The Nifty Nineties

The Nifty Nineties is a Technicolor Mickey Mouse cartoon released in 1941. The short was directed by Riley Thomson and animated by Ward Kimball, Walt Kelly, Fred Moore, Claude Smith, David Swift, and Les Clark with effects animation by Art Fitzpatrick. The film stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse and romanticizes the decade of the 1890s.
The film features original and adapted music by Charles Wolcott. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey and Marcellite Garner as Minnie.
==Plot==
Set in the springtime, sometime in the 1890s, Mickey and Minnie Mouse happen to meet each other in a public park one day. Minnie attracts Mickey by intentionally dropping her handkerchief so Mickey will return it to her.
They attend a vaudeville show where they first see a slideshow presentation called "Father, Dear, Father", which features the song "Come Home, Father" by Henry Clay Work. In the show, a daughter attempts to get her father to leave a local tavern because he hadn't come right home from work as promised and got drunk at the tavern. In the fourth picture in the slideshow, we see the clock tower, which reads 1:00 am. With mother home watching since tea and her son very sick in her arms, there can only be hope that the father comes home. The slideshow reduces Minnie to crying. Mickey tries to comfort her, telling her "Don't take it so hard. It's only a show".
The next act is "Fred & Ward, Two Clever Boys From Illinois" which features two song and dance men. Fred and Ward are caricatures of Disney animators Fred Moore and Ward Kimball who also voiced the characters.
After the show is over, Mickey and Minnie cruise the roads of the countryside in a Brass Era car. Goofy rides by on a penny-farthing bicycle, and Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie ride on a bicycle built for five. At last, in a scene reminiscent of Plane Crazy, the car crashes with a cow. Mickey and Minnie emerge from the wreckage unhurt, but when they try to kiss each other, the cow pops her head up between them.
==Characters==
*Mickey Mouse (voiced by Walt Disney)
*Minnie Mouse (voiced by Marcellite Garner)
*Goofy (cameo)
*Donald Duck (cameo)
*Daisy Duck (cameo)
*Huey, Dewey, and Louie (cameo)
*Caroline Cow
*Fred and Ward (voiced by Fred Moore and Ward Kimball)
==Songs==
With the exception of one song, "The Gay Nineties" (the opening song), this short featured mostly authentic songs from the 1890s, most of which were performed by the vocal quartet The Sportsmen, which featured Thurl Ravenscroft in one of his earliest projects for Disney.
The songs include:
*"While Strolling Through the Park"
*"Come Home, Father"
*"A Hot Time in the Old Town"
*"Old Folks at Home"
*"In the Good Old Summertime"
==Trivia==
*The two comedians Fred and Ward are animated caricatures of Disney animators Fred Moore and Ward Kimball.
*This is the only classic Mickey Mouse short in which Daisy, Huey, Dewey, and Louie appear.
*The "Father, Dear Father" sequence was edited out of the short when it aired on Toon Disney, due to the father being depicted as a doofy alcoholic.
*The advertisements on the curtain at the theater contain numerous references to members of the Disney staff, including:
**Walter D's Hats that please-Walt Disney
**Clark's Confectionery-animator Leslie J. Clark
**Wilfred Jaxon Feed and Fuel-animation director Wilfred Jackson
**Riley's Livery Stable-director of the short Riley Thomson
**T. Hee's Shoes-writer T. Hee
**Professor Churchill, Pianos Tuned-composer Frank Churchill
**Sharpsteen Dentist-animator Ben Sharpsteen
**M. Nelson, Fancy Goods-background artist Myron F. Nelson
**Palms Read, C. Payzant-artist Charles Payzant
**Breezy Allan's Haberdashery-animator Paul Allan
**C.E. Phillipi, Fishing Equipment-layout artist Charles Phillipi
**Happy Herb, Undertaker-animator Herb Ryman
**R.B. Martch Guns-animator Robert "Bob" Martch
**M. Flanagin, Coffee-proprietor of the studio coffee shop Mary Flanagin
*This cartoon was the very first thing broadcast on the Disney Channel when the channel launched on April 18, 1983, being the first cartoon to be shown on Good Morning, Mickey!, which was the first program to air on the channel at 7:00am (EST).The Disney Channel Countdown Launch - April 18, 1983
==Releases==
===Television===
*Disneyland, episode #4.24: "Four Tales on a Mouse"
*Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, episode #15.11: "The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show"
*Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald, episode #20
*Good Morning, Mickey, episode #31
*Good Morning, Mickey, episode #78
*From Disney With Love
*The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.22: "Classic Mickey"
*The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.39: "Minnie Mouse"
===Home video===
VHS
*Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Editions - Minnie (1960 reissue print without Buena Vista logo)
*Sweetheart Stories (1960 reissue print)
*Bonus on Pollyanna (Vault Disney)
DVD
*Bonus on Pollyanna (Vault Disney)
*Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two
*Mickey and Minnie's Sweetheart Stories
*Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites: Best Pals - Mickey and Minnie
==Gallery==
==References==
es:The Nifty Nineties
Category:Animated shorts
Category:Mickey Mouse shorts
Category:Minnie Mouse shorts
Category:1941 shorts
Category:Valentine's Day
Category:Donald Duck shorts
Category:Daisy Duck shorts
Category:Huey, Dewey, and Louie shorts
Category:Goofy shorts