Mickey's Surprise Party (1939)
Minnie is baking cookies. When she leaves for a short while, her dog Fifi accidentally drops popcorn kernels in the dough. Mickey and Pluto come over and visit with Minnie and Fifi. When Mickey notices that something is burning, Minnie remembers the cookies, which are popping popcorn out of them. Minnie is upset and lies on her sofa crying. Mickey goes out and buys a large amount of cookies and crackers. He comes back and shows them to her and she is overjoyed. The short was originally a theatrical advertisement for the National Biscuit Company (now known as Nabisco), where all of the products seen are various Nabisco products (i.e. Ritz Crackers, Oreo Cookies, Fig Newtons, etc.). These would later be edited out and replaced with generic-brands in television broadcasts and home video releases.
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So much average
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
So, this cartoon short was shorter than usual, running at just over five minutes. Turns out it is a commercial pitch for the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) at the 1939 World's Fair. It shows Minnie trying to surprise Mickey by baking cookies that his mother used to make. But, Minnie's dog Fifi accidentally knocks a box of kernel onto the cookie mix and Minnie unknowingly puts that entire batch in the oven. After Mickey and Pluto shows up, the cookies burn and pops around like popcorn, leaving Minnie and Fifi in grief. To lighten things up, Mickey goes to the store and returns with boxes of Nabisco snacks.It's a pretty nice commercial pitch, but the cartoon itself wasn't very funny or entertaining and it was pretty non-substantive. Not much of a story here, and the characters were pretty bland.Grade D
Despite the fact, it is just a commercial short, this is a sweet and very enjoyable one at that. The animation was great, perhaps not quite as good in quality as some of the Silly Symphonies. I had no problem at all with the music either.Mickey and Minnie are easily the stars of the short, and it was lovely to hear Mickey being voiced by Walt Disney himself. You do feel sorry for Minnie, when she starts crying about the burning cake. Pluto also appears, and he has a very pretty lady friend this time. He isn't the main focus, but he is funny when you see him.All in all, well meaning and very sweet. 9/10 Bethany Cox
This short film (Easter egg on Mickey in Colors, vol. 2 - not to be confused with Mickey's Birthday Party) features just a little party between Minnie (who wants to bake cookies like his mother did) and Mickey (plus Pluto and Minnie's dog).The cookie-baking goes bad, but to make Minnie happy, Mickey and Pluto go shopping, and return with a variety of Nabisco products for mice and dogs "like Mickey's mother used to buy" (because her home-baked cookies also always burnt to charcoal...)After all, this is just a commercial, but quite nicely done, and even the Nabisco product exhibit has its museum-like charm, 70 years later. The Oreo packaging hasn't changed that much...