Mickey Mouse Works 25th Anniversary

[Pooky]

So it turns out yesterday wasn't just Spongebob's 25th birthday, it was also the 25th Anniversary of Mickey Mouse Works

On This Day in Mickey Mouse History: The Gears Are Turning! - Mickey Mouse Works Premieres on ABC!

(Although I think some of the shorts might have been out as previews prior to this?)

I was around the height of my Golden Age Cartoon fandom at the time, posting on the old Termite Terrace Trading Post and another board dedicated to the classic Disney shorts, so I was quite excited for this, but it never quite hit the mark for me.

But how did you feel?

 

[MatthewP]

ngl it's kinda easy to see how this got overlooked considering it basically looked like the usual modern-day mickey stuff people were bored of by the time it premiered

still, tho, a major stepping stone to making mickey funny again

 

[Goldstar!]

Here's my hot take: I liked Mickey Mouse Works more than House of Mouse. They were basically the same show except for the wraparounds. The caneos were cool and all, but ultimately served as little more than an attention getting device.

MMW was an earnest attempt by Disney to put Mickey Mouse and friends back into the spotlight. Mickey in particular needed this boost since he was the only one of Disney's "Big 3" (the other 2 being Donald and Goofy) not to get a show on The Disney Afternoon and was left out entirely on CBS' Raw Toonage. The show was very fast paced and one can clearly see where Disney was trying to compete with the likes of WB's Tiny Toons Adventures and Animaniacs, but it was enjoyable. It's only too bad that this series isn't currently available on Disney Plus.

 

[Mejo]

(I think some of the shorts might have been out as previews prior to this?)

You’re right, some were shown as previews before release on TV, home video and in theaters. All of the ones that I can think of right now are:

In theaters, Goofy's Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe was shown with I'll Be Home for Christmas, Goofy's Extreme Sports: Paracycling was shown with Mighty Joe Young, Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship was shown with My Favorite Martian and Donald's Dynamite: Opera Box was shown with Doug's 1st Movie.

On TV, Pluto Gets the Paper: Bubble Gum, Mickey’s New Car and Maestro Minnie: William Tell Overture were shown during the original hour-long broadcast of Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You.

On Video, Pluto Gets the Paper: Street Cleaner was released with the 1999 VHS of 101 Dalmatians (1961) and Pluto Gets the Paper: Bubble Gum was included on the 1999 VHS of The Rescuers (the infamous release with the woman in the window).

Just FYI. Not that it really matters at the end of the day.

It's only too bad that this series isn't currently available on Disney Plus.

Don’t quote me on this, but allegedly Disney+ is set to add both MMW and HOM in Q4 of this year (this info is from a Discord server so take this with a BIG grain of salt).

As for my own thoughts, while I do think the show is quite flawed (mostly down to the structure and some of the writing) I do quite like the show. However, I’ve read that apparently all of the shorts were intended to go to theaters (not just the 4 that were released to theaters as mentioned before). If that’s the case, I’m glad that didn’t happen, considering that they would have probably looked mostly weak on the big screen (similarly to those Larry Doyle Looney Tunes shorts).

Also hot take: I think that Mickey Mouse Works was a slightly better production than most of the Paul Rudish shorts, mostly down to having longer running times and more variety (note how I said PRODUCTION, I still think that the 2013 ones are better quality wise than most of these shorts).

Oh and here’s a behind the scenes look at the show. Just in case if you’re curious:

 

[Frontier]

Happy Anniversary .

 

[Dr.Pepper]

I’m going to be honest, but I never really saw much Mickey Mouse Works on its own. I mostly just saw them as a part of House of Mouse. I enjoyed them but I haven’t seen them in a long time.

 

[dumbfoolkid5]

Happy Birthiversary

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

 

[Pooky]

ngl it's kinda easy to see how this got overlooked considering it basically looked like the usual modern-day mickey stuff people were bored of by the time it premiered

Do you mean from merchandising and the theme parks and video games and so forth? Because at the time the only major Mickey animation that had been made in the previous 20 years had been Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Prince & the Pauper and Runaway Brain (the later not being very widely seen or available at the time).

