Mickey's Surprise Party

Mickey's Surprise Party
Directed byHamilton Luske
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringWalt Disney
Leone LeDoux
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byOllie Johnston
Walt Kelly
Riley Thomson
Charles A. Nichols
Harvey Toombs
Ken Peterson
Claude Smith
Lynn Karp
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byNational Biscuit Company
Release date
  • February 18, 1939 (1939-02-18)
[1]
Running time
5:15
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Mickey's Surprise Party is a 1939 American animated short film directed by Hamilton Luske, produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by National Biscuit Company. It was the 105th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the second for that year.[2] Mickey's Surprise Party is the first cartoon with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their current designs, created by animator Fred Moore.

This is notable for being the first Disney product of any kind to be sponsored by a company. Commonly thought to be in the public domain, its copyright was renewed on May 2, 1966.[3] Walt Disney hated the idea of public commercials, and avoided commercial entanglements until then. The cartoon had its premiere at the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) on Treasure Island in San Francisco in February 1939. The film was shown in the "Food and Beverages" building in the Nabisco Theater. Walt was present at the fair for the premiere of the short. It was also shown in the Nabisco Theater at the New York World's Fair in 1939, which did not open until April. The two versions were identical except that the National Biscuit Company products (cookies and crackers) featured at the end were different, reflecting products available on the west and east coasts.

In the short, Pluto's romantic partner is Fifi, a Pekingese who also appears in Puppy Love (1933), Pluto's Quin-puplets (1937) and Society Dog Show (1939).[4]

  1. ^ Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2018). Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8365-5284-4.
  2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 107–109. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Catalog of copyright entries. Ser.3 pt.12-13 v.20-23 1966-1969 Motion Pictures". Catalog of Copyright Entries.musical Compositions: 57. 1966.
  4. ^ Grant, John (1998). Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (2nd ed.). Hyperion. p. 42. ISBN 978-0786863365.