Hawaiian Holiday

FOLLOWING THE BY then well established format of having Donald Duck and Goofy playing the stooges to Mickey's straight man, this musically energized short puts the trio through their usual type antics. This picture, however, has the additional element of having Minnie Mouse present and both singing and doing some rodent-type sexy Hula.

IN ONE SENSE this is a fine example of what has been called "a clothesline picture"; that being a short subject that has a threadbare sort of a minimally constituted plot (if one at all), but exists only to provide to present a series of unrelated gags. (Warner Brothers ROAD RUNNER & COYOTE Cartoons are q fine example of this type.)

AS WE HAVE already stated, the funny business is left to Donald, Goofy and Pluto. The situations generally pit the trio individually against the forces of nature, some local sea creatures and their own pride and ineptitude. The scene quickly shifts to one of the three, only to shift again and keep our attention.

FROM WHAT WE have read elsewhere, there was a lot of interest in the then territory of Hawaii. It was a time in which the typical American viewed the Islands as being our own very piece of paradise.

IRONICALLY, WITHIN THE coming four years, it would become the focus on a very different event, namely the attack on Pearl Harbor of December 7, 1941.

An amusing cartoon that points up the major flaw with Mickey: he's just not very interesting. He's talented, graceful and so forth, but too much in control of any situation and lacks anything like an amusing character. The Disney solution was to give him a strong supporting cast, including Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto -- with his girlfriend, Minnie, in a grass skirt, dancing the hula. But in the following couple of years, the three supporting characters would each be given his own series of starring shorts, and Mickey would find himself largely out of a job, eventually turned into a corporate icon.

In the meantime, take a look at this one.

The title could be the synopsis, too: Mickey and his pals are on vacation in Hawaii. There is no plot, we simply see the characters engaged in activities appropriate for the islands. This being a cartoon, the fun also contains its quota of mishaps: Pluto has issues with a starfish and a crab, Donald lights his fanny on fire dancing a hula, and Goofy has a recurring headache trying to catch a wave on an uncooperative surf. Animation from this era often seems slower when compared to the breakneck pacing perfected by Bob Clampett and Tex Avery in the 1940s, but this time the unhurried gait fits the material perfectly. A Hawaiian vacation has to be mellow for us to appreciate the lush colors and meticulous backgrounds that occupy each frame. Noteworthy is the "split-screen" action above and below water level as Goofy searches for his surfboard (while under water, Goofy's animation is especially "fluid"). The real disappointment is Mickey himself. By 1937 he was already the "hole in the doughnut," and having Minnie carry him by hula-dancing to his slack-key guitar only draws attention to his lack of comic potential. What she ever saw in him is anyone's guess.

Mickey Mouse and friends are vacationing in Hawaii where they get into one situation after another in their attempts to have fun. Goofy tries his hand at surfing but the waves aren't cooperating. Actually, the ocean kicks his butt. Donald sets his rear on fire then struggles with a starfish. Pluto has his own troubles with a seashell and a crab. Mickey and Minnie basically do nothing interesting. A slight but amusing short. Disney's first released through RKO after five years of working with United Artists. Nice animation and lovely colors. Good music, too. Funny in spots but nothing hilarious. A good way to kill eight minutes but nothing to write home about.

I downloaded this cartoon from archive.org, as it's apparently in the public domain--a rarity for old Disney cartoons. However, why I downloaded it was because it indicated that this one had been banned--presumably for offensive content. Now THAT had my curiosity piqued--especially since I've seen this cartoon playing at the Disney resorts on their closed circuit TV--so it can't exactly banned! In fact, after watching it I noticed two things--there was absolutely nothing offensive about it AND despite the site saying it was from 1941, the film actually came out in 1937. Now for 1937, this was a very good film--with typically exquisite animation and backgrounds (the best of any studio at the time) and a nice sense of fun. Watch this one and see Pluto deal with a nasty crab and Goofy try (very unsuccessfully) to surf at Mickey, Minnie and Donald frolic on the beach. Well worth seeing.