''Runaway Brain'' is a 1995 American animated

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

- horror

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by

Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...

. Featuring

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

and

Minnie Mouse Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasional ...

, the short centers on Mickey attempting to earn money to pay for an anniversary gift for Minnie. He responds to an advertisement to work for Dr. Frankenollie, but finds that the doctor is looking for a donor to switch brains with the monster he created. Featuring animation by animator

Andreas Deja Andreas Deja is a Polish-born German-American character animator, most noted for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Deja's work includes serving as supervising animator on characters in several Disney animated films, including the Disney ...

, it was first released in 1995 attached to North American theatrical showings of ''

A Kid in King Arthur's Court ''A Kid in King Arthur's Court'' is a 1995 fantasy film directed by Michael Gottlieb (in his final directorial film before his death in 2014) and released by Walt Disney Pictures in association with Trimark Pictures and Tapestry Films. It is lo ...

'', in 1996 attached to international theatrical showings of ''

A Goofy Movie ''A Goofy Movie'' is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Disney MovieToons and Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, the film is based on The Disney Afternoon television series '' Goof Tro ...

'' and in 1999 attached to Australian theatrical showings of ''

Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The second installment in the ''Toy Story'' franchise and the sequel to '' Toy Story'' (1995), it was directed by John ...

''. It would be the final original Mickey Mouse theatrical animated short until ''

Get a Horse! ''Get a Horse!'' is a 2013 American animated comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Lauren MacMullan. Combining black-and-white hand-drawn animation and color computer animation, the short features the charac ...

'' in 2013. The short received a mixed reception from audiences, and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

at the

68th Academy Awards The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beg ...

, losing to the

Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...

short ''

A Close Shave ''Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave'' is a 1995 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park and produced by Aardman Animations with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC Bristol and BBC Children's International. It is ...

''. Later references to the cartoon have been made in Disney related media such as the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

'' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance''.

Plot

On a dark and stormy evening, Minnie arrives at

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

's house to find him playing a ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...

'' video game and becomes angry over Mickey having forgotten that it is the anniversary of their first date. Mickey comes up with the last-minute idea to take her to a miniature golf course and shows her a newspaper ad for it, but she instead notices another ad for a trip to Hawaii, which costs $999.99, and mistakes it for Mickey's gift. Mickey frets over how he can make enough money for the trip when

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

shows him the want ads, and Mickey sees an ad from Dr. Frankenollie to earn the amount of money that he needs for "a mindless day's work". Upon reaching the home of Dr. Frankenollie, Mickey is dropped down a trapdoor into Frankenollie's laboratory, the monkey-like doctor reveals a plan to switch Mickey's brain with that of his enormous monster,

Julius The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

. The experiment causes an explosion that kills Frankenollie, but the brain transfer is a success, with Mickey's mind ending up in Julius' giant body and Julius in control of Mickey's body. The dimwitted and insane Julius finds Mickey's wallet and notices a photo of Minnie, whom he instantly becomes smitten with. He escapes from the laboratory and finds Minnie while she is shopping for swimsuits, Minnie immediately mistakes Julius for Mickey. Mickey arrives in Julius' body to save Minnie, but Minnie becomes terrified of his appearance and screams for help, until Mickey convinces her of who he is and places her on the top of a skyscraper. Julius continues to pursue Minnie, leading to a battle between Mickey and Julius during which they land on a telephone line and get electrocuted, switching their minds back to their original bodies. Mickey continues to fight Julius, the two of them reaching the top of the tower, where Mickey manages to rescue Minnie as well as tie Julius down with rope. Mickey uses a billboard for a Hawaiian vacation to suspend Julius over the city streets, with the giant reeling up and down like a yo-yo. Mickey and Minnie travel to Hawaii together on an inflatable boat pulled by Julius as he swims after the photo of Minnie in Mickey's wallet, which is attached to a fishing line held by Mickey.

Voice cast

* Wayne Allwine as

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until h ...

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

as Dr. Frankenollie *

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as t ...

Bill Farmer Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto (Disney), Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since ...

Production

After celebrating

's 60th anniversary in 1988, Disney sought new animated projects with the character. The director of ''Runaway Brain'', Chris Bailey recalled "If you were a director or part of the development, if you were between assignments, you were asked to develop Mickey shorts," although only ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547 ...

'' (1990) had seen production prior to his project. Bailey at first saw approval from studio president

Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg (; born December 21, 1950) is an American filmmaker, animator, and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and C ...

and Disney Animation executives

Thomas Schumacher Thomas Schumacher (born December 5, 1957) is a theatrical producer, currently president of Disney Theatrical Group, the theatrical production arm of The Walt Disney Company. Life and career Schumacher studied theatre at UCLA. In 1987 he was ass ...

and Peter Schneider regarding the rework an idea he had for a

Roger Rabbit Roger Rabbit is an animated anthropomorphic rabbit. The character first appeared in author Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel, ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' In the book, Roger is second banana in a popular comic strip, "Baby Herman". Roger hires pri ...

short, "Tourist Trap," with Mickey and

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

heading on a vacation, and Donald attempting to kill Mickey, but after a failed

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in t ...

