L'avion fou

This short is the first one done and this is not the "gosh, aw shucks" mouse Disney so carefully protects today. Mickey early on was a bit of a cad and a rogue. Quite the smart aleck. Interesting glimpse at Mickey. This short holds up well after 70+ years and is well worth watching. Recommended.

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+

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.

Inspired by Charles "Lindy" Lindbergh, Mickey Mouse converts a motor car into an aeroplane and then uses it to try and scare Minnie into offering him sexual favours. Surprising what a bad boy young Mickey was, but at least this early Disney animation is lively and inventive.

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.