The Simple Things (1953)

Just what I expected

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I didn't know until looking at the reviews on Letterboxd and IMDb trivia that this was the last Mickey Mouse cartoon that Walt Disney worked on, in other words the final one that was a short in this format (I have to think Mickey Mouse showed up *somewhere* in the 13 ensuing years until Disney died, maybe someone can bring this info up). It certainly was a good one to leave off on, and mostly because it goes back to the spirit of the early Mickey Mouse shorts: Mickey having lots of gags involving other animals that are screwing around with him.Of course it's not quite the same since we also have Pluto, but the raison d'etre of Mickey Mouse can be seen here just as well as in those late 20's and early 30's shots (it's not quite that quality, but then what is). It's a lot of fun to see the hijinks ensue with the clams and then the seagulls, and the light but constantly mounting touch that Disney brought, where a gag builds on top of another and it's about the affronting personalities and clashing of conflicts more than anything, makes it memorable.I think that it helps to watch it as a kid initially, as I got to do (thanks Disney Classics VHS series in the 80's, which introduced me and other kids to Steamboat Willie by the way), so that the history of it and that significance can come later. If you take it on its own, it's not any masterwork but it's fun and engaging and cute and that's what counts.

By 1953, Mickey Mouse's great short subjects were behind him. The experimental excitement of Steamboat Willie, the atmosphere and adventure of The Klondike Kid, the silly fun of Ye Olden Days-- all gave way to the watering down of Mickey's character and the decreasing profitability of the short films. Sure, those black and white cartoons are technically crude in comparison to the later shorts of the 40s and 50s, but they have more character than the Technicolor blandness of that later period.As far as Disney shorts go, you can do worse than the final of the classic era Mickey Mouse shorts, The Simple Things. It's not a clinker by any means, as it possesses a few charming moments and competent character animation. But it is certainly not terribly entertaining or re-watchable. More focus is given to Pluto and the hungry seagull which torments him more so than Mickey, showing just how bland his character had become by the early 1950s.As a big fan of 1930s Mickey Mouse, it depresses me how dull the character became, but at least we have later shorts like Runaway Brain and the direct to DVD Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers to compensate for decades of snooze fests.

Known for being Mickey Mouse's final cartoon, The Simple Things is a good if not entirely exceptional cartoon. The story is entertaining and crisply paced if routine, and the seagull gives a new meaning to the word obnoxious. On the other hand, the animation is clean and beautiful, colourful and vibrant in the colours and fluid in the backgrounds, and the music brims with energy. The cartoon is also funny if never hilarious. Mickey is as likable as ever, and Pluto still has his cuteness and energy, neither of which either character has really lost.All in all, a well done, technically great and likable cartoon if not one of Mickey/Pluto's best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Since this was the last mickey mouse short it made no sense for that bird to be in the finale scene as the cartoon closes. i liked the title song. On one of the disney videos "Canine Comando"i saw a small segment of this short. I enjoyed the music.