Cumulative rating:	(5 ratings submitted)

Associated Studio(s)

Synopsis

Characters

Japan

Mickey's Greatest Hits

United States

Mickey Mouse in Living Color - Volume 2

Germany

Disney Treasures : Wave 3 : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 2)

Italy

Disney Treasures : Wave 3 : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 2)

United Kingdom

Disney Treasures : Wave 3 : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 2)

Sweden

Disney Treasures : Wave 3 : Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Volume 2)

Netherlands / Belgium

Mickey Mouse In Living Color: Volume Twee

Running Time: 7:45

MPAA No.: 33933

MPAA Rating: G

Original Language: English

Original Country: United States

Reviews and Comments

From PlopKat :

I like this short very much. I saw it during it's original release with "A Kid In King Arthur's Court" (I doubt I would have seen this movie if Runaway Brain had not been playing with it). The theater I saw it at also displayed the one-sheet poster for the cartoon. "People" magazine gave Runaway Brain a nice mention in its review of "A Kid" saying that the cartoon had more good laughs than the feature it accompanied. I also saw Runaway Brain again before Disney's live-action "George of the Jungle." It was a nice surprise as the cartoon was not mentioned in any ads or reviews I saw of "George."

From Christian :

I really liked this short. I was pleased to see Mickey and Minnie both back on the big screen. I liked the inside joke about the name "Dr. Frankenollie" I think this was one of the best Disney inside gags ever. I really wish I could purchase this cartoon short on video and was hoping that it would of been part of "The Spirit of Mickey" video.

From Charles Buchanan :

I'm not sure if it's a true injoke, but Dr. Frankenollie is practically the spitting image of Professor Ecks, a mad scientist monkey Mickey tangled with in one of his 1930s comic strip adventures drawn by Floyd Gottfredson. In fact, whenever I see Dr. Frankenollie, I think of him as Professor Ecks instead.

From Anonymous :

This is one of the best shorts ever produced in this modern age. I can't believe Disney doesn't seem interested in making more short subjects just like it! The great thing about RB is it wasn't just simple slapstick it had inside jokes, brilliant animation, and a simple story.

From Lee Suggs :

I always wanted to see this short so I ordered a video that contained it from The United Kingdom. Then I had a friend (who used to live in Europe) convert it from PAL format to whatever the heck format we use in the U.S. of A. So after finally seeing the short I was somewhat confused as to why it hasn't been released in the United States. It was a lot of fun seeing Mickey become a monster, chase around Minnie, get switched back to Mickey and rescue Minnie from the real monster. (a giant Pete, of course) I couldn't tell for sure, but the animation looked very good, and the story sure moved a lot well. I've even seen some apparel (at Disneyland) with Mickey the monster on it as a villain. So why hasn't Runaway Brain been released in the United States on video? My only guess is that Disney is afraid it will scare young fans of the Mouse. It is violent at the beginning, and somewhat scary when Mickey is a monster. In fact, my children (3 and 5) watched it once and refuse to watch "Monster Mickey" again.

From Justin Waterbury :

Here's some trivia for you "Simpsons" fans out there. The guy who voices Dr. Frankenollie (Kelsey Grammar) is the same guy who voices Sideshow Bob, Krusty the Klown's former sidekick from the "Simpsons."

From Chris Bergstrom :

I saw this short when I went to see "George of the Jungle" with my younger sister and my aunt in St. Louis. I loved it! Compare it with the very first Mickey short Plane Crazy. Look how much the animation has changed. Look how much Mickey has changed. It truly was a gem.

From J. D. Weil :

After five years, I finally got to see Runaway Brain and now I can comment on it. There is both good news and bad news involved in there. The good news is that this short has a good story, good timing, and is well executed. There are pop culture references in here as well as references to Mickey's own career. (e,g, Mickey whistles the theme to Steamboat Willie. as he approaches Dr. Frankenollie's door). The bad news is that there is a sense of deja vu in watching this short. Some of the gags are clearly recycled Mickey brings down the monster in the same way that he brought down the giant in The Brave Little Tailor. This is probably the reason that Walt Disney called a halt to the series after The Simple Things. That the writers just ran out of ideas to keep Mickey fresh. It also predicts some of the problems that would later plague "MouseWorks". This is nothing to take away from the quality of this short. It was a long time in coming.

