Alpine Climbers

I own all of the four films with Silly Symphonies and Micky Mouse. I found many of the short films to be masterpieces. They are all so very well-done and funny.

This one is about Mickey,Donald and Pluto that is going to go out and climb a mountain. It's a hilarious little film with many funny things in it.

The typical chaos that follows Mickey and Donald everywhere provide most of the laughs in this cartoon. They're climbing the Alps and literally dragging Pluto behind them. Donald decides to mad at a little mountain goat for some reason, Mickey attempts the ridiculously evil crime of stealing an eagles eggs and Pluto ends up freezing and being rescued by one of those mountain dwelling St. Bernards with the barrel of booze (do these really exist btw?).

It's 10 minutes of putting the characters through as much aggravation as possible withing their environment. A lot of Mickey/Donald cartoons are like this and this one is nothing special.

Not one of my absolute favourite cartoons, but one I do love Alpine Climbers anyhow. The character designs have been a little better before and since, but still there is a certain charm to them. The colours have a nice contrast between light and dark and the backgrounds are fluid and not too jerky. The music is energetic and dynamic, as you'd expect from a Disney cartoon. The story is simple, but never dull, and all three characters are great. Mickey is good and likable, though it's in the climax where he's at his most involved. For me, while Donald still delights with his frustration and cantankerous personality Pluto is as cute as ever and his moments are the best in Alpine Climbers. All the gags are funny and imaginatively spaced-out, the best being the moment between Pluto and the St Bernard Dog who comes to his aid, though the fun climax and the gag between Donald and the baby goat are just as effective. All in all, great fun. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

A very enjoyable, if slightly raucous early short from Walt, 'Alpine Climbers' follows our boys Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto the dog as they journey through the Alps and endure a series of misadventures with the local fauna, including a mother eagle, two mountain goats and a rescue St. Bernard. I have some pretty distinct memories of watching it several times over in my childhood, and have always adored it, if only for the scenes between Pluto and the aforementioned St. Bernard who, in a drunken state, he falls completely in love with (and whose gender, incidentally, is never specified, though I guess it isn't too important!) I just can't resist the moment where he gets triple vision and erroneously believes that the bewildered rescue aid dog is returning his suggestive gestures – well face it, no one does mute comedy quite as Pluto does. And the St. Bernard's character design is a pleasure.

Overall though, Pluto's story makes up only a very small aspect of 'Alpine Climbers', and to be perfectly honest the rest is pretty much take or leave. It's certainly entertaining, and works neatly as a showcase of all three characters' defining dispositions – Mickey as the mellow straight man, Donald as the temperamental angry man, and Pluto as the naïve sweetie (he's just so darn cute!). At the same time, it's interesting to watch from a retrospective point of view just to see the more old school character designs. Still, though the skits involving Mickey and Donald are amusing enough in their own right, really there's just too much of the generic slapstick and calamity you can find in any number of these cartoon shorts, which does give it a somewhat undistinguished tone. That said, it's always delightful to see Donald fly by using his tail feathers as a propeller – that's inspired genius, plan and simple!

In my eyes, 'Alpine Climbers' is definitely deserving of its classic status, though it's mostly thanks to the input of Pluto and that gorgeous St. Bernard – a subplot which is just brimming with cuteness and charm. In between, there are some pretty noteworthy lessons to be picked up on about interfering with the local ecosystems of wherever you may go (again, you should never attempt to steal eagle eggs from their nests – really, I'd expect Mickey Mouse to know better than that!)

Grade: A-

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto climb a mountain. Actually Pluto isn't really climbing, he is hanging with a rope detached to the other two. When they are on the top all three find their own problems.

This is a very nice short. Mickey has some trouble with eagles, Donald with a lamb and Pluto with another dog. Some things were really funny. I enjoyed this one very much.