Bal de campagne

Mickey once again sells his best intentions to get a date with the fickle Minnie. He has a rival in Pete and Minnie doesn't seem to have any hesitation spending time with him. There are some funny dance things, especially when Mickey puts a balloon in his pants after stepping all over Minnie's feet. This is a pretty minor offering with little new produced.

This is a very early Mickey Mouse cartoon. The version I saw was not the original form, as it had been colorized (not bad looking--most black and white films colorize well).

This film features Mickey and Pete (who is a cat in the earlier Mickey Mouse cartoons). The film consists of Mickey stealing Minnie away from Pete as well as Mickey's behavior at the barn dance. Surprisingly, although Mickey is the star, he's rather mean to Pete and Pete is amazingly civil. Pete is not the cranky guy he was in STEAMBOAT WILLIE and you kind of feel sorry for this big guy, as Mickey is pretty nasty to him--unlike the beloved Mickey we know today. Plus, in a scene that would not please PETA, Mickey is also a bit mean to his horse. Oh, well--it's an early Mickey cartoon and they hadn't yet hit their lovable stride.

Overall, typical animation and quality for an early short, though the story lacks the charm of most of the films in the series.

I did enjoy The Barn Dance, but of the Mickey Mouse cartoons of that particular time it is one of my least favourites. The animation is not bad, but the characters at times do look crude, and while I enjoyed the music selections there are other times when the music is more repetitive than usual, not as varied as it was in Steamboat Willie, Plane Crazy and Galloping Gaucho. While I did like that Mickey was more fleshed out than usual, and I did feel sorry for him at the end, the characters have been much more likable before(especially Minnie who is almost the complete opposite of how she usually is), with the exception of Pete who is by far the most likable he's ever been after many cartoons as a villain or a foil. However, there are some good gags like Mickey's horse going into a trot and the buggy's wheels does the same and Mickey's donkey face when he is confronted by Minnie about his clumsy feet(which also grow larger and larger). I also liked seeing the parrot from Steamboat Willie on Mickey's porch, and the nifty, fun choreography of the actual barn dance itself. The voice acting is I think an improvement over the cartoons before it, while relying on cues and squeaks it is more dynamic and perhaps better recorded. So all in all, not a favourite but interesting enough for the gags especially. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The Barn Dance (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Nice Disney short has Mickey Mouse showing up Minnie's house to pick her up but competition is there for her as well. Mickey and Minnie end up at the dance but of course the third wheel shows up to try and take her. THE BARN DANCE isn't a classic film and it's certainly far from being as great as STEAMBOAT WILLIE but fans of the characters will still want to check it out. What's really so great about these early Mickey shorts is the animation, which was really taking on a life of its own. Even though this was just the fourth Mickey short, there's no doubt that you already came to love the little guy. His drawing is much better here and there's no question that the charm was at a high level even if he does do some naughty things here.

Another weekend, another film on the Disney Plus "Short" film section. This time we're back with the main man Mickey and a 1929 short that feels quite unusual, given what comes afterwards.

Both Mickey and Pete arrive to try and pick Minnie up for the local barn dance. Mickey has his trusty horse and cart, but Pete has a brand-new Motor Car. Minnie has her head turned by the Motor Car, but when it breaks down, she returns to Mickey. At the dance though, Mickey has two left feet and she shifts her attention back to Pete. Mickey comes up with a unconventional solution to the problem.

What seems wild about this particular short is that, spoiler alert, Mickey actually loses. Pete, rather than the villain, doesn't actually come off that badly. The breakdown isn't his fault and all he does is point out Mickey's underhand tactics. It also makes Minnie come off rather badly too, flipping between her suitors like some common floozy!

Visually it's OK. It's an early one so again the character models aren't quite settled. It's another one where the score and sound effects feature heavily. It's not bad, by any means, but it's a bit too weird to really recommend.