From Dave Scherr :

Just to let you know this hasn't completely disappeared yet... I saw it recently at a local drive in (Cottage Grove, MN) during the intermission... Everyone seemed to really enjoy it... It's a shame it hasn't made it onto video.

From Billy Hicks :

I watched this on "Mickey's Greatest Hits", which was released in the UK (Which is where I live) as well as Japan. Some bits are pretty creepy-especially when Dr Frankenollie's burned skin crumbles away to a skeleton. I enjoyed the referential gags though- like when Mickey in a monsters body shows his wallet and there's a picture of Steamboat Willie. in it. "Aw, that's old". Given that Minnie tells Mickey it's the anniversary of her first date with him, (Not married yet then) could that mean that they started dating in 1925? 70th Anniversary? Mmmmm, could be. Anyway, It's a great cartoon.

From Mike :

Wow I saw that short as I downloaded on WinMX. It's cool! I like the way Mickey and Minnie get together in the end. But in the other part where Mickey and Julius switches brains, Pete's body talks like mickey and Mouse body with a scare look like Pete that keeps saying Minnie.

From Barb :

I have not seen this short and have no desire to do so. I became aware if this upon viewing another website. Mickey should not be portrayed or promoted as "evil." I am not sure what the goal of Disney Paris was in creating such a character. If they were looking for ratings or sales, it is very sad that they had to resort to making an evil Mickey. I found some of the comments on your web page to be of the same sentiment as mine. Interesting that this "short," as they call it, has very limited availability here in the U.S. and is not in the Disney Channel rotation. I applaud that decision.

From Zach Meehan :

I'm amazed no one has mentioned the tribute to The Exorcist. When Mickey is standing outside of Dr. Frankenollie's house, it's a perfect spoof of when the priest is standing in front of Regan's house in the dark. I love this short and I'm praying this gets released in the US so I can finally own it.

From Jerry Edwards :

Not much to add to the excellent comments already listed. I enjoy the short but don't rate it as highly as most others. I do enjoy the fact that Disney even attempted this modern take on Mickey. I was able to copy this short from the Disney Channel back around November 2001, when it was shown as part of the celebration of Mickey's birthday.

From Jason TDD :

As a die hard Disney fan, it was a while before I opportunity to see this classic. As an animation fanatic I truly can not express the beauty and happiness I received watching this short. It is very interesting to see Mickey's evolution through out the years, and it looks like he's going in the right direction. Runaway Brain is a masterpiece, and it wonderful to see a long awaited Mickey performance. As for those closed minded people that did not like the "Evil Mickey" don't watch it! As a person that considers someone breaking one of my Mickey statues as sacreligious, I found this short positively charming. The "evil Mickey" actually not even Mickey, is as a nine year old can comprehend the monster Julius, in Mickey's body. To see this monster is great, and I applaud the character designer for not taking it too extreme to offend fans. If one can not appreciate the great story of this short, it is only the product of their own small mindedness. Many need to praise this adventure, and others just leave the negative comments to yourself. I was surprised no one mentioned Lobotomy Lane, referencing to Lobotomy, a procedure with a hammer device to puncture a lobe as a last resort to those with uncontrollable actions and anguish. A great short, keep it up Disney! I'll be looking forward to seeing this possibly in later editions of the Disney Treasures DVDs. Disney has never let me down, and I can't wait to see more shorts like this one. And maybe if we're lucky we'll get a chance to see Julius taking over Mickey's body again, with a happy ending of course. "I hope we never lose sight of one thing, that it all was started with a mouse."

From Jessie :

I only simply wish Disney would continue to put new Mickey and co shorts on the big screen instead of just the "Mouse Works" and "House of Mouse" tv shows. I really think it would be a wonderful idea for short cartoons to return to theaters like in the old days, for most of the time the new cartoons are as great as the old ones with of course the more modern touch. Runaway Brain deserves more recognition, it being the first Mickey short in decades, and I think they should even try this with the other characters (Goofy, Donald etc.) Sort of like how Pixar has attached to their films short cartoons, sometimes old and sometimes new. I hope I got my point across. Runaway Brain is a great short and I love seeing the evil Mickey, and I don't recall, when I saw the short with "George of The Jungle" being afraid of it (even being young too). Viva Mickey Mouse!

