Norman Ferguson

Among the many animation treasures celebrated here are the never-before-released 'Hell's Bells' and the original unedited 'Mother Goose Goes Hollywood', plus the Academy Award winning 'Three Orphan Kittens' (Best Cartoon, 1935). Enriching the collection even further are several options commentaries by some of the world's foremost animation and film music experts, who also take part in a lively conversation about the series that let Walt Disney push the envelope of animation art to unimaginable flights of fantasy.

Two classic animated shorts from the Disney studios. In 'The Reluctant Dragon' (1941), a young boy and a famous dragon fighter team up to teach a docile dragon the art of being a force to be reckoned with. In 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' (1947), Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck confront the fearsome Willie the Giant to try to retrieve the magical singing harp to Happy Valley.

A clip-show music video for the album of the same name and vintage. Includes 5 songs from the album ("Mousetrap", "Disco Mickey Mouse", "Watch Out For Goofy", "Macho Duck", "Welcome To Rio").

The lion is trapped by the safari and brought to New York, where he's accidentally set free, but nobody is intimidated by him.

Mickey's on vacation at Camp Utopia. At first Pluto thinks it really is utopia: trees everywhere and a cat to chase. But the cabin rules are strict: no dogs indoors, and dogs must be muzzled and leashed. Mickey puts Pluto out to sleep, just out of reach of his food, and the cat comes down and taunts him. Pluto falls asleep and dreams of his "Plutopia" with a subservient cat begging Pluto to bite him and catering to his every need.

Mickey's hunting raccoons, with help from Pluto. But the raccoon outsmarts Pluto at every turn, with help from a vine, a stream, and ultimately grabbing Mickey's coonskin cap and puppeteering it as a baby coon.

Disney short.

Mickey and friends put on a revue for the orphans. Donald recites nursery rhymes, but the orphans torment him. Horace, Goofy, and Clarabelle do a dance number. Donald tries again. Clara clucks a song while Mickey plays piano (with support from an unseen orchestra). Donald returns, and the orphans finally send a parade of bricks and eggs on balloons over him and use slingshots to drop them on his head.

Pluto is playing with a ball on the beach. The ball goes into the water and starts moving in strange ways, because a sea lion is playing with it. Pluto does not want to share the ball, and eventually tries to bury it, but the sea lion is too clever. Pluto goes after the sea lion, but has to tangle with a persistent octopus. The sea lion saves Pluto, and resuscitates him, so Pluto agrees to play.

Pluto is tied up in the backyard and has been ordered by the maid to stay outside while she prepares a roast. Of course, once Pluto smells the scent of the roast, he makes a beeline for the kitchen. Unfortuantely, staying undiscovered proves difficult for Pluto once he gets inside particularly after he inhales a bucket of soapy water and starts sneezing. Bubbles fill the kitchen and cups are broken at which point the maid comes downstairs. Luckily, Pluto returns to his doghouse leaving the impression that he never left. The maid just shrugs and says, "I could swear it was that dog."

Pluto wakes up in the morning seeing birds eating his dish. Pluto's dish is empty, and he is hungry. He goes after the bone in the dish ofButch the bulldog, who is sleeping next door. He sneaks carefully trying to not wake him up. Though he succeeds in stealing the bone, Butch eventually wakes up. Pluto comes back to his home ,about to enjoy the bone, until an angry Butch shows up. Soon they are chasing each other through town and into a deserted carnival. The gust of wind from the chase made a poster of a belly dancer look like it was belly dancing. They chased each other through a "Tunnel of Love" ride and Pluto lost Butch by going into into a hall of mirrors. Pluto was having fun with hall of mirrors until he sees Butch. Pluto takes advantage of one set of mirrors to successfully scare Butch off, and even gets to keep the bone. He winks at the mirrors and goes off with the bone.

