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Minnie Mouse

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Minnie Mouse
File:Minnie Mouse.jpg
Minnie Mouse in the Disney Dreams Come True parade at Magic Kingdom
First appearancePlane Crazy (1928)
Created byWalt Disney and Ub Iwerks
Voiced byWalt Disney (1928)
Marjorie Ralston (1928)
Marcellite Garner (1928-1940)
Mae Questel (1939)
Thelma Boardman (1940-1942)
Ruth Clifford (1942-1986)
Russi Taylor (1986-present)
Yūko Mizutani (Japanese)
Diana Santos (Hispanoamerican Spanish)
AliasPrincess Minnie, Maestro Minnie, Minerva Mouse

Minnie Mouse is an animated character created by The Walt Disney Company. The comic strip story "The Gleam" (published January 19-May 2, 1942) by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minerva has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress, Russi Taylor. Minnie is a V.I.P character of the Mickey Mouse Club. Both Minnie and Mickey were created in 1928.

The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22 – December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her mother Margie Mouse, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of her grandparents Marshall and Matilda Mouse. Her best known relatives, however, remain her uncle Mortimer Mouse and her twin nieces, Millie and Melody, though most often a single niece, Melody, appears. In many appearances, Minnie is presented as the girlfriend of Mickey Mouse, a close friend of Daisy Duck,[1] Donald Duck's girlfriend and occasionally a friend to Clarabelle Cow. Minnie's sister, Mandie Mouse was a recurring character early on.

Origins of the character

In 1928, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse to act as a replacement to his previous star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. But Mickey could not fill the void alone. Among the few consistent character traits Oswald had developed before moving on to Universal Studios was his near-constant pursuit of potential sweethearts. So for Mickey to have a chance to emulate his predecessor at flirting, someone had to replace Oswald's many love interests. This replacement to Miss Rabbit, Miss Cottontail, Fanny and an uncertain number of unnamed nurses and dancers was to become Minnie Mouse.

Minnie, (who at the time was not yet named and loved the color purple), was designed in the fashion of a "flapper" girl. She was so probably intended to follow the trends of then-modern youth culture in an effort to add to her audience appeal.

Minnie first appeared in Plane Crazy.[2] Minnie is invited to join Mickey in the first flight of his aircraft. She accepts the invitation but not his request for a kiss in mid-flight. Mickey eventually forces Minnie into a kiss but this only results in her parachuting out of the plane. This first film depicted Minnie as somewhat resistant to the demanding affection of her potential boyfriend and capable of escaping his grasp.

Their debut however featured the couple already familiar to each other. The next film featuring them was The Gallopin' Gaucho.[3] The film was the second of their series to be produced, but the third to be released, and was released on December 30, 1928. We find Minnie employed as the Cantina Argentina, a bar and restaurant established in the Pampas of Argentina. She performs the Tango for Mickey the gaucho and Black Pete the outlaw. Both flirt with her but the latter intends to abduct her while the former obliges in saving the Damsel in Distress from the villain. All three characters acted as strangers first being introduced to each other.

They appear together again in Steamboat Willie,[4] the third short of the series to be produced but released first on November 18, 1928. Pete was featured as the Captain of the steamboat, Mickey as a crew of one and Minnie as their single passenger. The two anthropomorphic mice first star in a sound film and spend most of its duration playing music to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw".

Minnie's Yoo Hoo

Her next appearance was arguably more significant. Mickey's Follies (June 26, 1929),[5] featured the first performance of the song "Minnie's Yoo Hoo." "The guy they call little Mickey Mouse" for the first time addresses an audience to explain that he has "Got a sweetie" who is "Neither fat nor skinny" and proudly proclaims that "She's my little Minnie Mouse". Mickey then proceeds in explaining his reaction to Minnie's call. The song firmly establishes Mickey and Minnie as a couple and expresses the importance Minnie holds for her male partner. Soon it would become the theme song to all of their series.