From Laura B. :

I applaud anyone who was able to find all the secret jokes (eg. Exorcist, Steamboat Willie whistle) but did anyone notice the gag in the first scene? On the wall behind Mickey as he's playing video games is a picture of a piece of cheese sitting on a mousetrap. The tagline underneath says "Just Say No." Pretty witty if you ask me! I've just seen this for the first time in 2003. (Actually downloaded it!) Overall, I think the animation is fantastic and fresh, and proves to us "older kids" that Mickey can indeed be funny. (This was the first short that made me truly laugh outloud, not including some "House of Mouse" eppys.) Mickey's expressions alone make me want to break out my "How to Draw Mickey" book and get crackin' again! I agree that this is scary for young children...I was pretty freaked out myself this year when I saw a guest at Disney World with the Monster Mickey on a villians shirt. I can see why parents would hate it for it's scariness, but I don't think it should be banned for that. I'm not sure if I heard correctly, but I thought I head Minnie scream "God damn it, Mickey!" This IS where I draw the line! However, they should make more shorts before their cinema features, just like the good old days! There is no subliminal message in this short! People are too narrow-minded. Just watch a cartoon and enjoy it, for pete's sake!

From Rick W J :

I'd give this short a 10 for the Fun Factor alone! I loved this short so much that I tracked down a copy of it from Japan on laserdisc and converted it to DVD. All of the inside jokes are funny. I also liked Mickey playing the video game in the beginning - The 7 Dwarves fighting the witch in a Mortal Kombat-style game. All of the Dwarves are dead and he's on his last man -- DOPEY!

I had to pay a high price to get that laserdisc, but it was worth it! I doubt Disney will ever put it on DVD themselves, but I'm happy with my home-made disc. It sits on my video rack with all of the other Disney Treasures. If anyone gets a chance to see this fun film, I recommend it!

From Keith Blackmore :

As an collector of film for the past 20 years I've been fortunate to have acquired 2 beautiful 16mm prints of Runaway Brain. Whenever I screen it, whether it's family and friends or as part of my History of Animation classes at V.F.S. I always get a huge response. Naturally everyone wants to know where it was first shown, where they can view it now, i.e video, and can I make a video/DVD copy for them. So don't hide it. Give everyone a chance to watch this awesome short. And if you are able...Share it others. A definite 9 of 10.

From Dragon Rider :

I remember finding in a magazine a comic book adaption of Runaway Brain (screenshots with speechbubbles attached) and ever since then having been waiting for the day when I could see this cartoon myself. Now FINALLY on Mickey's 75th birthday, the Disney channel (UK) have shown it and I loved it. Everything from its short and sweet story, to its animation (particularly Mickey's facial expressions) to its inside jokes. The "Just say no." poster...hah! I had the sense to tape it too, now I can watch it all over again! 10 out of 10!

From Will Matijns :

Not that I'm a traditionalist, but I really think Mickey is not the kind of character to be doing stuff like this. The cartoon is actually very, very good but Mickey and Minnie seem completely out of place in this relatively dark piece, I keep getting distracted by the fact that they appear here, it almost seemed to me as watching Chaplin in a 80's college fraternity comedy. The studio tries hard to make the humour fresh with inside jokes and homage nods to other films, but in a day and age where everyone does this in cartoons and all, the effect gets diluted, besides trying to update such a wholesome character as Mickey with an already well established personality is awkward and backfires, it's understandable they relented in this attempt to revive the Mickey series at least in this fashion, since their flagship character would otherwise run the risk of diluting its style and essence.

From Steven :

I give this short a ten, because this is the best Mickey and Minnie mouse short I have seen to date. It showcases their friendship, their romance, and how unsteady their relationship can be at times. Yet despite that, Mickey does prove that he'll chose his girl over his video game, even if it means getting his brain stolen. I absolutely love the fact that they highlighted Minnie's sex appeal by saying "Oh my...what would Mickey think?!" when she's in a store thinking about buying a bikini for the Hawaii trip. Which is something they should be doing more of!

