Runaway Brain

**Runaway Brain** is a 1995 short film directed by Chris Bailey. The film was released on April 7, 1995.

## Plot

On a dark and stormy evening, Minnie comes home to find Mickey playing a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs video game and becomes angry over Mickey having forgotten that tonight is the anniversary of their first date. Mickey comes up with the last-minute idea to take her to a miniature golf course and shows her a newspaper ad for it, but she instead notices another ad for a trip to Hawaii, which costs $999.99, and mistakes it for Mickey's gift. Mickey frets over how he can make enough money for the trip when Pluto shows him an ad to work with a mad scientist named Dr. Frankenollie for a day of "mindless work" that would pay the amount of money Mickey needs.

Upon reaching the home of the primate-like Dr. Frankenollie, Mickey is dropped down a trapdoor into Frankenollie's laboratory, the doctor reveals a plan to switch Mickey's brain with that of his enormous monster, Julius. The experiment causes an explosion that kills Frankenollie, but the brain transfer is a success, with Mickey's mind ending up in Julius' giant body and Julius in control of Mickey's body.

The dim-witted and insane Julius finds Mickey's wallet and notices a photo of Minnie, whom he instantly becomes smitten with. He escapes from the laboratory and finds Minnie while she is shopping for swimsuits, Minnie immediately mistakes Julius for Mickey. Mickey arrives in Julius' body to save Minnie, but Minnie becomes terrified of his appearance and screams for help, until Mickey convinces her of who he is and places her on the top of a skyscraper.

Julius continues to pursue Minnie, leading to a battle between Mickey and Julius during which they land on a telephone line and get zapped, switching their minds back to their original bodies. Mickey continues to fight Julius, the two of them reaching the top of the tower, where Mickey manages to rescue Minnie as well as tie Julius down with rope. Mickey uses a huge billboard for a Hawaiian vacation getaway to suspend Julius over the city streets, with the giant reeling up and down like a yo-yo.

Finally, Mickey and Minnie travel to Hawaii together on an inflatable boat pulled by Julius as he swims after the photo of Minnie in Mickey's wallet, which is attached to a fishing line held by Mickey.

## Cast and Characters

* Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse
* Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse
* Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frankenollie
* Jim Cummings as Julius
* Bill Farmer as Pluto

## Release

The film was screened out of competition at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. It was first released in North America on August 11, 1995, with A Kid in King Arthur's Court, then on September 12, 1996, with The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Australia and on October 18, 1996, attached to A Goofy Movie in the UK. The short was to be re-released with 101 Dalmatians, which was sent to theatres with the short attached in 1996, but Disney asked theatre owners to cut the short off all film prints and replace it with trailers for then upcoming Disney films, including Hercules and George of the Jungle. In July 1997, Disney attached it to George of the Jungle.

### Home Media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two: 1939-Today.

It is also available as a Movies Anywhere-exclusive digital download with the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection (but is not included on the Blu-Ray/DVD disc set).

## Reception

In terms of general reception, the macabre nature of the animation's plot brought criticism from some Disney fans due to the contrast with the previously light tone of Mickey Mouse cartoons. Andy Mooney, then chairman of Disney's consumer products unit, remarked to the Los Angeles Times in 2003 that "the very fact that Mickey was possessed was very disturbing" to some audiences, though the character "overcomes that".