presentation, he pitched ''Runaway Brain''. Jim Beihold was assigned with layout, Ian Gooding served as art director, and

, who had animated

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a ...

in ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'' (1994), developed the monstrous version of Mickey possessed by Julius based on Bailey's sketches. Disney Animation France, who was just finishing ''

'' (1995), was given the animation job. While the crew was in France, Katzenberg left Disney, leaving Bailey without one of the executives who most backed his ideas. While the first screening of the mostly completed short to the executives was successful, Schumacher and Schneider went on to order many changes that would cut scenes and require others to be newly animated. These included not having the monstrous Mickey drooling, toning Mickey's electrocution to be more cartoonish, and having the ending with Julius chasing an "

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

Minnie" made of pillows be replaced with having him pursue the wallet picture.Why Disney buried Runaway Brain, the monstrous Mickey short
/ref>

Cultural references

The beginning of the cartoon shows Mickey playing a satirical version of

fighting games A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

such as the ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a ...

'' and ''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'' series, with Dopey and the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

from ''

'' (1937) fighting each other. Director Chris Bailey said that

was the one who suggested a scene with a video game, and Bailey came up with the fighting game after his idea of a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

based on ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

'' (1942) was rejected. The general plot of the cartoon refers back to the

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

novel ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

'', with Dr. Frankenollie and Julius being heavily inspired by

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy) who, after studyin ...

and

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compar ...

. The composite name "Frankenollie" comes from Frank Thomas and

Ollie Johnston Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death from natural causes. He was recognized by The Wal ...

, those animators being two of Disney's famous " Nine Old Men". Mickey's wallet contains a photo of him piloting the boat from ''

Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon ...

'' (1928). Mickey also whistles music from ''Steamboat Willie'' before he goes into the laboratory. The wallet also features a

library card A library card can refer to several cards traditionally used for the management of books and patrons in a library. In its most common use, a library card serves similar functions as a corporate membership card. A person who holds a library card ...

from the fictional 'Guillard County Library', a reference to actor/director/producer/writer

Stuart Gillard Stuart Thomas Gillard (born April 28, 1950) is a Canadian film, writer, producer and television director. He is best known for directing the films '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (1993) and '' RocketMan'' (1997). He also wrote and directe ...

. The theme song from ''Steamboat Willie'' was also used for the closing credits. Warner Bros.' seminal

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 The Exorcist (novel), novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, ...

'' (1973) is referenced in a shot where Mickey first arrives at Frankenollie's laboratory, the imagery mirroring

Father Merrin A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...

's arrival at Regan MacNeil's house. Zazu from ''

'' (1994) briefly appears twice, once when Mickey is sucked down into the laboratory and again when Julius roars at Mickey. One of the objects seen when Mickey gets sucked down into the lab is a pink slip with the initials "JK" on it. This is a reference to Katzenberg, who left Disney in 1994 and went on to form rival studio DreamWorks with

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

and

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in ...

Release and reception

In terms of general reception, the macabre nature of the animation's plot brought criticism from some Disney fans due to the contrast with the previously light tone of Mickey Mouse cartoons. Andy Mooney, then chairman of Disney's consumer products unit, remarked to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' in 2003 that "the very fact that Mickey was possessed was very disturbing" to some audiences, though the character "overcomes that". The film was screened out of competition at the

1996 Cannes Film Festival The 49th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1996. The Palme d'Or went to '' Secrets & Lies'' by Mike Leigh. The festival opened with '' Ridicule'', directed by Patrice Leconte and closed with '' Flirting with Disaster'', directed by ...

. It was first released in North America on August 11, 1995, with ''

'', then on September 12, 1996, with ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...

'' in Australia and on October 18, 1996, attached to ''

'' in the UK. The short was to be re-released with '' 101 Dalmatians'', which was sent to theaters with the short attached in 1996, but Disney asked theater owners to cut the short off all film prints and replace it with trailers for then upcoming Disney films, including ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

'' and ''

George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon ch ...

''. In July 1997, Disney attached it to ''George of the Jungle.'' The cartoon was nominated the

at the

, ending up losing to ''

'' starring

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two: 1939-Today''. It is also available as a

Movies Anywhere Movies Anywhere (MA) is a cloud-based digital rights locker and over-the-top streaming platform that allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as d ...

-exclusive digital download with the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection (but is not included on the Blu-Ray/DVD disc set).

In other media

This cartoon was featured in the video game ''

Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse ''Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse'' is a 2002 point-and-click adventure video game developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo for the GameCube & licensed from Disney. Gameplay The game uses a simple point-and-click mechanic, simil ...

''. Julius appears as an optional secret

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

in '' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' in Traverse Town.

References

External links

*
''Runaway Brain''
a
The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
{{Mickey Mouse cartoons 1995 films American horror short films American fantasy films American science fiction comedy films Mad scientist films Mickey Mouse short films 1995 comedy films 1995 animated films Films scored by John Debney 1990s Disney animated short films American monster movies Body swapping in films Films about brain transplants 1990s monster movies 1995 short films 1990s science fiction films 1990s English-language films