From Robert Poole :

When I first saw the preview for Runaway Brain, I was instantly frightened by the "psycho Mickey" in the cartoon and the whole thing itself. But now 8-9 years later I saw it on Kazaa and now I think it's a modern Disney classic. "Just say no!"; the "Seven Dwarves Combat" game; Dr. Frankenollie (I kinda agree that he looks like a redesigned version of that "Dr. Ecks" character); boy did Disney put a lot of cute jokes in here. I think the Julius monster was Pete under the latest of his many aliases; plus he had a pegleg so it must be a reference to the original "Pegleg Pete". Good job Disney! 10 out of 10.

From Robert C. :

Now I'm not that old, but I have been a Mickey fan for about my entire life. This cartoon, which I wasn't able to track down until I saw it's name on a foreign toy, was something I heard about when I was a little kid, and to me it was the first time Mickey was in danger, and I was worried. Many a year went by before I knew how my hero got out of this one. This cartoon still had that same mouse I always knew, but when faced with a real challenge, showed that he could over come it. I think this cartoon was true to Mickey while showing that, if he needed to, he could certainly rise to the occasion.

From Christian :

This is a great short and if I recall correctly I went to the theater in 1995 to see a movie other than "A Kid in King's Arthur Court" but timed things so that I could go in and watch Runaway Brain and then go to the other movie. The subject matter is admittedly dark but this would only really be a problem if there was a whole string of "dark" Mickey shorts, but there is only this one and it didn't start any sort of trend. Also, Mickey is NEVER evil in it. Being forced to have a monster's brain temporarily put into your head does not make you evil. The animation done by Andreas Deja is excellent and a delight to watch. I have showed this to a few people since getting my Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume II DVD a week or two ago and everyone has immensely enjoyed it and I plan on showing it to more people.

From Ross :

I had never seen this cartoon at all, but when I got Mickey Mouse In Living Color II, this Mickey cartoon rocked big time! I absolutely couldn't stop watching it! It had action, horror, love, and slapstick humor all at the same time. Mickey tries to earn $999.99 for a Hawaiian vacation with Minnie on their anniversary. Suddenly, an evil scientist named Dr. Frankenollie puts Mickey's brain into his giant monster named Julius. Now Julius has Mickey's voice, and Mickey is now a bloodthirsty monster with Julius's voice. Then after a zap on some telephone pole wires, Mickey is back to normal. The next scene rocked big time! Julius captures Minnie, and Mickey's like: "Let go of my girlfriend!" Minnie's like: "Aaaaaahhh!! Help me! Save me, Mickey!" And Mickey's like: "Take that, you giant evil monster!" Pow! Wham! Kapow! Suddenly, Minnie falls and screams "Mickey!" but Mickey grabs her hand just in time! Julius gets tied up by Mickey, and he gets strung up and down like a yo-yo by the advertisement for a Hawaiian vacation. Finally, Mickey and Minnie have their Hawaiian vacation on their anniversary, and Minnie kisses Mickey romantically as the cartoon ends. "Runaway Brain" is the most awesome, rocking Mickey Mouse cartoon of all time! I wish they did the same story for this cartoon on shows like "Sabrina, the Animated Series," or "Totally Spies," but nevertheless, I absolutly love Runaway Brain times infinity! It's extremely awesome!

From Disney Fan #1 :

