Minnie Mouse
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|---|---|
| First appearance | Rock 'n Roll, 1969 |
| Created by | Walt Disney |
| Voiced by | Marcellite Garner, Judy Garland, Russi Taylor |
"Minnie" Mouse is a fictional character of the Mickey Mouse universe featured in animated cartoons, comic strips and comic book by The Walt Disney Company. The comic strip story "The Gleam" (published January 19-May 2, 1942) by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minerva has since been a recurring alias for her.
The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22–December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her unnamed mother, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of her grandparents Marshall Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Her best known relatives however remains her uncle Mortimer Mouse and her two nieces, Millie and Melody. In most appearances, Minnie is presented as a close friend of Daisy Duck.
Damsel in distress
Her final appearance for the year was in Wild Waves, carried by a wave into the sea. She panics and seems to start drowning. Mickey uses a row boat to rescue her and return her to the shore but Minnie is still visibly shaken from the experience. Mickey starts singing the tune of "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep,", a maritime ballad, in an apparent effort to cheer her up. Minnie cheers up and the short ends. This is arguably the first time Minnie is placed in danger and then saved by her new boyfriend. It would not be the last.
In fact this was the case with her next appearance in The Cactus Kid (April 12, 1930). As the title implies the short was intended as a Western movie parody, but it is considered to be more or less a remake of The Gallopin' Gaucho set in Mexico instead of Argentina. Minnie was again cast as the local tavern dancer who is abducted by Peg-Leg Pedro (Black Pete in his first appearance with a peg-leg). Mickey again comes to the rescue. The short is considered significant for being the last short featuring Mickey and Minnie to be animated by Ub Iwerks.
The Shindig (July 11, 1930) featured Minnie joining Mickey, Horace and Clarabelle in a barn dance. Among them Clarabelle seems to be the actual star of the short. Director Burton Gillett turned in another enjoyable entry in the series, proved that production could go on without Iwerks. This was arguably the first time Minnie was upstaged by a female co-star.
In The Fire Fighters (August 6, 1930) Minnie is trapped in a hotel during a fire. She spends the duration of the short in mortal peril but is rescued by firefighters under chief Mickey Mouse. Horace Horsecollar is among the firefighters. An unnamed cow in the background is possibly Clarabelle making a cameo. The music of the short was, appropriately, the tune of "There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight."
The next entry in the series is considered curious: The Gorilla Mystery (October 1, 1930). The short starts with Beppo the Gorilla escaping from a zoo. Mickey learns of it and panics. He phones Minnie to warn her about the dangerous gorilla wandering about. Minnie is unconcerned and plays tunes on her piano for Mickey to hear over the phone and know she is not afraid. Her tunes are interrupted by her scream and Mickey rushes to her house to save her. Meanwhile Beppo has wrapped up Minnie in rope and holds her hostage. Mickey confronts the gorilla and once again rescues the damsel in distress. The short ends with Minnie and Mickey jointly wrapping up the gorilla in rope. Modern audiences have commented on elements of bondage apparent in the short and the mysterious motivation of Beppo. Note that the theme of kidnapping by a gorilla is present here three years prior to the King Kong film of 1933.
Introduction of a pet
In The Picnic (November 14, 1930) , Minnie introduces her boyfriend to her new pet dog Rover. This is actually Pluto making his first appearance as an individual character. Two unnamed bloodhound guard dogs strikingly similar to him had previously appeared in The Chain Gang (August 18, 1930) which featured Mickey incarcerated in prison without Minnie at his side. Otherwise the short features a typical picnic excursion harassed by forest animals and brought to a premature end by a sudden rain.
The final appearance of Minnie during the year was Pioneer Days (animated short film) (December 10, 1930). The short featured Minnie and her mate as pioneer settlers heading to the American Old West driving a covered wagon in a wagon train. They are unsurprisingly attacked by Native Americans on their way, a stock plot of Western movies at the time. While their fellows are either subjected to scalping or running for their lives, Minnie is captured by the attackers. Mickey attempts to rescue her only to be captured himself. In a reversal of their usual roles , Minnie escapes her captors and rescues her mate. They then dress as soldiers of the United States Army. Their mere appearance proves sufficient to have the entire tribe running for the hills. The Mouse couple stands triumphant at the end. The short has been criticized for its unflattering depiction of Native Americans as rather bestial predators. Their depiction as being part Jewish is not particularly fondly seen by modern audiences either. The finale has been edited out in recent viewings for depicting the "braves" submitting to cowardice.
Contemporary appearances
She starred in a 1999 film called Rainbows and she also appeared in a line of merchandise called "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle".
In Mickey Mouse Works, she finally appeared in her own segments. Occasionally, she starred in "Maestro Mickey" short, Captain Hook and Kaa in which she conducts an orchestra of living instruments that she usually has to tame. Minnie also appears in the movie Toy Story 3,
Minnie as she appears in the Kingdom Hearts series.
She appears in the Kingdom Hearts game series as the Queen of Disney Castle, with Donald serving as the King and her husband. She, at the suggestion of a letter left by the missing King, sends Mickey Mouse and Goofy on their mission to find Mickey and the Keyblade Master. In the second game in the series, Kingdom Hearts II, there is a mission where the main characters must travel through Disney Castle while serving as the Queen's bodyguard. During this time, Minnie shows prowess as a cool, casting a holy-looking white light on the Heartless that attack as well as a powerful combination with Sora that unleashes a huge beam of light all around her.
In the 1987 television special Totally Minnie, Minnie plays the role of Toontown, who continually lovers about her true love, Goofy. She's also the only lover getting in the way of the plans of Pete and Kaa
Voice actors
- Marcellite Garner (1937 - 1948)
- Judy Garland (1953 - 1967)
- Russi Taylor (1970 - 1992)
Trivia
- Minnie is the 3rd most requested character at Disney theme parks, most popular of course being, Mickey Mouse.
- One can visit Minnie's 'home' at three Disney theme parks; Disneyland in California, the Magic Kingdom in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan.
- According to Disney theme parks she has her own magazine, called Minnie's Cartoon Country Living.
- Minnie is also a member of Girl Scouts
- Walt Disney said in a 1933 interview, "In private life, Mickey is married to Minnie. A lot of people have written to him asking this question, because sometimes he appears to be married to her in his films and other times still courting her. What it really amounts to is that Minnie is, for screen purposes, his leading lady. If the story calls for a romantic courtship, then Minnie is the girl; but when the story requires a married couple, then they appear as man and wife. In the studio we have decided that they are married, really." [1]
References
- ↑ Film Pictorial Sept. 1933.
bg:Мини Маус
da:Minnie Mouse
it:Minnie
he:מיני מאוס
ms:Minnie Mouse
nl:Minnie Mouse
pt:Minnie Mouse
simple:Minnie Mouse
fi:Minni Hiiri
sv:Mimmi Pigg
zh:米妮