Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #68 Shifting Gears 2015 7 out of 10

Shifting Gears   2015 7 out of 10

In one of the latest Mickey Mouse cartoons Mickey gets into a battle of wills with his car.   Mickey wants to go for a drive and mentions a bunch of places that his car is excited about and then finally decides he wants to go to the beach.  His car wants nothing to do with that and they end up battling over where to go.  
The car in this cartoon is like a person instead of just a vehicle (think the cab from Roger Rabbit).  Mickey tries several different thing to trick the car that is refusing to take him including dressing up like Minnie and baking the car a nuts and bolts pie.   It is an odd cartoon, but enjoyable for its sight gags and has a satisfying ending for both Mickey and his car.

You can check it out on Disney Online or the Disney Channel.

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Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #60 Reason and Emotion 1943 7+ out of 10 (This one is for the adults)

Reason and Emotion 1943  7+ out of 10

After reading an article  on yahoo about an old Disney war Propaganda film being an inspiration for Pixar's new hit film Inside Out --I had to check it out. 

 Reason and Emotion was an Anti-Nazi Propaganda film the Disney made during the war effort and takes a look at the battle between Reason and Emotion in the human brain when making decisions.  This was an interesting cartoon that in today's "Politically Correct world" is not so politically correct.  I would say this particular Disney cartoon is not really for the kids--but worth checking out as an adult fan of Disney history. 

The character of Emotion in this cartoon is played by a cartoon caveman that seems all ID battling for the control of the human brain with Reason that is portrayed by a Felix Unger type  (basically the Super Ego).  The caveman character is funny despite being a extremely inappropriate by modern standards.  The cartoon hits some heavy topics when its discusses Hitler  (yes Hitler)  and how he played on the people of Germany's emotions to work toward world conquest in his propaganda.   If you are a fan of Disney history definitely check this cartoon out. It can be found in the article below from Yahoo, with an intro from Leonard Maltin.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/inside-out-pixar-disney-propaganda-wwii-while-121861830097.html

The films obvious influence on Inside Out is in the concept of different characters inside a person's head representing their emotions and  controlling their actions.   

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Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #45 Sailor Donald 2014 9 out of 10

Sailor Donald 2014 9 out of 10

After a few odd entries in the new Mickey Mouse cartoon series we get another gem.   Sailor Donald features Mickey, Minnie, Daisy and Donald.   Daisy wants Donald to take them all sailing after all everyone knows that Donald wears a sailor suit.  Well they set sail and Donald reveals to Mickey that he doesn’t know how to sail a boat (Classic).  The entire cartoon as Mickey and Donald try desperately to keep them all afloat.  This was a fast paced and gag filled short adventure that was near perfect and had my step daughter laughing out loud.   I hadn’t laughed this much in the series since Potatoland.  This one is definitely worth checking out.

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Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #42 O Futebol Classico 2014 6 out of 10

O Futebol Classico  2014  6 out of 10

This recent Mickey Mouse cartoon finds Mickey Mouse at the World Cup in a seat with no view.  The premise of Mickey trying to get a good seat after a huge guy with giant hair sits in front of him was one of the weaker premises of  some of the recent cartoons, but this episode was an obvious choice with the World Cup sweeping the world at the moment.  I thought it was a missed opportunity to do a nice throwback to he Soccer match from Bednobs and Broomsticks as well which would have been interesting to see.  Still there were a couple of fun moments such as when Mickey ends up down on the field---but when Disney has done so many classic sports cartoons featuring Goofy this one didn't really come close.

This cartoon as well as the others in the series can be seen on the Disney channel or at Disney Video online,

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Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #35 Flipperboobootosis 2014 6 out of 10

Flipperboobootosis 2014   6 out of 10

The first of the new Mickey Mouse cartoons to hit the air in 2014 is Flipperboobootosis.  The cartoon centers on Donald Duck having a red throbbing sore on his foot and not wanting to go to the doctor about to get it treated.  Mickey and Goofy try to help out to the increased pain of Donald.  It was a short and very average cartoon compared to some of the better cartoons in the series. There are a few good sight gags, but nothing really new, funny or great about this particular cartoon and the ending just finished with a thud.  Definitely not one of the better of the new Mickey cartoons.  

The cartoon can currently be found airing on the Disney Channel and Disney Online

Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #34 How to Play Baseball 1942 9 out of 10

How to Play Baseball 1942   9 out of 10

This entry in the "Goofy How to Series" is a classic.  It starts out by explaining the sport of baseball and shows a variety of different types pitches in a funny way.  The cartoon then goes into the ultimate baseball game scenario in which it is the ninth inning of the world series. Through a series of entertaining moments the  bases get and the game (and the cartoon)  comes to an exciting conclusion as it all boils down to a close call at the plate.

The sports direction was a perfect way to go with Goofy as his tall lanky and often clumsy form lent itself perfectly for this parodies of modern sport.  The baseball cartoon was a blueprint for the many great Goofy cartoons that followed.

This cartoon can be found on the Walt Disney Treasures  The Complete Goofy DVD Set.

Many more cartoons to come

Disney/Pixar Animated Short Reviews: #24 Gasp 2013 8 out of 10

Gasp   2013  8 out of 10

The latest Mickey cartoon is something that has been seen in cartoons many, many times before.  A cat tries to get a fish out of a fish bowl.  This leads to Mickey desperately trying to get his pet fish back into some water, while protecting him from this hungry cat.     Although this is an old cartoon theme, the  execution of this animated short was good and brought some energy that was almost to the level that a few of the old Roger Rabbit cartoons.    The cartoon also had an interesting ending once Mickey final gets the fish back in the water.  

The cartoon can currently be found airing on the Disney Channel and Disney Online