I got Mickey Mouse in living color volume 2 on DVD for my birthday. I watched the other 2 Mickey specials on disc 2, but one thing for sure, I cannot stop watching the great cartoon, and my favoritest, Runaway Brain! The cartoon starts out with Mickey playing a video game. Minnie comes in his house and remind's Mickey about their anniversary of thier "Very first date", but Mickey is too busy concentrating on his game rather than listen to Minnie. Minnie finally says, "Well from now on you can date your stupid video game!" THAT grabs Mickey's attention! Thinking fast, he shows Minnie a paper about a trip to Hawaii that he would take her to. Minnie loosens up an gives Mickey a X and O and leaves. Everything went well until Mickey discovered the price, $999.99! Mickey enters a state of panic, wondering how and in what way he is going to get THAT kind of money. Pluto shows him an add about earning $999.99 for a mindless day's work. Mickey calms down and looks for the street that the help seeker lives on, 1313 Lobotomy Lane. (A lobotomy is someone who removes peoples brains.) He finds it, and knocks on the door, but a trapdoor under Mickey opens and sucks Mickey down underground. He is strapped in a seat that he lands in, and he finaly meets the help seeker, a talking baboon who introduces himself as Dr. Frankinollie. He lets Mickey see his co-worker, a giant monster that he created (that looks like Pete)! He then presses a button that sends an electrical flow that covers Mickey and the Monster. An explosion occurs. Mickey awakens to find himself as a monster! He pleads to the doc that he wants his old body back, but the doc was fried in the process! Mickey's body, witch has the monster in it, emerges from a pile of rubble, Growling viciously. Mickey tells his body to look in his wallet. His body looks at a picture of Minnie in his wallet,and falls madly in love with her! He then leaves the broken lab and pursues Minnie. He finds her at a shop looking for a bikini. The Monster arrives. Minnie (thinking that Mickey really is Mickey) greets him. Mickey pounces, but at the right moment, Monster Mickey grabs his body. Minnie shrieks with terror, and grabs Mickey's body, and flee the shop. Monster Mickey gives chase, nabs Minnie, and convinces her that he is the real Mickey (only as a monster). His body chases the two on a car. Monster Mickey grabs a dump crane and flies to the top of a building. He sets Minnie down and swings back to catch his body. He grabs it, but the Monster opens the crane causing the 2 to fall on an electrical wire, switching thier brains back. They are flung up to the top of the building where the REAL monster grabs Minnie and crashes through a Hawaii billboard. The real monster breaks through the billboard and throws the real Mickey off the building. He returns up with a squeegee and rope. He uses the squeegee to catapult up and tie the Monster up with a rope and grabs Minnie to safety. The two celebrate thier anniversery by riding on an innertube with a fishing pole with Mickey's wallet on the other end, with the monster swimming to try to get it, thus propelling Mickey and Minnie's ride into the sunset. THE END. HIGHLY recommended! Get it WHILE IT LASTS!

From Deem Rahall :

Two quick notes on this wonderful short:

1)After watching some finished color scenes in dailies, there was a huge argument between upper management and director Chris Baily over the stubble he had added to Mickeys face (unemployed job searching scenes). The powers that be did not feel Disney's Mickey should be presented this way. It got so heated that a short time later Chris was removed from the title of Director and so was the stubble.

2) Feature Animation employees were given Runaway Brain t-shirts with the crazed Mickey on the back. Shortly before release of the short 2 employees wearing the shirts were refused admission to the Disneyland Park in Anaheim. They were told they would have to remove the shirts since they were desecrating the image of Mickey Mouse.

From Daniel Kahn :

I saw this with my friend before George of the Jungle. I was very little and this was my first Mickey Mouse short. I was familiar with him because I had seen movies and singalongs, and had been to Disney World. This scared me so much. I ran out of the theater. I went home and wrote a letter to Disney telling them that it scared me and wasnt really Mickey. I'm sure other children did this as well. I also recieved George of The jungle for the holidays and was scared to open it, in case the short was included. Seeing monster Mickey now creeps me out still, but aside from the scares, it is a good storyline that hasn't been done before, and If I ever saw it again, I would most likely enjoy it.

From Marius Oien :

I remember buying the VHS "The Best of Mickey Mouse" here in Norway. I have always been a Disney fan so I had pretty much seen every episode on it, except for Runaway Brain. I loved it from the very first scene. It just had it all: action, horror and comedy. The video was rated "Everyone", which surprised me since it was really dark stuff. I was about 8 or 9 years old when I saw it, but it never scared me. And the whole "Evil Mickey" thing, it wasn't Mickey. It was Julian who was the evil one. One can not comment on this masterpiece without mentioning the animation. The animation is stunning, perfection on every shot. And it is way better than other Disney cartoons now a days. Just watch it if you haven't. It is a rare masterpiece that shouldn't be forgotten.