Olive Oyl's screenplay for an Aladdin movie comes to life and Popeye battles for control of a genie, in the last of the three Popeye color specials

Mickey and Pluto go hunting for quail. Pluto scares away the first ones they see; Mickey scolds him, then relents. He shows Pluto how to be a pointer, and they set off after another quail, but Mickey accidentally jumps on a bear's nose, and thinks it's Pluto. Meanwhile, Pluto finds the quail and points. The babies climb on board and start picking at his hairs, but Pluto's been told not to move. Mickey finally comes across Pluto, who by now is covered by small animals, and realizes he's being followed by a bear. Mickey tries to reason with the bear, and backs off a cliff, onto Pluto.

Behind the scenes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, as well as a general look at the different departments involved in making a cartoon.

Officer Donald Duck (Officer #13) is assigned to apprehend a criminal named Tiny Tom. Donald assumes by the name that he'll be a pushover but when he reaches Tom's hideout, he discovers "Tiny" Tom is actually a hulking Pete who immediately disposes of Donald. Donald decides to use strategy and is able to reenter Pete's house disguised as a baby who Pete surprisingly warms to. When Pete discovers Donald, he chases him down the street but is finally apprehended by Donald's marching police colleagues who make the arrest.

After his two brothers are captured, the third little pig invents a machine to capture the big bad wolf.

A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios was a documentary made in response to requests from members of RKO Radio Pictures for a behind the scenes look at Walt Disney Studios. The film was never intended for public showing; it was only shown to executives at RKO. However, footage from this documentary was recycled into a shorter featurette, How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made, which was released to public audiences. It was shot in the first week of July 1937.

Goofy (front) and Donald (rear) are dressed in a moose suit, trying to lure moose for hunter Mickey. When they do find one, it turns out to be more than they can handle.

Pluto wants to chase the sausage man, but Fifi convinces him to look after their five rambunctious puppies instead. The puppies end up in the basement, where they tangle with a compressed air tank, paint, a jug of hooch, and other hazards. Fifi returns and finds a drunk Pluto, paint on everyone, and gets very angry.

Mickey is preparing to conduct an opera when he chases Pluto away. Pluto crashes into a magician's props backstage and spars with the hat, its rabbits, and its doves. The opera begins: Clarabelle plays flute, Clara and Donald are the leads in Romeo and Juliet. Pluto follows the magic hat onstage, to Mickey's growing annoyance. The hat falls into a tuba, and soon the animals are filling the stage.

Plumber Donald is using a large magnet in his work. When he drops it, it causes trouble for Pluto, especially after Pluto swallows it. Things begin clinging to him, especially his metal dog dish.

A friend shipped Mickey a baby elephant named Bobo as a playmate for Pluto. Pluto's first introduction is to Bobo's trunk, through a fence. He's not thrilled, and marches away. The playful Bobo grabs Pluto's tail and follows. Pluto's devil self tells him he's being replaced, and tells him to attack with red pepper.

Donald, Mickey, and Pluto climb the Alps. While up top, Donald has a run-in with a mountain goat over some edelweiss, Mickey has a row with an eagle over its eggs; one of them hatches, and gives Pluto some trouble (as does the grog a Saint Bernard gives him when he falls into a snowbank).

Pluto accidentally hatches a bunch of chickens and looks after them until the hen returns.

A robin is shot so the woodland community holds a trial to investigate.

Pluto chases a kitten through a window and right into Mickey's lap. Mickey scolds him, and goes off to wash the kitten. Pluto falls asleep in front of the fire, and dreams of a hell ruled by cats where he is put on trial for all his crimes against cats and, of course, found guilty.

Mickey's trying to do some yardwork, but Pluto wants to play. They end up indoors; Mickey breaks a screen, spreads flypaper, and they both get stuck.

Donald and Mickey put on a charity show, for some orphans.

Mickey is first seen reading Gulliver's Travels while the mice orphan children are pretending to be sailors. After ruining their game Mickey tries to make it up to them by retelling the Liliput sequences of Gulliver's Travels pretending it was a real event that happened to him by portraying the role of Gulliver. The story ends with Mickey saving the town from a giant spider (Pete). However after telling the story, one of the children dangles a fake spider attached to a fishing rod which scares Mickey out of his witts.

