The Dognapper

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.

Minnie's Fifi has been stolen and Patrolmen Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck track THE DOGNAPPER - Peg Leg Pete - to his hideout in an old, derelict sawmill.

This is a very enjoyable black & white cartoon, with plenty of action & excitement. In only his third film Donald is already stealing scenes from the Mouse. Walt Disney supplies the voice for Mickey; Clarence "Ducky" Nash does the quacking for the Duck.

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.

That's how good The Dognapper is. The animation is great, the black and white colours are very crisp, the backgrounds never feel too sparse, the characters are well-drawn(even if I am familiar with and prefer their features later on) and it all looks very crisp. The music as I've said many times has always been a large part of why the Disney shorts on the most part are so good to me. The Dognapper is no exception to this, the orchestration is beautiful and lively and it is full of non-stop energy. I just love the characters. Mickey is a likable hero, which contrasts wonderfully with Donald's temperamental coward, while Pete is as antagonistic as ever. The story has never a dull moment and what was also really good was how it jumped straight into things instead of having lots of filler to begin with. And The Dognapper is non-stop action and gags. These gags are ones that are laugh-a-minute as well, and all of them are spot-on, right from Pete knocking out the bridge and Mickey and Donald stretching their motorcycle to ride the rails to the silhouette images of the characters in the hole to the sawmill chasing them. In conclusion, not my favourite Disney short but up there with the best of them. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of the last black & white Mickey Mouse cartoons, but despite lacking color, the quality of the animation is first-rate. Not only are the characters animated well, but the backgrounds are tops as well--with vivid shading and lots of depth. Frankly, this looks a lot better than most color cartoons due to all the time and effort used to make it.

The cartoon has very little in the way of plot. Peg-leg Pete has kidnapped a puppy and the police (Mickey and an early version of Donald) are in hot pursuit. And, despite Mickey and his pal being complete boobs, they manage to save the day. The big climax is in a sawmill and most of the film takes place there. As far as the action goes, none of it is a huge surprise but it does hold up well almost 80 years later. Lots of cartoony violence and action--the sort of cartoon that really appeals to younger audience members.

This is a hilarious cartoon where Mickey and Donald (a very early version of Donald) team up to rescue Fifi from dognapper Pegleg Pete. From dodging runaway seesaws to fighting gunfire, this cartoon is chock full of classic slapstick humor and silly action.

Clarence Nash voices both Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse in this short and did a good job, matching his Mickey voice like Walt Disney's.

The quality of the animation is great and holds up well throughout its time, even though it's an 80+ year-old black and white cartoon short! Great fun here!

Grade A