The Karnival Kid

The Karnival Kid (1929)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Here's another Mickey Mouse short that really doesn't contain too much of a plot but that really doesn't matter and especially when you consider that this here was the first film where we actually got to hear his voice. Mickey is working at the carnival selling hot dogs when he gets into a fight with a barker. After all that that it's his time to try and butter up Minnie. THE KARNIVAL KID is certainly a historic short but one really shouldn't expect the "voice" that America came to love. No, there's no doubt that Mickey sounds a bit strange here but if you watch the films in the order that they were released, as I was doing, it's interesting to note the various changes that would happen to the character. This here is certainly one of the most entertaining of these early shorts because of the fun times with the hot dogs and their personalities.

Disney has always been a big part of my childhood, and while The Karnival Kid is a cartoon I don't adore it is a very interesting cartoon signifying the first time you hear Mickey talk. The story doesn't hit any new ground with a rather abrupt ending, and I personally did find Mickey's rather gruff-sounding voice odd here, almost as though he hasn't found his voice yet and considering the cartoon's significance I'm not surprised. However the animation is great, with the backgrounds smooth, the character designs appealing and the visual gags inventive. The music is just as effective, characterful and full of vitality, enhancing the action rather than just an excuse to lump song and dance numbers together. The gags are fun, with the first sequence having sheer kinetic energy, the hot dog scene is cute and the cats in the somewhat quieter and simpler second half of the cartoon are hilarious. All the characters are very likable also. In conclusion, not one of my favourites but important and a good cartoon anyway. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Yes, Mickey speaks all right in this milestone cartoon. In the cartoon, Mickey is a hot dog vendor at a carnival and says his first words, "Hot Dogs!" Mickey's voice was much different than it is today. He had a much more squeaky voice in this and in several shorts to come. I recommend this short for all fans of the Disney animated shorts.

This is a cute episode. There are two parts. The first involves our hero trying to impress Minnie. She is a shimmy dancer at the Carnival. He runs a hot dog cart but his products seem to be sentient creatures, so how could one eat them. In the second half, we have a serenade as Mickey and a couple of cats try to reach the heart of the fair damsel. It's good fun with some pretty awful early sound, including singing by the cat and mouse.

Another of the classic Iwerks/Disney collaborations from Walt Disney productions is this short that, unlike some of the other cartoons that the duo put out in 28/29, actually takes places in two time periods. Sure, it may just be day and night, but that's a small leap forward in the storytelling for Disney, who would usually just make things set in "real" time, far as the continuity went. This is set at a carnival where Mickey Mouse is selling hot dogs - we hear his voice, not sounding really like the Mouse we'd know later, perhaps Disney wasn't sure yet how to do it, like the early Homer Simpson voice work - and Minnie Mouse wants one.

The hot dogs, of course, have legs, and little arms, and can bite and be spanked when they're bad (!) so that's really the highlight here. The second half has Mickey trying to win Minnie over by having two cats "serenade" (really badly, of course) while he strums his guitar. The cat stuff goes on a bit too long - I might've liked actually full story with just the hot dogs, do they rebel, how can they eat the little cartoon hot dogs, oh, no wait, they're cartoons too, guess it makes sense - but it's still magical comedic stuff, genuine and just dumb-silly stuff.