The Mickey Mouse Show (2001 anthology series)

The Mickey Mouse Show is a cartoon anthology series that premiered on November 11, 2001, on Disney Channel. Each episode would include three classic Disney theatrical shorts starring Mickey Mouse or his two friends Donald Duck and Goofy, or his pet dog Pluto. The show was narrated by Bill Murray (not to be confused with the film actor), who would give the audience short facts about the history of the cartoons as filler material between each short. Animation historian Jerry Beck served as a consultant and Barry Mills served as writer and producer. A total of 45 episodes were produced, consisting of a total of 135 shorts.
==Significance==
Prior to the premiere of The Mickey Mouse Show, most television airings of theatrical Mickey Mouse cartoons bore burlap reissue titles from the late 40's for television use on ABC. Some even replaced the original titles on color cartoons with title cards from the early-to-mid 50's. This is due to the films having their original titles replaced when reissued to theatres. As a result, Disney decided to replace the original Celebrity Pictures, Columbia, United Artists, and RKO theatrical title cards with their own. For The Mickey Mouse Show, efforts were made to present these films as close to their original theatrical form as possible: some of the cartoons shown were copies that actually had their original theatrical titles intact, while others needed to have their original titles simulated through the process of digital video editing.
The show focused mostly on the 1928 to 1935 Mickey Mouse shorts that were originally filmed in black-and-white. For all episodes, the first two shorts were from this era. Sometimes the third cartoon would be a color cartoon from 1935 to 1953 starring Mickey, Donald, Goofy or Pluto, but on many occasions an entire episode would entirely be made of black-and-white cartoons. While selecting the color entries that would air, the only ones that were initially selected were those that were in the Disney vaults with their original titles. The only color cartoons to have their original titles recreated were those shown in the last episode of Season 3, and all episodes of Season 4.
In season 1, an original copy of Mickey Mouse's The Band Concert (1935) with its original titles was shown for the first time on TV. The black and white short Haunted House (1929) was kept from being shown in earlier seasons because it required extra attention to recreate the opening as close to the original as possible. The original opening involved the letters which spell out the title of the short are blown away with the gust of wind after the original Celebrity title card faded out to pitch black.
The 1933 short Puppy Love, which did not open with the standard Mickey Mouse theme music, but had a rendition of When You're In Love, had its original soundtrack restored for the program. Similarly, a version of The Nifty Nineties (1941) was prepared with the opening titles restored, but the show was cancelled before it could be included in any episodes.
==Controversy==
Two episodes from Season 1 were initially skipped, and did not make their TV debut until reruns. The reason was because the two episodes had cartoons that the executives at Disney Channel would not pass for unedited airings. Episode #10 was originally supposed to have Mickey's Man Friday from 1935. This particular cartoon involved Mickey making friends with an African American stereotype character named "Friday". Episode #11 had the short Happy Birthdaze, in which Mickey murders his Navy buddy Danny in a scene that is usually cut from TV broadcasts (except primetime airings of ABC). When Episode #10 finally aired, The Mail Pilot replaced Mickey's Man Friday, while Episode #11 aired with no changes made, and Happy Birthdaze was shown uncut.
A later episode featured an unedited version of The Chain Gang (1930), a cartoon in which Mickey plays a prison convict who escapes after a dance sequence, and returns after a funny escape scene. This particular cartoon is rarely shown outside of any scheduled airings of The Mickey Mouse Show.
==Episode guide==
Below is an episode guide for The Mickey Mouse Show. All episodes are listed in production order. There were a few occasions where episodes were skipped and therefore did not air in their proper order.
=== Season 1 (2001) ===
Episode#	Shorts Featured 	Original Airdate
1 	The Barn Dance (1929)The Shindig (1930)The Whoopee Party (1932) 	November 19, 2001
2 	Traffic Troubles (1931)Mickey's Nightmare (1932)The Opry House (1929) 	November 12, 2001
3 	Touchdown Mickey (1932)Barnyard Olympics (1932)Mr. Mouse Takes A Trip (1940) 	November 26, 2001
4 	Blue Rhythm (1931)Pioneer Days (1930)The Wayward Canary (1932) 	December 3, 2001
5 	Trader Mickey (1932)Jungle Rhythm (1929)Mickey's Delayed Date (1947) 	December 3, 2001
6 	Mickey's Follies (1929)Minnie's Yoo-Hoo (1930)Symphony Hour (1942) 	December 10, 2001
7 	The Mad Dog (1932)Playful Pluto (1934)Pluto's Dream House (1940) 	December 10, 2001
8 	Mickey's Orphans (1931)Mickey's Good Deed (1932)Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952)	December 17, 2001
9 	The Karnival Kid (1929)The Delivery Boy (1931)Mickey's Kangaroo (1935) 	December 17, 2001
10 	The Mail Pilot (1933)Mickey Plays Papa (1934)The Castaway (1931) 	February 11, 2002
11 	Mickey Cuts Up (1931)Happy Birthdaze (1943)The Little Whirlwind (1941) 	February 18, 2002
12 	The Gallopin' Gaucho (1928)The Cactus Kid (1930)Two-Gun Mickey (1934) 	December 24, 2001
13 	Mickey's Service Station (1935)Mickey Steps Out (1931)The Band Concert (1935)	December 24, 2001
=== Season 2 (2002) ===
Episode#	Shorts Featured 	Original Airdate
14 	Giantland (1933)Gulliver Mickey (1934)Orphan's Benefit (1934) 	July 7, 2002
15 	The Birthday Party (1931)
The Beach Party (1931)
Mickey's Birthday Party (1942)	July 14, 2002
16 	The Gorilla Mystery (1930)
Ye Olden Days (1933)
Mickey in Arabia (1932)	July 21, 2002
17 	The Moose Hunt (1931)
The Duck Hunt (1932)
Moose Hunters (1937) 	July 28, 2002
18 	The Plowboy (1929)
Musical Farmer (1932)
The Steeplechase (1933) 	August 5, 2002
19 	Mickey Steps Out (1931)
The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)
The Barnyard Concert (1930)	August 12, 2002
20 	The Klondike Kid (1932)
Shanghaied (1934)
Squatter's Rights (1946)	August 18, 2002
21 	 	August 25, 2002
22 	 	September 1, 2002
23 	 	September 8, 2002
24 	Fishin' Around (1931)Mickey's Pal Pluto (1933)The Chain Gang (1930)	September 15, 2002
25 	 	September 22, 2002
26 	 	September 29, 2002
=== Season 3 (2002) ===
Episode#	Shorts Featured	Original Airdate
27 	 	
28 	 	
29 	 	
30 	 	
31 	 	
32 	 	
33 	 	
34 	 	
35 	 	
36 	 	
37 	 	
38 	 	
39 	 	
=== Season 4 (2003) ===
Episode#	Shorts Featured 	Original Airdate
40 	 	
41 	Haunted House (1929)The Mad Doctor (1933)Pluto's Judgement Day (1935)	June 22, 2003
42 	 	
43 	 	
44 	 	
45 	 	
==Trivia==
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Category:Anthology
Category:TV Shows
Category:Disney shows
Category:Mickey Mouse
Category:GrishamAnimationStudios102's ideas
Category:DonaldoC1997's ideas
Category:KKDisney's ideas
Category:Alternate Reality