This is an early Mickey Mouse cartoon produced by the Disney studio. There will be mild spoilers ahead:
This short is Mickey and company staging a very mediocre version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. It's a melodrama, which means everything is exaggerated and over the top. Audiences in 1933 probably enjoyed this short more than audiences today will, not solely because of the stereotyping black-face gags.
Melodrama isn't done much these days and the mustache-twirling villain who's booed just for stepping onstage isn't that big a deal any more. The hero, who likewise is cheered just for appearing onstage also has run his course.
If you've seen or read Uncle Tom's Cabin, the plot of this is familiar to you. The gags are what matter most and some of those are very good. Goofy is a stagehand who winds up onstage and gets a faceful of produce more than once. The production descends into chaos when a cat winds up onstage. Mickey, Minnie, Horace and Clarabelle do all the parts, in black-face where needed.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse In Black and White, Volume Two DVD set. The set is worth getting. This short is worth watching once.
This short is Mickey and company staging a very mediocre version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. It's a melodrama, which means everything is exaggerated and over the top. Audiences in 1933 probably enjoyed this short more than audiences today will, not solely because of the stereotyping black-face gags.
Melodrama isn't done much these days and the mustache-twirling villain who's booed just for stepping onstage isn't that big a deal any more. The hero, who likewise is cheered just for appearing onstage also has run his course.
If you've seen or read Uncle Tom's Cabin, the plot of this is familiar to you. The gags are what matter most and some of those are very good. Goofy is a stagehand who winds up onstage and gets a faceful of produce more than once. The production descends into chaos when a cat winds up onstage. Mickey, Minnie, Horace and Clarabelle do all the parts, in black-face where needed.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse In Black and White, Volume Two DVD set. The set is worth getting. This short is worth watching once.