film. But I don't expect much from a 90 years old film. So, it's just good for me.

Like so many early Mickey Mouse cartoons, this one isn't especially heavy on plot but it's also quite charming and worth seeing--even if it is pretty crudely made according to today's standards.

The film begins and ends with Mickey riding the rails but in the middle he and Minnie have assorted minor adventures. Then, at the end there is a wreck and stuff gets pretty weird as Mickey and Minnie go careening down the rails on a boxcar. Nothing much more to it than this, but it is pretty clever and the film still keeps your interest today.

By the way, get a load of the train. It's a pretty adorable anthropomorphic train and has quite a bit of personality.

Mickey's Choo-Choo (1929)

*** (out of 4)

The railway station is the setting for this Mickey Mouse shorts, which starts off with him singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and then we get him and Minnie going on a little adventure that takes a bad turn when their train is unable to get up a mountain. Fans of these early shorts will enjoy this one as it features quite a few funny scenes but there's no question that the highlight was Mickey singing. He had already spoken in the previous shorts but there's no question that the voice left a lot to be desired. While his voice isn't what America came to love, there's still no doubt that there was a very big jump in terms of quality. The finale with the cart going through various tunnels was a nice bit of animation as well.