Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip

Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip
Mickey Mouse series
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clyde Geronimi
Produced by	Walt Disney John Sutherland
Voices by	Billy Bletcher Walt Disney Lee Millar
Music by	Leigh Harline Oliver Wallace
Animation by	Ray Abrams Clyde Geronimi Ed Love Ken Muse Marvin Woodward
Backgrounds by	Jim Carmichael
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date(s)	November 1, 1940 (1940-11-01) (USA)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	8 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Pluto's Dream House
Followed by	The Little Whirlwind

Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip is a 1940 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon follows Mickey Mouse and his dog Pluto traveling by train, despite a rule forbidding dogs; Pete plays a menacing conductor intent on enforcing the rule. The film was directed by Clyde Geronimi and features original music by Ed Love and Oliver Wallace. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey, Lee Millar as Pluto, and Billy Bletcher as Pete.^[1][2][3]

Synopsis

Leaving for vacation, Mickey Mouse and Pluto arrive at a train station in Burbank, California (home of Walt Disney Productions headquarters). They board a west-bound train, but are both immediately kicked off by the conductor, played by Pete, because dogs are not allowed.

Mickey instead decides to smuggle Pluto onboard by squeezing the dog inside his suitcase. Later, as Pete is coming through the train to collect tickets, he sees Mickey's suitcase containing Pluto in a seat and forcefully throws it into an overhead baggage net. This causes Pluto to bark, making Pete suspicious. He then recognizes Mickey, who is trying to hide behind a large newspaper. Understanding that Pluto has been stowed in the suitcase, Pete menacingly asks Mickey if he is alone. He then screams a loud "MEOW!" at the suitcase causing the dog to leap out. Mickey and Pluto run away and a chase ensues onboard the train.

Mickey and Pluto first hide in a sleeping car where Pete mistakenly intrudes on a female passenger and gets assaulted. The stowaways later masquerade as a conductor by hiding in Pete's own coat and hat which he had taken off. Finally Mickey disguises himself as an Indian chief with Pluto as his papoose, but Pete eventually sees through their disguises.

While Mickey and Pluto are next to an open window, Pluto is caught on a passing mail hook which whisks him outside the train. Mickey runs after him through the train, and is just barely able to grab Pluto as he exits the last car. Pete throws their luggage out after them and they fall to the ground from the mail hook. Mickey looks up at the station sign and is pleasantly surprised that they have already arrived at their destination – Pomona.

Voice-over footage

Walt Disney (left) and Billy Bletcher recording voice-overs for Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip

Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip is unique among the classic Disney shorts in that video footage exists of the voice-over session, which included Walt Disney and Billy Bletcher. According to film historian Leonard Maltin, the footage was not known to exist and only discovered (as of 2004) "not too many years ago."^[4]

The black and white video, which is about ten minutes in length, is the only known footage of Disney performing as Mickey Mouse and was included on the 2004 DVD release "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two" as an easter egg.^[5] Edited portions of the footage were also seen in earlier releases.^{[clarification needed]}

Adaptations

In September 1940, a one-page adaptation of Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine. In this version Pete discovers Pluto by seeing his tale sticking out of the suitcase. Instead of being kicked off the train, Mickey and Pluto are confined to the baggage car. The story was told in verse and was illustrated by Tom Wood.^[6][7]

In October 1940, a prose version of Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip was printed in the first edition of Walt Disney Comics and Stories. This five-page version is a closer retelling of the film, with the added detail that Mickey is heading to an "important meeting" in Pomona which he can't be late for. Pluto comes along only because he would get lonely if he stayed home alone.

In 2010, the film inspired the Italian comic story "Topolino, Pluto e la gita in montagna," or "Mickey, Pluto, and the Trip to the Mountain." The story, published in the May edition of Extralarge XL Disney, is 25 pages and written and illustrated by Enrico Faccini^[8]

Releases

• 1940 – Original theatrical release
• c. 1965 – Highlights included in "Mickey's Memorable Moments, Volume 2" (Super 8)^[9]
• 1984 – "Cartoon Classics: Mickey" (VHS)
• 1987 – Edited into Down and Out with Donald Duck (TV)
• 1997 – "The Story Behind Walt Disney's Fun and Fancy Free" (VHS)
• 1998 – "The Spirit of Mickey" (VHS)
• 1998 – Ink & Paint Club, episode # 1.43 "On Vacation" (TV)
• 2004 – "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two" (DVD)
• 2006 – "Walt Disney's Funny Factory: With Mickey" (DVD)
• 2009 – "Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films Volume 1:Mickey and the Beanstalk" (DVD)
• 2010 – "Have a Laugh!: Volume 2" (DVD)

Notes

1. ^ Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip at the Internet Movie Database
2. ^ Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip at The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney Shorts
3. ^ Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip at the Big Cartoon DataBase
4. ^ Quoted from "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two," disc 1
5. ^ The easter egg is accessed from the main menu by clicking on Mickey's cane.
6. ^ Gerstein, David (2005). Walt Disney's Mickey and the Gang: Classic Stories in Verse. Timonium MD: Gemstone Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 1-888472-06-5. 
7. ^ Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip at INDUCKS
8. ^ Topolino, Pluto e la gita in montagna at INDUCKS
9. ^ The Old Film Company