Mickey Mouse Works
Mickey Mouse Works (also known as Disney's Mickey Mouse Works) is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends in a series of animated shorts. It is the first Disney television animated series to be produced in widescreen high definition. "Mickey Mouse Works" is similar to a variety show, with skits starring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto and Ludwig Von Drake while Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Huey, Dewey and Louie, Chip 'n Dale, Scrooge McDuck, Pete, Humphrey the Bear, J. Audubon Woodlore , Dinah the Dachshund, Butch the Bulldog, Mortimer Mouse, Jose Carioca, and Clara Cluck appear as supporting characters. Musical themes for each character were composed by Stephen James Taylor with a live 12-piece band and extensive use of the fretless guitar to which the music of the series was nominated for an Annie Award in both 1999 and 2001. The shorts from the series were later used in "House of Mouse". The show returned to Disney Junior in Canada from December 1, 2015 to September 2, 2016 and came back from December 5 to 30, 2016. However, like "", only about  half of the shorts aired, and most of the ones that did air were edited down (this was most likely due to scenes that were dubbed inappropriate for preschoolers). In Finland, the show was renamed "Akun Tehdas" ("Donald's Factory") due to how immensely popular cartoon icon Donald and his "Duckverse" comics was among Finns. Gags were entirely removed as well due to possible redundancy – though sounds were left in still. In France, the show was called Mickey "Mania". Overview. "Mickey Mouse Works" was produced to recreate the golden age of Disney's animated shorts featuring Disney's most popular  characters and Mickey Mouse's first revival series. By using basic colors and the original sound effects, effort was put forth to capture the look and feel of "classic" Disney. Each half-hour episode consisted of a variety of cartoons, which are skits, varying in length from ninety seconds to twelve minutes. These shorts fell into three general types: 90-second gag cartoons, the 7 and a half-minute character cartoons, and 12-minute "Mouse Tales" based on famous stories. The character-based segments also included "Silly Symphonies", carrying on the tradition of that series of theatrical shorts. The gag  shorts, which lasted 90 seconds each, were shown with the following umbrella titles: With no established schedule or routine, "Mickey Mouse Works" was designed to look like one spontaneous flow. Adding to that feeling were the show's opening credits which ended differently each week, the only constant being an elaborate interruption from a spotlight-stealing Donald Duck. While most skits involved individual characters, some have Mickey, Donald and Goofy running a special service group. Most Goofy skits have him doing a "how-to" segment always accompanied by a narrator. Most Donald segments were about him trying to accomplish a  certain task which never works out right, frustrating him. Production. When the show was replaced by "House of Mouse" in January 2001, most of the MouseWork segments were repeated there but the original "Mickey Mouse Works" format has never been seen again. However, when the shorts were shown right before and after Toon Disney's Big Movie Show on weekdays, they were shown with the "Mickey Mouse Works" closing credits. "Minnie Takes Care of Pluto" was not re-run in "House of Mouse" due to its dark content. For unknown reasons, "Pluto Gets the Paper: Vending Machine" was not on  House of Mouse either. Four of the gag cartoons were released theatrically with various Disney films during 1998 and 1999 and released to theaters as commercials for the show. The cartoons included: Home media. Some shorts are available in Europe on DVD under the title "Mickey's Laugh Factory". While some shorts have the "Mickey Mouse Works" title card background, others have the "House of Mouse" version (the "Mouse Works" version has various mechanics in the background including a Mickey-shaped one and one with the "Mouse Works" text inside it, but the "House of Mouse" version has various moving  swirls). Cartoons include "Hickory Dickory Mickey", "Mickey Tries to Cook", "Organ Donors", "Mickey's Airplane Kit", "Street Cleaner", "Mickey's New Car", "Bubble Gum", "Mickey's Big Break" and "Mickey's Mix-Up". In "Disney's Learning Adventures: Mickey's Seeing the World", there were two cartoons featured: "Around the World in Eighty Days" and "Mickey's Mechanical House" (both as two stories). On November 11, 2008, the eighth wave of Walt Disney Treasures was released. One of the sets released in this wave, "", features a handful of Donald-centric shorts from both "Mickey Mouse Works" and "House of Mouse  as bonuses, including Bird Brained Donald", "Donald and the Big Nut", "Donald's Charmed Date", "Donald's Dinner Date", "Donald's Failed Fourth", "Donald's Rocket Ruckus", "Donald's Shell Shots", "Donald's Valentine Dollar", "Music Store Donald" and "Survival of the Woodchucks".