The Mad Doctor (1933)

Admirable film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This has to be one of the best Mickey-Pluto cartoons. It is quite dark for a Disney Silly Symphony, with some parts scaring me as a kid(such as Pluto's heart being at his throat). As a young adult I still enjoy it while admiring its technical values. The story is simple, but still manages to be engaging with a lot of suspense. The animation is just fantastic, the black/dark and white/light shades are some of the best I've seen, helping at times to give some depth to Mickey's design as he enters the Mad Doctor's castle. I also loved the animation for the catacombs, recalling Egyptian Melodies, and the skeletons that Mickey has a constant battle with, imaginatively animated and very expressive even for skeletons. Mickey has more depth animation-wise than he has ever had before and is as likable as ever, Pluto is cute and energetic and the Mad Scientist immediately makes an impact by how frightening he is. The gags are clever, the creatures are suitably creepy and the cartoon goes at a terrific pace. Overall, while some MAY find themselves cheated by the "it's all a dream" ending, this cartoon is an absolute must see for Disney and animation fans. 10/10 Bethany Cox

While I wouldn't call it my favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Mad Doctor is a genuinely impressive piece of work, a dazzling display of what Disney animators could accomplish within the six-minute, black-and-white format. It's hard to believe that this was made only five years after Mickey's debut, for where those early adventures have the crude look of a flip-book, this cartoon demonstrates sophisticated technique in every department, from the draftsmanship to the editing, voice work, and that perennial Disney specialty: the use of music. All of these techniques are deftly combined to put our heroes, Mickey and his dog Pluto, into a terrifying situation that evokes childhood fears with the intensity of a nightmare. I confess this isn't my favorite cartoon because I find the macabre atmosphere all too well realized to watch with undiluted pleasure, but I certainly admire the technique on display.The very first shot sets the tone with ruthless efficiency: a storm is howling and we see dark clouds, branches blowing wildly, lightning flashing, a small house in the distance and a dog house in the foreground where Pluto is sleeping peacefully. Cut to Mickey in his bed as the lightning flashes and thunder crashes, and then we hear Pluto howling and evil laughter in the yard. Mickey looks outside, and we see Pluto's house upended as a sinister hooded figure drags him away on a chain. Mickey plunges into the storm and takes off in pursuit. The hooded figure drags Pluto across a narrow bridge, high above a moat, to a castle on a skull-like island. (Hollywood inside joke: the castle's knocker identifies the owner as "Dr. XXX," a reference to a then-current horror film starring Lionel Atwill with a similar title.) Once inside, Mickey encounters bats, shadowy figures, and skeletons who hurl their own heads at him.Mickey's misadventures with the skeletons are creepy in a traditional, Halloween-y sort of way, but what makes this cartoon really disturbing are the scenes in the castle involving Pluto. There's a startling shot of the dog writhing as the hooded figure carries him into his laboratory, and then Pluto is strapped into an electric chair-like device alongside a long-suffering, sobbing chicken. Pluto's captor then throws off his hood and reveals himself as a bearded 'Mad Doctor' with a taste for eccentric gene-splicing experiments. Using a graphic diagram to illustrate what's about to happen, the villain announces his evil intentions in rhyme as the dog squirms. There's a particularly nasty shot of the doctor slicing Pluto's shadow in half while the dog watches in horror.I guess it goes without saying that things work out alright for Mickey and Pluto in the end, but squeamish viewers would no doubt prefer to see the happy ending come a bit sooner. As it stands, we have only a few moments at the fade-out to bask in our sense of relief. The Mad Doctor is a must for animation buffs, but I'm not kidding when I say that I'm glad I didn't see it until I was an adult, because if I'd seen this movie as a kid I would've had nightmares for a long time afterward.

For me, this cartoon illustrates why Disney has the edge over the other animation companies – it has a lot of heart. In The Mad Doctor, Mickey Mouse tries to save his dog, Pluto, from an evil scientist who wants to conduct a life-ending experiment on Pluto. Through the short, you feel for the characters and are actually concerned for them.The cartoon is very well drawn despite it only being in black and white. Disney animators use this limitation to their advantage with great shading and lighting effects. You even get a sense that you're looking at an old horror flick. The gags are great too, especially seeing what Pluto goes through when he's scared by the doctor. But by far the best part of this cartoon is the ending. It's both surprising, slightly scary, and heartwarming. This cartoon is a bright spot in the early days of an inspirational and innovative enterprise.My IMDb Rating: 10/10

This is a fascinating cartoon-sort of a cross between Skeleton Dance and the much later Brave Little Tailor. A dramatic, rather scary short in spots, with some incredible visuals throughout, but most particularly a long scene set in a tunnel. Disney did some exceptional work in the early 1930s and the quality is still clearly evident even some 70 years later. There is apparently a computer-colorized version skulking about. I haven't seen it and, to judge by the colorized early Mickey Mouse black and whites that I have seen, I hope I never have it inflicted on my retinas. Part of the scariness here is the use of shadows in the black and white background. Colorizing this lessens the impact of those shadows. Excellent cartoon with an early appearance by Pluto. Well worth watching. Recommended.