Damsel in distress

Her final appearance for the year was in Wild Waves, [6] carried by a wave into the sea. She panics and seems to start drowning. Mickey uses a row boat to rescue her and return her to the shore but Minnie is still visibly shaken from the experience. Mickey starts singing the tune of "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep,", a maritime ballad, in an apparent effort to cheer her up. Minnie cheers up and the short ends. This is arguably the first time Minnie is placed in danger and then saved by her new boyfriend. It would not be the last.

In fact this was the case with her next appearance in The Cactus Kid (April 12, 1930).[7] As the title implies the short was intended as a Western movie parody, but it is considered to be more or less a remake of The Gallopin' Gaucho set in Mexico instead of Argentina. Minnie was again cast as the local tavern dancer who is abducted by Peg-Leg Pedro (Black Pete in his first appearance with a peg-leg). Mickey again comes to the rescue. The short is considered significant for being the last short featuring Mickey and Minnie to be animated by Ub Iwerks.

The Shindig (July 11, 1930) [8] featured Minnie joining Mickey, Horace and Clarabelle in a barn dance. Among them Clarabelle seems to be the actual star of the short. Director Burt Gillett turned in another enjoyable entry in the series, proved that production could go on without Iwerks. This was arguably the first time Minnie was upstaged by a female co-star.

In The Fire Fighters (August 6, 1930) [9] Minnie is trapped in a hotel during a fire. She spends the duration of the short in mortal peril but is rescued by firefighters under chief Mickey Mouse. Horace Horsecollar is among the firefighters. An unnamed cow in the background is possibly Clarabelle making a cameo. The music of the short was, appropriately, the tune of "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight."

The next entry in the series is considered curious: The Gorilla Mystery (October 1, 1930).[10] The short starts with Beppo the Gorilla escaping from a zoo. Mickey learns of it and panics. He phones Minnie to warn her about the dangerous gorilla wandering about. Minnie is unconcerned and plays tunes on her piano for Mickey to hear over the phone and know she is not afraid. Her tunes are interrupted by her scream and Mickey rushes to her house to save her. Meanwhile Beppo has wrapped up Minnie in rope and holds her hostage. Mickey confronts the gorilla and once again rescues the damsel in distress. The short ends with Minnie and Mickey jointly wrapping up the gorilla in rope. Modern audiences have commented on elements of bondage apparent in the short and the mysterious motivation of Beppo. Note that the theme of kidnapping by a gorilla is present here three years prior to the King Kong film of 1933.

Introduction of a pet

In The Picnic, (November 14, 1930) [11] Minnie introduces her boyfriend to her new pet dog Rover. This is actually Pluto making his first appearance as an individual character. Two unnamed bloodhound guard dogs strikingly similar to him had previously appeared in The Chain Gang (August 18, 1930) [12] which featured Mickey incarcerated in prison without Minnie at his side. Otherwise the short features a typical picnic excursion harassed by forest animals and brought to a premature end by a sudden rain.

The final appearance of Minnie during the year was Pioneer Days (December 10, 1930).[13] The short featured Minnie and her mate as pioneer settlers heading to the American Old West driving a covered wagon in a wagon train. They are unsurprisingly attacked by Native Americans on their way, a stock plot of Western movies at the time. While their fellows are either subjected to scalping or running for their lives, Minnie is captured by the attackers. Mickey attempts to rescue her only to be captured himself. In a reversal of their usual roles, Minnie escapes her captors and rescues her mate. They then dress as soldiers of the United States Army. Their mere appearance proves sufficient to have the entire tribe running for the hills. The Mouse couple stands triumphant at the end. The short has been criticized for its unflattering depiction of Native Americans as rather bestial predators. Their depiction as being part Jewish is not particularly fondly seen by modern audiences either. The finale has been edited out in recent viewings for depicting the "braves" submitting to cowardice.