Pirate Pete has kidnapped Mickey and Minnie and has them tied up. As Pete prepares to have his way with Minnie, Mickey escapes and gets a swordfish off the wall; a swordfight with Pete ensues. Mickey gets out of the cabin and on deck; he hoists Minnie up onto the mast. Pete summons his crew, and Mickey fights them off with a cannon, shooting pots and pans, a stove, and ultimately a harpoon before winning Minnie and the ship back for good.

While streetworker Mickey romances Minnie, Mickey's nephews Morty and Ferdie take control of his steamroller and it's full speed ahead on a very destructive ride.

Noah, his family (wife, 3 sons, their wives), and various animals all help build the ark. The rains come, and the skunks barely miss the boat (not that anyone was particularly looking for them), but they manage to swim to it. After the rain and many lamentations by the humans, the sun returns, to the great joy of all. The ground appears, and the animals (and many new babies) disembark.

Mickey's in trouble when Pluto and Fifi eat Minnie's chocolates.

Old King Cole throws party and invites all of the Mother Goose characters. He warns them that they must leave at midnight. Another collection of characters puts on a stage show. The Ten Little Indian Boys get everyone dancing along. The Hickory Dickory Dock mice announce midnight, and everyone leaves, back into their books.

Pluto rescues a bag of kittens from the river. He feels rejected, then, as Mickey ignores him and blames him for damage the kittens do. His angel and devil sides argue with him. Pluto gets thrown outside. The kittens also find their way outside, and fall into the well, where Pluto's angel side wins out as he rescues them once again and is finally recognized as a hero.

Two birds rejoice over the hatching of their three eggs; as they grow, the hatchlings are taught to sing and fly. One falls from the nest and has adventures with a rattlesnake and a beehive before finding his way home.

Mickey Mouse's new job at Tony's Pet Store is jeopardized when Beppo the Gorilla escapes and kidnaps Minnie. Mickey fights back with the help of the other animals in the store.

A pet shop specializing in birds. The various caged birds chirp along to the score in their various styles (including a set of birds that looks like the Marx Brothers). A cat eyes the proceedings hungrily and makes his way in through an open transom, causing panic and an organized counterattack.

It's bath day for Pluto; we open with him already being scrubbed. He gets out, and his tug of war with Mickey and the towel lands Mickey in the tub. The soap jumps out, and Pluto swallows it, hic-cupping soap bubbles as Mickey chases him. Pluto gets out, and the people on the street think Pluto is rabid and start hiding and throwing things at him. Dogcatcher Pete comes along, and prepares to shoot Pluto. Mickey catches up to him just in time. He tries pleading, then fighting, but they get away when Mickey throws a kitten into Pete's pants. In the ensuing chase, a fruit cart provides more diversions, and ultimately they manage to crash Pete into his own truck.

After a short introduction, one of Neptune's mermaids is captured by a pirate ship, and their anchor chain entangles King Neptune; the various sea creatures launch a full-on assault on the pirate ship, and eventually the giant King himself gets free and creates major havoc for the ship.

Insects have made a playground/carnival out of castoffs, featuring "ice skating" on mirrors. Two love bugs head off to a more private area. But their fun is interrupted when a crow comes by. He bottles up the male bug and chases the female into her home. The male bug escapes in the nick of time, and another bug notices the battle and rallies the rest of the bugs to attack, which they do, using false teeth, an eggbeater, a mousetrap, castor oil, and other things.

A house party. While Minnie plays piano and the guests dance, Mickey, Goofy, and Horace prepare a snack, which is brought out to much fanfare and immediately devoured. A band forms and plays Scott Joplin's The Entertainer; Mickey dances with Patricia Pig and various inanimate objects also dance, while all cry "Whoopee!" from time to time. The police come to break up the party.

Mickey and Pluto go duck hunting, stopping to jam to "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean." The ducks get their own back, carrying the hunters through the air and dropping them on a clothesline.

Mickey gives Minnie a canary for a present. Soon there are several little canaries; they get into the inkwell and fly around the house, making a mess, though it's nothing compared to the shambles Mickey makes of the house while chasing them.