Here's my hot take: I liked Mickey Mouse Works more than House of Mouse. They were basically the same show except for the wraparounds. The caneos were cool and all, but ultimately served as little more than an attention getting device.

To be honest I mostly think it's simply a matter of House of Mouse being more widely seen than Mouse Works, it seems to have hit a very particular section of a very particular age group as a nostalgic touchstone. I'm sure the cameos from film characters etc. didn't hurt, but it doesn't actually seem to be what people mention about the show. I may be wrong, there may be more to it than that, I know there are some House of Mouse fans on this board who might be able to tell us otherwise.

I do think pretty much every Mouse Works short appeared on House of Mouse, so I guess unless you hate the linking footage there's a case to be made that if you were going to watch either show it might as well be that one.

 

[PinkieLopBun]

To be honest I mostly think it's simply a matter of House of Mouse being more widely seen than Mouse Works, it seems to have hit a very particular section of a very particular age group as a nostalgic touchstone. I'm sure the cameos from film characters etc. didn't hurt, but it doesn't actually seem to be what people mention about the show. I may be wrong, there may be more to it than that, I know there are some House of Mouse fans on this board who might be able to tell us otherwise.

It probably helped House of Mouse that it aired longer. I was too young to remember Mickey Mouse Works if I ever did watch it, but I do remember watching House of Mouse.

 

[Mejo]

I do think pretty much every Mouse Works short appeared on House of Mouse, so I guess unless you hate the linking footage there's a case to be made that if you were going to watch either show it might as well be that one.

Well, all of the Mouse Works shorts except for Pluto Gets the Paper: Vending Machine (most likely for its dangerous imitable tone) and Minnie Takes Care of Pluto (most likely for how dark it is). There were also new shorts produced for House of Mouse that didn’t originally air on Mouse Works (about 20 in total) and sometimes House of Mouse even ran classic Disney shorts from the 30s to the 50s (though very rarely and sometimes it would only be just a clip).

 

[MatthewP]

Do you mean from merchandising and the theme parks and video games and so forth? Because

….yyyyup

 

[TsWade2]

Sorry to be late for the party, happy belated birthday to Mickey Mouse Works AKA House of Mouse.

You’re right, some were shown as previews before release on TV, home video and in theaters. All of the ones that I can think of right now are:

In theaters, Goofy's Extreme Sports: Skating the Half Pipe was shown with I'll Be Home for Christmas, Goofy's Extreme Sports: Paracycling was shown with Mighty Joe Young, Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship was shown with My Favorite Martian and Donald's Dynamite: Opera Box was shown with Doug's 1st Movie.

On TV, Pluto Gets the Paper: Bubble Gum, Mickey’s New Car and Maestro Minnie: William Tell Overture were shown during the original hour-long broadcast of Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You.

On Video, Pluto Gets the Paper: Street Cleaner was released with the 1999 VHS of 101 Dalmatians (1961) and Pluto Gets the Paper: Bubble Gum was included on the 1999 VHS of The Rescuers (the infamous release with the woman in the window).

Just FYI. Not that it really matters at the end of the day.


Don’t quote me on this, but allegedly Disney+ is set to add both MMW and HOM in Q4 of this year (this info is from a Discord server so take this with a BIG grain of salt).

As for my own thoughts, while I do think the show is quite flawed (mostly down to the structure and some of the writing) I do quite like the show. However, I’ve read that apparently all of the shorts were intended to go to theaters (not just the 4 that were released to theaters as mentioned before). If that’s the case, I’m glad that didn’t happen, considering that they would have probably looked mostly weak on the big screen (similarly to those Larry Doyle Looney Tunes shorts).

Also hot take: I think that Mickey Mouse Works was a slightly better production than most of the Paul Rudish shorts, mostly down to having longer running times and more variety (note how I said PRODUCTION, I still think that the 2013 ones are better quality wise than most of these shorts).

Oh and here’s a behind the scenes look at the show. Just in case if you’re curious:

I appreciate that you're trying to give me hope, but I'm taking this as a grain of salt. But, we'll see. If it does come to DisneyPlus, then my patience for a new Mickey Mouse and Friends TV Short Series will be much easier. But, once again, we'll see.