''The Barnyard Battle'' is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on June 1, 1929, as part of the '' Mickey Mouse'' film series. It was the seventh Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the fourth of that year. As the title implies, it features a battle between an invading army of cats and an army of mice trying to defend their homes and farms.

Plot

Peg-Leg Pete Pete (also called Peg-Leg Pete, Bad Pete and Black Pete, among other names) is a fictional character of The Walt Disney Company. Created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, Pete is traditionally depicted as the Archenemy, arch-nemesis of Mickey Mouse ...

is depicted as a leading soldier of the former army, and Mickey as a conscript of the latter one. Before joining the army, Mickey has to pass a physical examination. This scene depicts Mickey becoming the subject of physical and emotional abuse. After passing the examination, he is given a machine gun and is sent to battle. Mickey's combat efforts are comical in depiction but prove effective enough in forcing the enemy to retreat. In the end, Mickey smacks a line of advancing soldiers on the head with a mallet, and is hailed as a hero by his fellow soldiers.

Production

This short is notable as the first to depict Mickey as a soldier and the first to place him in combat. The physical examination scene has since often been edited out, as being somewhat disturbing. However, modern viewers have often pointed to this scene as being the most memorable of the short. There was a precedent in Disney's cartoons for sending the main character to war:

Julius the Cat Julius the Cat is a cartoon animal character created in 1922 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He first appeared in the very first animated series created by Walt Disney, the ''Alice Comedies'', making him the predecessor of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ...

calls an army together in the 1926

Alice Comedies The ''Alice Comedies'' are a series of animated/live-action shorts created by Walt Disney in the 1920s, in which a live action little girl named Alice (originally played by Virginia Davis) and an animated cat named Julius have adventures in an ...

short ''Alice's Little Parade'', and

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is a cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1 ...

goes to war in the 1927 cartoon '' Great Guns!'' The mouse officer shouting "Company, forward march!" is the first mammal character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' cartoons to speak a full sentence. Before this, characters have only communicated in single-syllable sounds and laughs, or in the case of

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 occasiona ...

, the greeting, "Yoo-Hoo!" The parrot in

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 ...

also spoke two full sentences, making him the actual first character in the series to speak this way. This is the last Mickey Mouse cartoon in which Mickey is shown as mouse-sized among a crowd of other mice; after this, Mickey and Minnie became the only mice living in a world of other anthropomorphized animals. The short did not clearly identify the war it depicted, but it has been noted that the cats are depicted as wearing military helmets similar to those used by the German Empire during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. On the other hand, the mice are marching in battle to the tune of "

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

", a song written in 1859. The song was popular among the forces of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. The victory of the mice is celebrated in the tune of " Battle Cry of Freedom", known to have been popular among the forces of the United States during the same conflict. In any case, both wars were still within living memory of the audiences at the time of release and so it is possible that the details mentioned were intended as recognizable references to both of them. Because the cats wear helmets that resemble German pickelhaube, the cartoon was banned in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1930 on the grounds of being "offensive to national dignity".

Legacy and influence

An LCD

Game & Watch The Game & Watch brand ( ''Gēmu & Uotchi''; called ''Tricotronic'' in West Germany and Austria, abbreviated as ''G&W'') is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. C ...

-styled mini-game based on the short appears in the 2019 video game '' Kingdom Hearts III''.

Home media

The short was released on December 7, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Volume Two: 1929-1935''.

References

External links