Mickey Mouse and Pluto are traveling up an African river with a cargo of goods (including several musical instruments). They hit land and are captured by cannibals who plan to eat them. As soon as Mickey starts playing on a saxophone, they all start jamming to "The Darktown Strutter's Ball."

Pluto's cage-mate at the dog pound breaks out and lets all the other dogs out as well. In the park, that terrier keeps following Pluto too closely for Pluto's tastes, until he digs up a huge bone and gives it to Pluto (who doesn't particularly want to share). But soon all the other escaped dogs are chasing after the bone.

Mickey is playing Christmas carols on a standup bass for change. Alas, all he gets is screws, rocks, and other useless stuff. He plays outside a rich man's window, and the spoiled brat kid inside decides he wants Pluto. Mickey isn't selling, but when his bass gets destroyed by a passing sleigh and he sees a house full of orphans with no presents, he changes his mind. Mickey plays Santa to the kids. Meanwhile, the brat has been torturing Pluto; his father finally has enough and throws Pluto out and spanks the child. Pluto and Mickey are reunited, and as a bonus, the kid has tied the Christmas turkey to Pluto's tail. (Also included: Chip an' Dale 1947, Lend a Paw 1941)

Mickey dreams of marrying Minnie and having about 20 children. For all the possible joys of children, a brood this size turns the dream into a nightmare, especially when they get into the open cans of paint strewn about the house.

Mickey plays piano in the Klondike Bar. He rescues a depressed, half-frozen Minnie. Pegleg Pierre comes storming in and steals her away, after a gun battle. A dogsled chase follows, with Pluto pulling Mickey's sled. There's a battle at Pete's cabin that features a sequence with Pete and Mickey wearing bedsprings and bouncing. Meanwhile, Pluto, chasing a rabbit, makes a giant snowball that sends the cabin downhill and eventually traps Pete.

Swans, peacocks, ducks, and more birds dance.

Mickey runs radio station ICU from his barn. His friends play various musical numbers. A cat wanders in and starts yowling (which sets Pluto, who was listing from his doghouse, off). Mickey puts it out, but it, and several kittens, keep coming back in, playing with the equipment, running through the musicians (chased by a broom-wielding Mickey, who does a great deal of damage himself), and generally making a mess of things.

Delivery boy Mickey encounters Minnie washing clothes and singing. He stops for a quick song and dance with her. Meanwhile, Pluto gets tangled up in tar. Mickey sends a beehive flying; it lands on his mule, who kicks Mickey's instrument-filled wagon into the air. He plays a march or two on the piano with Minnie, with many animals playing along.

Mickey heads over to see Minnie, but Pluto won't leave him alone. He gets there and watches through the window, standing on Pluto, while Minnie plays piano. Pluto runs off to chase a cat and leaves Mickey stuck in the window. Minnie has him in, and he dances to her playing. Pluto chases the cat into the house and causes havoc. The chase leads into the piano, where Pluto picks up the player-piano roll as an extended tail, and the destruction continues.

A fun day at the beach. While Mickey, Horace, and Clarabelle go swimming, or try to, Minnie lays out a picnic. Pluto discovers why you shouldn't chase a crab. Everyone digs in to lunch. Mickey throws Pluto a string of sausages; he dives after them, and comes up with an angry octopus instead, who crashes into the picnic. Everyone fights the octopus, and Mickey finally manages to send it out to sea by throwing an anchor like a lasso.

At Christmas time, Mickey Mouse, Minnie and Pluto are beset by an enormous litter of bratty orphan cats.

Mickey takes Pluto fishing in a boat on a lake, but they aren't too successful. The fish mock them, and even steal the bait can. Finally, the game warden spots them (Mickey had ignored the "no fishing" sign) and gives chase.

A book of nursery rhymes plays for Old King Cole.

