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Plane Crazy (1928)

*** (out of 4)

The very first Mickey Mouse film has him wanting to be like Charles Lindbergh so he builds a plane and heads out with Minnie to set a record but things don't go as planned. PLANE CRAZY is a historic short no matter what you think of the actual content but thankfully the film is a nice little gem that will manage to make you laugh and smile. This certainly isn't the greatest film ever made nor one of Disney's best but there's enough charm here to make it worth sitting through. There are many funny moments but the best has to be the sequence where Mickey wants a hug and then a kiss but Minnie just isn't having any of that. There's a great bit of animation when the plane is spinning out of control and the point of view shot is quite excellent.

ORIGINALLY PLANNED AND executed as a silent, PLANE CRAZY is the true first appearance of MICKEY MOUSE. It was held back and not released along with its following installment, THE GALLOPIN' GAUCHO until the release of the revolutionary and game changing STEAMBOAT WILLIE. The latter cartoon was of course the first sound cartoon short.

BEING THAT TODAY'S honored movie, PLANE CRAZY does come across as a little movie that it is torn between two worlds. In this case, it has all of the signs of the strictly visual silent; but the addition of the sound effects and dialogue (such as it is) may well be in effect an overkill of screen storytelling.

THIS MAY WELL not have been as readily apparent at the time of release; owing to the fascination that was generated with all of the publicity of Mickey Mouse just talking. Furthermore, all of the animation that was made from the various studios suffered from the same malady. It would take several years of film technique evolution to "modernize" the overall look of the characters, backgrounds and rendering of the sight gags depicted in a typical outing.

THE GENISES AND indeed the very reason for doing the cartoon with aviation as the subject as in PLANE CRAZY was the popularity of Charles Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic in the previous year of 1927. This is no subtle or subliminal message, as Mickey does actually display a photo of "Lucky Lindy" at the very beginning. Mickey even attempts to style his hair to look like Lindbergh's tonsorial work of art.

AS FOR THE cartoon's storyline, Mick builds a plane, it crashes and immediately destructs into an impossibility of a salvation project. Undaunted, Mickey immediately converts an old, broken down jalopy into a new plane. Enter the female of the species. Minnie Mouse, making what is her real and true first appearance, presents the young aviator with a good-luck horse shoe and gets a ride in the airship as a reward.

FOLLOWING MANY INFLIGHT type gags Mickey's amorous intentions are revealed and he is rejected with a slap. Minnie bails out, using her unmentionables as a makeshift parachute. Meanwhile Mickey safely crash-lands. The twosome parts the scene in less than happy and lovey-dovey relationship. Mickey pitches the horseshoe away, but it promptly returns to catch him around the neck in a boomerang fashion.

ONCE AGAIN, THIS short does not seem like much when viewed now; but, once again, back in the day.................. '

Plane Crazy is the very first film with Mickey and Minnie so the animated short is of some historical value. As far as the animation itself, it is just plane crazy. Mickey builds a plane and takes Minnie with him for the ride. Once they are up in the air Mickey comes on way too strong for Minnie so she ends up jumping out of the plane. In the end, Mickey got what he deserved.

It's not a great film but is a little entertaining - It's a good watch to see the beginnings of the famous couple.

7/10.

Although "Steamboat Willie" was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released, this one was actually the first Mickey ever made. In fact, it was a silent film when it was first produced, but it was released after sound had been added. I remember the first time I saw this cartoon was on a video that I had rented in 1st or 2nd grade. I didn't really care much for it at the time, but now I like it. This and many other Disney animated shorts will entertain people of all ages, 3 to 103, all over the world.

This is technically the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, having released a few months before Steamboat Willie. Here, Mickey builds a plane and takes Minnie Mouse (also her first appearance) for a joyride. But, the high-flying journey doesn't go near as Mickey plans as the plane sores to unbelievable obstacles and heights, leaving the two to fend for themselves.

Ub Iwerks did a great job animating the cartoon. While it does appear dated by today's standards, the cartoon does represent classic animation and true talent - none of these CGI stuff that we see in today's animated features.

Not a whole lot to the story, but it's an adventurous little tale nonetheless and is one of the more exciting black and white cartoon shorts from Walt Disney. It's a fine way to start off Mickey Mouse and his many adventures in years to come.

Grade B+