My critique of Disney shorts on the Disney+ streaming service continues...
In a previous article, I had hinted that I might post a list of all the black-and-white Mickey Mouse cartoons to see which ones could be shown on Disney+. As it stands now, only two such shorts are available on the streaming service:
Steamboat Willie (for obvious reasons) and 1933's
Ye Olden Days.
In any case, Mickey's early career is worth taking a look at.
The problem, however, is that many of them have questionable content, from racial or ethnic stereotypes and antisocial behavior (such as smoking or drinking) to violence and just plain crude behavior, which came under the heading of "barnyard humor".
One way to separate things out is to look at the series of black-and-white Mickey cartoons which, when shown on the Disney Treasures line of DVDs, often were preceded by introductions by the host, film historian Leonard Maltin, who explained that the cartoons were a product of their time and would be unacceptable today. On the first black-and-white Mickey set, released in 2002, the cartoons simply had intros in front of them, but the second set, released in 2004, actually separated out such questionable cartoons from everything else (and they didn't even do a good job there, as The Mad Dog and Trader Mickey are not separated out and are part of the regular lineup). Presented below are all the shorts which were given specific intros on both sets (along with a handful that don't), and as such, would not be seen on Disney+:
The Gallopin' Gaucho (1928; Mickey smoking and drinking)
The Barnyard Battle (1929; the cats all wear German helmets, violence)
The Haunted House (1929; Mickey cries "Mammy!" at one point)
Pioneer Days (1930; racial stereotypes)
The Moose Hunt (1931; gun violence, alleged animal abuse)
The Delivery Boy (1931; a Yiddish-dancing turtle, suggestive behavior at the end)
Mickey Steps Out (1931; blackface gags at the end)
The Grocery Boy (1932; a Napoleon statue is blackfaced after crashing into some fireplace ash)
The Mad Dog (1932; racial stereotypes, gun violence)
Mickey In Arabia (1932; racial stereotypes)
Trader Mickey (1932; racial stereotypes)
The Whoopee Party (1932; a blackface gag)
The Klondike Kid (1932; drinking, gun violence)
Mickey's Good Deed (1932; a "black" toy, animal abuse)
Mickey's Mellerdrammer (1933; racial stereotypes, violence)
The Steeplechase (1933; racial stereotypes)
Shanghaied (1934; Pete becomes blackfaced after crashing into a stove's ashes)
Gulliver Mickey (1934; a Lilliputian is blackfaced from getting hit with ink from Mickey's fountain pen)
The Dognapper (1934; animal abuse, gunplay)
Two-Gun Mickey (1934; smoking, gun violence)
Mickey's Man Friday (1935; racial stereotypes)
Those are pretty much all the cartoons that would probably not be included on the list because of questionable content. All those not on the list, as far as I know, should be fairly acceptable for the streaming service, so I really would like Disney to include those someday. A guy can dream, can he not?
