Disney Shorts - The Nifty Nineties (1941)

The Nifty Nineties is a classic Mickey Mouse short film directed by Riley Thompson. The film pays homage to the romanticism and nostalgia of the 1890's (see, we're not the only generation who gets too nostalgic for the 90's, am I right?), and centers around Mickey and Minnie on a typical Sunday afternoon in the said time period. What was called "The Gay Nineties" was the equivalent to our "decade nostalgia." The culture of the 1890's was a popular setting for films in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's. Our favorite mice are The Magnificent Ambersons, Meet Me in St. Louis, and the popular Citizen Kane to name a few. The short was released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 20, 1941.
at the turn of the century, which was an era that became progressively extensive to the American cinema of the time period, giving us such acclaimed feature films as

This happens to be one of my personal favorite Mickey shorts. When I was very young, I had this cartoon on a VHS compilation titled Sweetheart Stories, so I remember this short well. As the years passed, I began to realize how the content they portrayed went right through my three-year-old head. More on that as we dive into The Nifty Nineties.

We open off the typical way a Disney cartoon would open at the time. A big close-up image of the main star(s), the name of the star, Walt Disney's name, and a brand name on the bottom (mostly, Technicolor). We usually get a piece of exciting music in the background, but for this particular film, we get the unusual - a song. This is normal for a 1950's Donald Duck short, but for the mouse, we usually get an instrumental. This is an original song titled The Gay Nineties, which gives us an idea of the time period the audience is about to enter and how some reminisce about memories of the historical era. Lyrics include "A day in the nineties when Grandma was a girl / The horseless carriage was quite the show / Grandpa fussed when the thing wouldn't go / ...Come take a look in our picture book." This song commemorates traditions and norms within the time, where a man would own operate a car while trying to impress a woman. There are songs throughout the short, all done by a vocal quartet, known as The Sportsmen, and actually features famous voice-actor Thurl Ravenscroft (known for voicing Kellogs' "Frosted Flakes" cereal mascot, Tony the Tiger, as well as singing the famous Christmas song, You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch), making this one of his earliest projects for Disney.

We are now welcomed to look at a scrapbook, giving us the nostalgic value of the decade, starting with a black & white image of our round-eared star, dressed in a Victorian outfit, complete with hat, cane, and dress shoes. We fade to color and Mickey takes a stroll through a public park. He passes by a painting of the Bloomer Girls baseball team, and notices Minnie Mouse in a pink bonnet. "Strolling Through the Park One Day" is heard in the background, while Minnie purposely drops her handkerchief, hoping for Mickey to pick it up and kindly hand it to her. 

It works, and the two hold hands and walk to a nearby theater, where they attend a vaudeville show. "Vaudeville," for those who don't know," is a type of entertainment that was popular in the early 20th century, and features a variety of acts such as a comedic song and dance. (This is the kind of act that made the Three Stooges well-known). In this case, as they sit down, their show opens with a slideshow story titled "Father, Dear Father," and showcases images of a girl trying to get her alcoholic father to leave the saloon and come home to help her mother take care of their dying baby. This depressing story shows images of the girl being neglected by the punch-drunk man she once called "Dad," while Mother takes care of the baby in distress. We get a sad reaction from Minnie, while Mickey tries to comfort her by saying "Don't cry. It's only a show." This is the part that

 went through my head as a kid. Very young children wouldn't understand the concept of the story. This scene was cut from airings on the Disney Channel, yet it stays intact on all official home media releases. On it's "Walt Disney Treasures" DVD release, film historian Leonard Maltin states that while there is nothing funny about an alcoholic, the cartoon is "making fun of an entertainment staple of the time - the melodrama."

Laughs light up the theater, as we get a slapstick comedy act called "Fred and Ward: Two Clever Boys from Illinois." The two song and dance men tell jokes, hit each other with canes, and dance. These two men are caricatures of Ward Kimball and Fred Moore, two famous Disney animators who even voiced their characters too. Remember that joke you thought was funny when you were little? "Why did the chicken cross the road"? This cartoon is where I first heard that joke.

After the show, Mickey and Minnie take off for a ride in Mickey's Brass era car. They ride around town and say hi to

Goofy, riding on a penny-farthing bicycle, with the typical Goofy slapstick. The two also meet Donald, Daisy, and their nephews on a bicycle built for five, each with a horn. Mickey decides to speed things up only to impress Minnie, and loses control of the car. They drive through a barn and crash into a cow, ending with laughter.

It's interesting to think about how much of a piece of American history this short film is really made out to be. Going into the theater to see this film in 1941, I'm sure most moviegoers who grew up during that time period gained a nostalgic feel, being reminded that history is never forgotten. Years later, it's another example of one of our country's many changes in society. The animation is very nice, as it's always been during Walt's time. The layouts were taken from the late Charles Conner, an artist part of the Richmond Group in Richmond, Indiana. The music, keeping in tone with movement, goes back to the Mickey Mouse shorts of the 20's and 30's. I appreciate it more as an adult than I did as a child. If you're looking for something kind and heartwarming in a Mickey short, this one would be a good one to recommend.