| The Mouse Factory | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of the title card for The Mouse Factory | |
| Created by | Ward Kimball |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 43 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company | Walt Disney Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndicated |
| Release | January 26, 1972 – March 5, 1973 |
| Related | |
| Good Morning, Mickey! | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Mouse Factory is an American syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions and created by Ward Kimball, that ran from 1972 to 1973.[1] It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies, hosted by celebrity guests (credited as being "Mickey's Friend"), including Charles Nelson Reilly,[2] JoAnne Worley, Wally Cox, Johnny Brown, Phyllis Diller,[3] Joe Flynn, Annette Funicello,[4] Shari Lewis and Hush Puppy,[5] Lamb Chop, Dom DeLuise, Don Knotts and many more visiting the Mouse Factory and interacting with the walk-around Disney characters from the Disney theme parks. The series was later rerun on the Disney Channel in the 1980s and 1990s.
The theme played over the previews of each episode was a fast instrumental version of "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
To start the ending credits, it shows Mickey Mouse in a biplane, flying across the screen carrying a banner that reads "the end". A large ape, resembling King Kong, promptly swipes said plane as well as Mickey out of thin air, dropping them in his mouth and devouring them. In season 2, this was changed to Donald Duck uttering the phrase "it won't work".
The song played over the end credits is "Minnie's Yoo Hoo", the theme song from the original Mickey Mouse Clubs that met in theaters starting in 1929.[6] The version used in the series originated in a 1968 episode of The Wonderful World of Disney celebrating Mickey's birthday.
Due to low ratings and limited distribution, the series was cancelled after its second season.
- ^ Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Hyperion Books. pp. 219–223. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- ^ The Mouse Factory - Opening (1973) - YouTube
- ^ The Mouse Factory - Episode 4: Spooks & Magic, Hosted by Phyllis Diller, YouTube
- ^ Annette Funicello on the Mouse Factory 1972, YouTube
- ^ The Mouse Factory "Cats" Open (ft. Shari Lewis and Hush Puppy), YouTube
- ^ The Mouse Factory Credits—"Minnie's Yoo Hoo", YouTube