Contemporary appearances

  • Although Minnie Mouse began to appear in separate animated cartoons from Mickey Mouse with First Aiders, she never got her own cartoon series. The last Mickey cartoon in the classic period of American animation to have Minnie Mouse with a large role was Mickey's Delayed Date. In Pluto's Christmas Tree, she has only a brief appearance.
  • She starred in a television special called Totally Minnie and she also appeared in a line of merchandise called "Minnie 'n Me".
  • Minnie returned to animation came in Mickey's Christmas Carol (October 20, 1983).[14] She was cast as Mrs. Cratchit. As with most Disney characters, she was given a small cameo in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988).

Television

File:Mickeymouseworks.jpg
Minnie Mouse in Mickey Mouse Works (1999)

In Mickey Mouse Works, she finally appeared in her own segments. Occasionally, she starred in "Maestro Minnie"[15] shorts, in which she conducts an orchestra of living instruments that she usually has to tame. In House of Mouse Minnie is in charge of running the nightclub, while Mickey primarily serves as the host, and appears in the Playhouse Disney children's television series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Voicing

[[File: Keira.jpg|thumb|right|Keira voices Minnie}}

Queen/Princess Minnie

Kingdom Hearts Series

She appears in the Kingdom Hearts game series as the Queen of Disney Castle, with Mickey serving as the King and her husband. She, at the suggestion of a letter left by the missing King, sends Donald Duck and Goofy on their mission to find Mickey and the Keyblade Master. During Kingdom Hearts II, when Pete's tampering of the past causes the Heartless to appear in Disney Castle, Minnie is forced to fall back to the library to get to the bottom of it until Sora and company arrive. While Donald and Goofy head to get the other residents to safety, Sora serves as the Queen's bodyguard to get her to the Cornerstone where. During this time, Minnie shows powers as a sorceress of white magic, casting a holy light on the Heartless that attack as well as a powerful combination with Sora that unleashes a huge beam of light all around her.

She is set to appear in the game series prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers

File:Minnie and Daisy.jpg
The Beagle Boys nearly drop a safe on Minnie Mouse.

In the 2004 direct-to-video movie Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, Minnie plays the role of the princess of France, who continually daydreams about her true love, Mickey. She's also the only monarch getting in the way of the plans of Pete, who can't take over the kingdom if he cannot get rid of her. Interestingly, for this particular film, Minnie is drawn with hair bangs, which do not appear in any later cartoons.

Disney Think Fast

In 2008, Minnie was one of the playable characters from the trivia video game, Disney THINK Fast.

Disney on Ice

In the "Disney on Ice" play Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure, Mickey and Minnie are both taken hostage by an android replica of Syndrome, who seeks to construct "his" own idea of The Happiest Place on Earth in Walt Disney World's place. They are briefly imprisoned in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction's prison cell before an assault on the robot Syndrome by the Incredible Family forces "him" to lock them up in laser prisons, but not without using a flamethrower in a botched attempt to incinerate their would-be superhuman saviors. After the robot Syndrome is congealed by Frozone, Mickey and Minnie are finally liberated, the Walt Disney World Resort is restored to its former glory, and the Incredibles become Mickey and Minnie's newest friends.

List of major appearances of Minnie Mouse in cartoon shorts of the classic period of American animation

1920s

1928

1929

1930s

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940s

1941

1942

1944

1946

1947

1949

1950

References

  1. ^ Minnie Visits Daisy. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  2. ^ Plane Crazy. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  3. ^ Gallopin' Gaucho. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  4. ^ Steamboat Willie. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  5. ^ Mickey's Follies. [http://disneyshorts.org/index.html The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  6. ^ Wild Waves. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  7. ^ The Cactus Kid. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  8. ^ The Shindig. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  9. ^ The Fire Fighters. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  10. ^ The Gorilla Mystery. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  11. ^ The Picnic. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  12. ^ The Chain Gang. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  13. ^ Pioneer Days. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  14. ^ Mickey's Christmas Carol. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on May 8, 2008.
  15. ^ Maestro Minnie. The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
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