Mickey's friends throw him a surprise birthday party at Minnie's house. The chef brings out the cake (with 2 candles); Mickey manages to blow all the cake onto the chef's face, while the candles stay lit. He unwraps his present: a miniature piano. He plays a duet of I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby with Minnie, followed by an instrumental version of The Darktown Strutter's Ball, which everyone dances to (including Mickey and Minnie, while the piano stools keep playing). Mickey then plays There's No Place Like Home on the xylophone, then accompanies Minnie on another piece, after which the xylophone gets frisky and eventually dumps Mickey in the fish bowl.

Mickey plays a bluesy tune on a piano on a stage. Minnie sings. Then an unseen band plays while both sing and dance. Mickey then leads the 9-piece band in an uptempo number, with Pluto on trombone, Horace on percussion, and Clarabelle on bass, among others. Mickey steps out for a clarinet solo.

Mickey is driving a taxi. His first fare is a very large gentleman. Mickey stops traffic and gets a tongue-lashing from the officer. The cab runs into some bad road, bounces the fare down to almost nothing, then bounces the customer right out of the cab. Mickey pulls up to the curb and picks up his second passenger, Minnie. She plays her accordion while they ride. The cab gets a flat tire, and Mickey uses a pig to pump it up.

Mickey's hunting, along with a characteristically playful and distracted (and uncharacteristically talkative) Pluto. Pluto fetches a forked branch, and Mickey shoots, mistaking it for antlers, but Pluto is OK. Then they find a moose, and Mickey's gun fails but they escape when Pluto does an impression of Dumbo, with Mickey riding.

The monkeys are swinging; their song and dance routine has other jungle creatures joining in. And two monkeys in love chase and kiss. But the hungry crocodiles lie in wait (and dance the soft shoe).

Mickey and others are firemen; they slide down an ostrich's neck when the alarm sounds. A squealing cat whose tail Mickey pulls acts as the siren. The nearest hydrant isn't working too well, so Horace Horsecollar takes drinks from a pond and uses that water to put out the fire. Minnie is trapped on an upper floor; Mickey climbs the neighboring building fire escape and uses a clothesline to cross to Minnie's building.

The moon and two owls sing to the Blue Danube Waltz, celebrating the night. Moths dance around a candle flame, fireflies glow, frogs chorus, and so forth.

The title pretty much says it: fish and other marine life dance and frolic to various tunes. An octopus keeps spoiling the fun in various ways.

Summertime, and Mickey takes Minnie on a picnic. While Pluto is chasing a rabbit, and Mickey and Minnie are doing a courtship dance, every animal in the woods is busy making off with their picnic food. And then the rain comes.

A collection of arctic animals (seals, walruses, polar bears, penguins) float by on ice floes and on shore, performing various musical numbers.

A spider seeks shelter inside an old toy store, where he soon discovers that the merchandise comes to life after dark.

The mythological satyr plays some tunes on his pipes and gets various flora and fauna dancing to them. Two clouds also dance; they bump into each other, causing lightning strikes that start a forest fire. The animals rush to escape the fire. Finally, an animal comes to tell Pan of the fire; he rushes to it, and gets it to dance to his tune, right into the lake.

A group of cannibals gather together for a tribal dance. In the middle of their gala, they are interrupted by a ferocious lion!

In the last of the Silly Symphonies season cycle, bears hibernate (or try to), raccoons sneeze, moose swim, and pretty much everyone ice skates. Everyone gathers around the groundhog to see what happens.

Mickey and Minnie are on a wagon train; they camp for the night, unaware that Indians have spotted them and are doing a war dance. The attack comes, and Minnie is captured.

A gorilla has escaped; Mickey, panicked, calls Minnie, but she plays a song to show she is not afraid. That is, until the gorilla comes up behind her and grabs her. Mickey rushes right over to save her.

Mickey Mouse and several other characters are on a prison chain gang, guarded by Pegleg Pete. They break rocks for a while, then Mickey breaks out a harmonica and everyone starts making music and/or dancing. Soon there's a jail-break, and Mickey's on the run, tracked by bloodhounds (including his future pet, Pluto, in his first appearance). He falls off a cliff and right into a jail cell.