The Band Concert

"The Band Concert" is a famous 1935 Walt Disney cartoon in which Mickey Mouse is conductor of an outdoor orchestra.

Plot

Mickey's orchestra has the following lineup: Goofy (clarinet) and a similar character (Gideon Goat?) (trombone), Clarabelle Cow (flute), Horace Horsecollar (percussion), Peter Pig (trumpet), and Paddy Pig (tuba).

The orchestra is performing the "William Tell" overture, but then Donald Duck (in his third appearance in a Mickey cartoon) appears selling ice-cream. Uninvited, Donald takes out his flute and distracts the band into playing "Turkey in the Straw". Mickey tries to get rid of Donald by destroying his flute but it turns out the Duck has plenty of replacement flutes on hand.

As the cartoon continues, Mickey's band plays "The Storm" from the overture which seemingly summons an actual tornado. Despite being swept into the air, the Band continues playing regardless, even despite being flung into a tree. Donald plays "Turkey in the Straw" again with another flute, finishing the final notes after another band member throws a tuba on top of him.

Legacy

The cartoon is notable for being the first Mickey Mouse film in Technicolor, although two more Mickey cartoons were made in black and white before they were produced in colors on a permanent basis; Mickey's Service Station and Mickey's Kangaroo. It's one of the most well known and often repeated Mickey Mouse cartoons.

It is said that when conductor Arturo Toscanini first saw the cartoon in a movie theater, he was so delighted with it that he ran up to the projection booth and asked the projectionist to run it again.

In 1994 it was voted #3 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. Also, according to Leonard Maltin in a commentary for this film when it was included in one of the "Walt Disney Treasures", "The Band Concert" was remade (somewhat) years later as "Symphony Hour".

In popular culture

In the video game the Garden area of Disney Castle in "Kingdom Hearts II", there is a topiary sculpture of all characters in the band besides Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"The Band Concert" was also the basis for, and title of the secret level in the game, "Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse" (for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Sony PlayStation [as Mickey's Wild Adventure] ).

This cartoon was also the inspiration for the Walt Disney World Resort Magic Kingdom show Mickey's PhilharMagic.

The short was one of the many featured in "Donald Duck's 50th Birthday", Donald remembers it in a psychiatric session with Dr. Ludwig Von Drake and says that Mickey "invited" Donald to play with his band.

External links

* [http://www.disneyshorts.org/years/1935/bandconcert.html The Band Concert] on [http://www.disneyshorts.org/ The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts]
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* [http://myeggnests50cartoons.ning.com Watch the 50 Greatest Cartoons]