| Thru the Mirror | |
|---|---|
) | |
| Directed by | David Hand |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Story by | William Cottrell Joe Grant |
| Starring | Walt Disney |
| Music by | Frank Churchill Leigh Harline Paul J. Smith |
| Animation by | Bob Wickersham |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date | May 30, 1936[1] |
Running time | 8 min (one reel) |
| Language | English |
Thru the Mirror is a Mickey Mouse cartoon short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists in 1936. In this cartoon short, Mickey has a Through the Looking-Glass-type dream that he travels through his mirror and enters a topsy-turvy world where everything is alive. While there, he engages in a Fred Astaire dance number with a pair of gloves and a pack of cards, until the cards chase him out of the bizarre world. It was the 83rd Mickey Mouse short film to be released, the fourth of that year.[2]
The title is written as Thru the Mirror on the title card, but the alternative spelling Through the Mirror is used on the poster for the film.
Plot
Mickey falls asleep after reading Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, and dreams that he passes through the mirror into an alternate reality. Beyond the mirror, his furniture and possessions have come to life, and he clumsily tangles with a rocking chair, a footrest and an umbrella. Mickey eats a walnut offered to him by a nutcracker, and it causes him to grow until his head hits the ceiling, and then suddenly shrink to a tiny size.
The telephone answers itself, and hauls Mickey up to the top of a desk with its cord. After a fruitless conversation, the phone uses its cord to amuse Mickey with a game of jump rope. The skipping turns into a tap dance, and the radio turns itself on to play a tune. Grabbing a tiny top hat and a matchstick for a cane, Mickey performs a tap dance routine, using a regular-size top hat as his platform. He has another dance scene with a pair of gloves, and then becomes the leader of a marching set of playing cards. Mickey gets shuffled into the pack, which turns into another dance routine.
Mickey dances with the Queen of Hearts, until the King of Hearts notices, and slaps Mickey for his insolence. Mickey and the King have a furious swordfight, with Mickey using a straight pin as a sword. He dunks the King into the inkwell, which infuriates him. The King calls the cards, who jump to attention and chase Mickey. Mickey hides in the sewing basket, and uses a fountain pen to drench the cards in ink. But there are too many of them, and they swarm him. There's a chase, with the cards throwing their suits at Mickey, but the mouse uses a fan to blow them all away.
The telephone starts yelping for the police, and Mickey runs away as the telephone's bell rings and rings. Speeding across a globe, he trips and falls into the sea, until he's ejected by an angry King Neptune. He regains normal size in time to run back through the mirror, rejoining his sleeping self. The ringing bell turns out to be Mickey's alarm clock, which a sleepy Mickey throws into a drawer and then goes back to sleep.
Releases
- 1936 – theatrical release
- 1956 – Disneyland, episode #3.8: "The Plausible Impossible" (TV)
- c. 1972 – The Mouse Factory, episode #27: "Mickey Mouse" (TV)
- 1981 – "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume One" (VHS)
- c. 1983 – Good Morning, Mickey!, episode #4 (TV)
- c. 1988 – Mickey's Magical World, (VHS)
- c. 1992 – Mickey's Mouse Tracks, episode #52 (TV)
- 1997 – The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.50: "Storyteller Mickey" (TV)
- 1998 – "The Spirit of Mickey" (VHS)
- 2001 – "Mickey Mouse in Living Color" (DVD)
- 2004/2011 – Bonus on DVD release of Alice in Wonderland (DVD)
- 2009 – Walt Disney Animation Collection: Mickey and the Beanstalk (DVD)
- 2011 – Have a Laugh!, episode #23 (TV)
- 2012 – Have a Laugh!: Volume 5 (DVD)
- 2018 – Celebrating Mickey (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital)
Legacy
- This cartoon was featured, and referenced, in the 2002 video game Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse.
- Some elements from the cartoon like the cards and the opening were used in Epic Mickey.
- The song during the magic gloves dance scene was used for the Walt Disney Mini Classics promos during their movie's end.
- The melody during Mickey’s marching with the cards in the middle of the film is a jazzed-up version of the music used in another 1932 cartoon classic, Santa’s Workshop. The music theme is based on Franz Schubert: Military March Op. 51 No. 1, in D Major.
See also
- Mickey Mouse (film series)
References
- ^ Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2018). Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8365-5284-4.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
- Thru the Mirror at IMDb
- Thru the Mirror at the TCM Movie Database