And just to clarify, a commenter was confused about the fact that the film starts with the Overture to Zampa, but for the rest of the film features the William Tell Overture. This is because as the film starts, Mickey's band has just concluded Zampa. He then changes the card to "William Tell", the next number in the concert. This is, though, the composer's (Leigh Harline?) arrangement of William Tell, mixing the various movements in that Overture together, condensing it for one reel.
I've always felt that Donald Duck seems to work better when his grating nature is balanced by another character who is a bit more easy going, which is why he worked so well as a supporting character for Mickey.
In this short, Donald is enjoying the orchestra so much and is so eager to join in the fun that he pulls out a flute and starts playing along. It's just unfortunate that he only knows one song... He's not mean-spirited or abrasive, just incompetent, and quite charming.
In a way, The Band Concert was also the impetus for this website itself. I was always a big Disney fan, but I tended to concentrate (as most do) on the feature films. One day I was going through my video collection (most of which I picked up from a local video store that was going out of business) and came across one called "Mickey's Crazy Careers." Just to kill time I put it on. When The Band Concert came on, I was mesmerised, and by the time it was over I was rolling on the floor. I went to the web to try to find more information on it and found very little on it, or any other shorts as well. Thus, the Encyclopedia was born.
Besides the major gags, this short is filled with smaller touches that highlight the film throughout: the hats that fly off of the band and back on in perfect time with the music; Mickey's uniform which seems to be two sizes too big as evidenced by the sleeves that keep slouching over his gloves; Donald Duck's tail which gives a little twitch right before he begins to cause mischief (watch for it) and his inexhaustible supply of flutes; and, of course, Mickey's conducting which holds the band together and forms the music almost as if by sheer power of will.
The short begins with Mickey and his band on the bandstand, acknowledging their applause of the audience and preparing for a performance of "The William Tell Overture." They begin, Mickey coaxing music out of the band using nothing more than baton movements and facial expressions. Donald Duck as a refreshment vendor wanders in and decides that he wants to join in with the band, but in his own way of course. What follows is a wonderful sequence where Donald continually takes over the band by playing "Turkey in the Straw" while Mickey vainly tries to regain control. The second that Mickey takes Donald's flute away, Donald just comes up with another one. (At one point, the trombone player grabs Donald with his trombone and shakes a pile of flutes out of him!)
A bee buzzes through and various members of the band go through different ways of getting rid of it. When Mickey uses his baton to try to rid himself of the bee, the band and the music faithfully play alone with his movements. The highlight of the sequence come when Horace Horsecollar, the percussionist, tries to kill the bee; first with a pair of cymbals, and then with a sledgehammer. Both times the clarinet player gets in the way, to hilarious results.
The following sequence, however, is the topper. Mickey turns the page of his score to the next section, "The Storm." (You can tell this is going to be an especially difficult section as extra pieces of paper have been taped onto the score to accommodate the more extreme notes.) Mickey rolls up his sleeves, Horace takes off his jacket and they begin. The clarinetist is first to play; note how he has his legs locked under the chair as if he's ready to give it everything he's got. Of course, as they begin the section a real storm comes along: a tornado, which begins to tear apart the countryside. The audience sees it and runs away; even the benches they are sitting on run away, but Mickey and his band see nothing but their music and keep on playing. Seemingly oblivious to what is going on around them, concentrating only on the music, swept up into the tornado, going through doors, goosed by fences, blinded by flying underwear, they play on, never missing a beat. The most wonderful thing is how Mickey's music stand stays with him all the way.
And then, in a miraculous moment, when the storm and the music is at its peak, Mickey raises his arms to stop .... and everything freezes. Then the music and the winds start to wind down as Mickey begins again, as if he is conducting not just the music but the tornado itself. The storm brings them back down to earth, depositing them among the branches of a large tree which has somehow survived the storm, and plopping Mickey down in front of it, music stand and all. He brings the band to a magnificent coda; a magical Christmas tree of musicians and music.
Mickey turns to accept the applause of the audience. But is there anyone left? Yes, one member, Donald, who amid the catcalls of the band, manages to get the last (musical) word in.
Okay, now that I have that out of the way, I can talk about The Band Concert, another big milestone in Mickey’s career. It’s his first color short, and most people believe, his finest short in a long career.
Why is this so good? In my opinion, it’s because we have the entire cast of Mickey’s friends used in a great fashion, with their own distinct personalities, and playing off of each other well. It’s a short where you stop worrying about the animation or the colors and focus entirely on the characters.
The short is a Mickey Mouse cartoon, but Donald Duck steals the show. Donald appears shortly after the band begins playing and takes out a flute to start playing “Turkey in the Straw,” in contrast to the band that is playing the William Tell Overture. Despite Mickey breaking his flute, Donald whips out another one, then another and another. His magical appearance of flutes is one of the funniest bits ever in a Disney short.
But there’s so much more than just Donald. The interruption of a bumblebee causes some great action, with Donald launching ice cream at the bee and the ice cream ending up running down Mickey’s back. His shimmy, accompanied by appropriate belly dance music, is laugh out loud funny.
We also get a glimpse of other favorite characters, like Goofy and Clarabelle. I mentioned before that I did not remember the two of them being so “friendly” when I saw them as romantic partners in the movie, The Three Musketeers. But here, they are just that, as you see them flirting and glancing at each other over their instruments.
The big finish is the tornado sequence, which is simply stunning, from a comedic and artistic standpoint. Mickey and his band are lifted into the air by a tornado, but they never stop playing. Mickey slides through windows and doors, the band is flung up and down and in circles, but the music keeps going.
When they finally collapse into a tree, it’s not the one big crash and rubble scene we have seen in other Mickeys. No, this time, the animators take time to single out each character, showing them landing in a tree and continuing to play. Then, when the camera pulls wide to show the chaos in the tree, it’s a much more resonant shot. Great work.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on Mickey’s color, since this is the first time we have seen it. The sight of Mickey outside his normal red pants and yellow shoes is odd for someone who has grown up with that. That said, this is a classic look for Mickey, with the white face (as opposed to the flesh color he has now) and black everywhere else. His eyes are not as defined as they would later be, but he is instantly recognizable.
I’ve read tons of articles and books that call this the best Mickey short of all time, and I can’t disagree with that. Other shorts have favorite moments of mine (Lonesome Ghosts comes to mind), but none are so consistent and wonderful as The Band Concert.
Donald is really funny. He just can't wait to hijack Mickey's concert and delights in swaying the band members over to his tune, but the moment someone retaliates he can't take it and is absolutely furious! Mickey does well too, kitted out in his oversized costume, he's absolutely full of determination for him and his ragtag group of musicians to do this music justice no matter what.
The cartoon is so full of details I still notice things I've never seen before despite watching it many times over. I'd never spotted the birds flying backwards in the wind or the upside down house in the background of the Christmas tree scene before today.
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