From Mistica :

Watching this cartoon brings only one word to mind. Awesome! It's funny how after all these years I would finally get the chance to watch this short. It brought back memories of when I first saw commericals for it playing before some Disney movie way back when I was about eight. Well, as all commercials for movies go after a month or so is when you stop seeing the commercials and with time I forgot about the short clips of Mickey and his brain being switched. Now, years later I came across something about the cartoon when I was doing my usual surfing of Hot Topic's website. Normally, I really don't surf through the Disney merchandise with the exception of The Nightmare Before Christmas around the holidays (another wonderful Disney film). For once, I decided to look through the Disney stuff just for once when I saw a black shirt with a different looking Mickey and the words! "Mickey Mouse, Runaway Brain." I looked the video up on Youtube and I just have to saw that I loved it. It had humor, a little romance, and a dark tone to it which I personally liked. I really loved the design for Mickey when his body is taken over by Julius. In a way I could understand why Disney would prefer to forget about this cartoon but you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I mean, in the beginning Disney didn't like the idea of doing The Nightmare Before Christmas and now, it's considered one of the Disney classics. For anyone who hasn't seen Runaway Brain, I urge you to watch it. Believe me it is a must see. As for Disney, maybe they are giving this classic a chance considering that it's on a shirt from Hot Topic so who knows what the future holds?

From Eric Gans :

This really showed what Mickey can do in the face of adversity. This is definitely the same Mickey you come to know in "Kingdom Hearts."

From Mick Mouse :

I LOVE THIS SHORT! I had read about it on the internet and just had to see it. I saw that it was on the Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. 2 and I bugged my parents until they finally got it for me for my birthday. I now watch it over and over and over again. One thing that really gets on my nerves is that people are always critisizing it because it has an "evil Mickey" in it. People need to realize that Mickey is not perfect and its roles like this that add to his adventurous character. I like this way better than some of the "House of Mouse" shorts where Mickey's biggest problem is that he forgot to buy flowers for Minnie. Mickey is an ACTOR! He is allowed to do stuff like this! He'd probably rob a bank if thats what it took to keep Minnie safe. So if parents don't want their kids to see an "evil Mickey" than they shouldn't watch it. Why ruin it for the rest of us who truly apreciate Mickey. Besides, it wasn't even a real Mickey, it was Julius in Mickey's body. I also love any Mickey and Minnie romantic scenes. Their the best part of any Mickey cartoon. So if you are one of those uptight sobs who thinks that this short is " inappropriate" you can just stick to the boring shorts like The Simple Things!

From Baruch Weiss :

While I am not a fan of later day cartoons this one is an exception. I saw it years ago in a theater with "George of the Jungle." I liked when Julius pulls out Mickey's wallet and a photo of the mouse in his 1928 cartoon is revealed.

From Axel Steel :

Arguably, it's the most heroic Mickey has ever gone in a cartoon. His "evil monster Mickey", while highly publicized in the film, only appears for a couple of minutes, and what is worth the cartoon is that when he regains his mind, and goes heroically after Julius. Armed with only a large window-cleaner, a rope, and an unrivaled sense of humor, he turns him into a living yo-yo. The other aspects of the film were also fine, including the Dwarves vs. Evil Queen game, the Exorcist and Frankenstein references and the inside jokes. Another stand-out of the film was Kelsey Grammer's role as Dr. Frankenollie, tell me, how much times you can have a TV show star on a Mickey Mouse short?

From Margos :

Hey, I noticed a reference that no one seems to have caught ... though I may just be reading into things too much. Julius was obviously modeled after Pete. Pete is a cat. It seems to me that the name may be a reference to Julius the cat in the Alice Comedies.

From Billy Joe :

This is Mickey Mouse's most recent theatrically released short. This is also the first "seven-minute" formatted short since The Simple Things. Unlike The Simple Things, Runaway Brain is an action-paced comedy with some horror blended in it. I also like the design and animation of the short's characters. This short is as rare as the Humphrey the Bear shorts, so it has not been frequently seen in ages. The reason may be that this short may be too scary for young children.

Also, I also noticed inside jokes in this short other than "Dr. Frankenollie." The monster's name is Julius, so that may be a reference to Alice's cat (of the Alice Comedies of the 1920s). I also noticed that when Julius breathed very hard in front of Mickey, Zazu (from "The Lion King") flew out of his mouth.

From Kristen Ramirez :

To me this is one of the most stand-out shorts ever made. A really good short film. I loved every minute of it, and Dr. Frankenollie was amazing. Though I never saw the short until recently. The design of "Monster Mickey" is actually gonna be used as a stage of "The Scrapper" in the upcoming video game Epic Mickey. This short could actually start a brand new Mickey Mouse series if the executives think about it.

History

Sources