Cumulative rating:	(1 rating submitted)

Synopsis

Characters

Mickey Mouse Clarabelle Cow Pluto Goofy Big Bad Wolf Donald Duck (Voice: Clarence "Ducky" Nash) Fifer Pig Fiddler Pig Practical Pig Max Hare Pluto

Caricatures

Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Charlie Chaplin Harpo Marx Jack Holt W.C. Fields Eddie Cantor Greta Garbo Clark Gable Shirley Temple Harold Lloyd Edna May Oliver

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Distributor(s)

United Artists

Mickey Mouse Tracks (Season 1, Episode 16)

The Mickey Mouse Club (Season 2, Episode 65)

United States

Life with Mickey!

France

Les Aventures de Mickey et Minnie

Italy

Cartoon Classics : Limited Gold Editions II : La Vita con Toplolino

Japan

Donald Duck : A Star is Born

United States

Cartoon Classics : Limited Gold Editions II : Life With Mickey

United States

Mickey Mouse in Living Color

Extreme Sports Fun

Germany

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 1)

France

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 1)

Italy

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 1)

United Kingdom

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 1)

Sweden

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 1)

Canada

Classic Cartoon Favorites : Volume 5 : Extreme Sports Fun

Netherlands / Belgium

Mickey Mouse In Living Color

Running Time: 8:47

Animation Type: Standard (Hand-drawn-Cel) Animation

Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Color Type: Technicolor

Sound Type: Mono: RCA Sound Recording

Print Type: 35mm

Negative Type: 35mm

Cinematographic Format: Spherical

Original Language: English

Original Country: United States

Reviews and Comments

From David Gerstein at Ramapith :

This is the first of several Mickey cartoons in which Mickey has virtually nothing to do - to the point where you have to wonder where he "is" or what he's doing as the picture runs its course. Orphans' Picnic, following immediately, is another good example.

From Jerry Edwards :

A very fast-paced cartoon, full of gags. I always thought it odd that the scene of Laurel, attempting to stick a pin in the horse's rump to get it to go, accidentally sticking Hardy instead is usually censored, but the scene of Harpo Marx setting Donald afire with a blow torch is not censored.

From Ryan :

This is one of those shorts that I have only seen about once or twice in my lifetime. I find it to be quite funny in the fact that a lot of familiar (and not so familiar) faces of actors/actresses are shown in the crowd. One scene I liked was when Clark Gable kept wiggling his ears at Clarabelle. What a coincidence as I, myself, can wiggle my ears too!

From Ted :

I've decided to give this a 10 -- The Hollywood caricatures (as well as the Disney gang) are endearing and hilarious! And they have held up remarkably well with time. The "borrowing" of the celebrities and their routines places this cartoon firmly in the category of Parody. I've watched it over and over and loved every frame!

From Baruch Weiss :

As Mr.Gertstein mentioned this is one of several shorts where Mickey has virtually nothing to do - to the point where you wonder where he "is". Well it is all true because Mickey is not naturally funny and I guess that Walt and his studio staff felt that giving Mickey a bit part in the cartoon would be necessary. Anyway back to the short. I used to rent this cartoon on "Life with Mickey" and I now have it on "Mickey Mouse in Living Color." The best part was at the end where all the horses are riding the players.

From Bryce :

Fifi looks black and white similar to the Mickey Mouse cartoon Puppy Love in which Pluto in anger refused to be with Fifi right after a disagreement with her.

From Maxwell Morton "Max" Goudiss :

This is considered to be the final cartoon with Donald Duck and Goofy in their early designs as Disney decided to stick with Donald Duck and Goofy in their later designs that would both emerged in On Ice.

From Mike :

A very funny cartoon full of great sight gags. Laurel and Hardy were definitely the bright spots of this cartoon. Part of me wonders how this cartoon would be if Will Rogers had been alive to be in it? I guess I can only imagine.

From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project :

One thing that has appeared over and over again in the more recent shorts I have reviewed here are cameos/caricatures by Hollywood actors in the shorts. In Mickey’s Polo Team, this trend is taken to new heights. It also offers some great visual treats for longtime followers of the Disney shorts.

Where to begin? The premise of this short is that Mickey’s team of all star cartoon characters is taking on a team of movie stars in a friendly game of polo. Mickey’s team is listed as himself, The Goof (Goofy), the Big Bad Wolf and Donald Duck. Note that these were the biggest stars of Disney’s stable at the time, which is interesting. Pluto obviously couldn’t participate, and Minnie wouldn’t be involved, but the Big Bad Wolf is the big recurring character outside of the Fab Five.

Against them is a team of movie stars, all comedians. Laurel and Hardy, Harpo Marx and Charlie Chaplin form the opposition. This gives the animators the opportunity to do some visual gags with the caricatures, which they take full advantage of, using the gag of having the horses mirror the people.

One of the best scenes for fans of the Disney shorts comes as Mickey’s team takes the field. As we pan to the stands, we see a cavalcade of Silly Symphony stars sitting around Shirley Temple. Immediately to her side are the Three Little Pigs, but all around you can see the stars of Who Killed Cock Robin?, The Golden Touch, Peculiar Penguins and so many more.

This is the first time we have seen these characters outside of their original short, and it starts the enduring notion that cartoon stars exist outside the universe where they were first seen, and are true Hollywood stars just like the movie stars. This notion would show up in a myriad of films, most notably in Roger Rabbit, but it gets its start here.

After that, the next thing that really stands out in this short is that although it is ostensibly a Mickey Mouse cartoon, he is rarely in it, except as a background character. The gags of the short fall to Laurel and Hardy as well as Donald Duck. They are the ones who perform front and center. It’s an interesting choice, as the Laurel and Hardy gags are nothing you couldn’t have seen in one of their films of the time. Donald’s gags are more outlandish and cartoon worthy.

The last thing I’ll mention about this is the design of Donald and Goofy. Their character designs are similar here to before On Ice, with a much cruder look. I’m guessing that this short went into production before On Ice, because the designs are so different.

Overall, this short is quick moving, fun and entertaining. But it does not stand out as a purely “Disney” short, simply because the Disney characters are so little of the story. There’s much more focus on the movie stars or the cameos, but that doesn’t detract from a fun watch.

History

Sources