Simply Mad About the Mouse
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Simply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination'' (commonly shortened to "''Simply Mad About the Mouse"'') ({{ISBN, 1-55890-217-1) is a
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
direct-to-video release featuring top contemporary singers performing "classic Disney songs". The feature film was released on the 27th of September 1991, and the 35-minute-long series of music videos were released on VHS and
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
. The music videos were exclusive to the video and the
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
.


Performances

On the disc are these performances: ;
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
, " When You Wish Upon a Star": A Disney animator working on drawing a semi-realistic illustration of Joel is confused when the drawing comes alive. The sketchy, comic-book-like Joel proceeds to saunters in-and-out of various scenes Disney features like ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
'', ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'', ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'', and ''
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 Ta ...
''. The character never truly interacts with the existing animation. Joel even flies out of the animator's drawing board, blowing papers around in the animator's studio in his wake. A rotoscoped trumpet player also appears, coming down the animator's staircase. When the animator calls it a day, he starts to walk out of the room, ending up as a rotoscoped character on a Disney background painting himself. Twice in the video, Joel does appear in live-action. There is also a black-and-white sequence of filmmakers in a studio at the start of the video, which relates little if any to the rest of the video. One of the songs nominated for a Grammy in both song and music video categories. ;
Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...
, "
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie '' Song of the South'', sung by James Baskett. For "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the film won the Academy Award for Best ...
": There is little true plot to Ocasek's video, beyond the fact he appears in scenes from ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'', ''
The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...
'', ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'', ''
Hawaiian Holiday ''Hawaiian Holiday'' is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon stars an ensemble cast of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Goofy while vacationing ...
'', ''
Merbabies ''Merbabies'' is a ''Silly Symphonies'' animated Disney short film. It was released on December 9, 1938. It is a collaboration between Walt Disney and Harman and Ising, the latter studio having donated artists to Disney to work on the production of ...
'', ''
Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. ...
'', and even Dumbo's drunken hallucination from ''
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
''. At least one short film is edited. In the video are a non-speaking, non-interacting woman and a guitar player. He is transported in a computer-generated boat. ;
LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
, "
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon ''Three Little Pigs'', where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig (voi ...
": The black-and-white sequence features LL Cool J rapping about the Three Little Pigs, taking on the persona of both the wolf and third pig in first person, at various points in the rap. He is backed up by three
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
singers dancing, each with blonde
wigs A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...
on, as well as one male backup dancer appearing in shots by himself. ;
Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in southern France, who perform mostly in Catalan but also mix in Spanish with southern French dialects. Although the group members were born in France, t ...
, "
I've Got No Strings "I've Got No Strings" (also known as "I Got No Strings") is a song from Walt Disney's animated film ''Pinocchio'' (1940), sung by Dickie Jones as Pinocchio. The music was written by Leigh Harline, the lyrics were written by Ned Washington. The reco ...
": Features a series of boldly colored animated sequences, with simplified figures dancing to the
Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...
. Most of the song is performed in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. ;
Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...
, "
The Bare Necessities "The Bare Necessities" is a jazz song, written by Terry Gilkyson, from the animated 1967 Disney film ''The Jungle Book'', sung by Phil Harris as Baloo and Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli. Background Originally, it was written for an earlier draft of ...
": Connick appears as a
nouveau-riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...
happy-go-lucky millionaire in a house full of women and fancy parties. When repossessed, he remains care-free, claiming he can survive with the "bare necessities of life". In the video, the crew repossessing his house sings along with Connick, and dolly carts away some of the female guests. This video is, by far, the most elaborate in terms of set, extras, and choreography. The whole music video was shot at
Greystone Mansion The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Trousdale Estates of Beverly Hills, California, United States. Architect Gordon Kaufma ...
in Beverly Hills, California. ;
Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...
, "The Siamese Cat Song": An array of special effects create otherworldly environments to complement McFerrin's exceptional adaptation and performance. Nominated as one of several songs from this album for a Grammy, it blends music and state-of-the-art animation effects. Includes scenes from ''
Mars and Beyond "Mars and Beyond" is an episode of ''Disneyland'' which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. The show was also rele ...
'', ''
Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hami ...
'', and ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'' with McFerrin singing. ;
Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
featuring
Kofi Kofi is an Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Ashanti and Fante) in Ghana that is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name during their Outdooring, eight days aft ...
, "
Kiss the Girl "Kiss the Girl" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken Walt Disney Pictures' 28th animated feature film ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989). Originally recorded by American actor Samuel Wright in his film role as Sebastia ...
": A man and a woman sing on a desert island with a parrot, a group of people dancing in the ocean water, and a beautiful girl dancing with fishes in the background, as clips from ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...
'', ''
Bedknobs and Broomsticks ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' is a 1971 American live-action animated musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Bill Walsh for Walt Disney Productions. It is loosely based upon the books '' The Magic Bedknob; or, How to B ...
'' and ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'' with are shown. ;
Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998.
(born February 26, 1953), known professio ...
, "
A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film ''Cinderella'' (1950). In the song, Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to n ...
": This music video uses animation and special effects as projected landscapes that Michael Bolton performs in. A full orchestra supports his rich rendition while cascading classic images of the best of the Disney Vault wash the stage transforming the viewer inside the classic movies ''
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', ''
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 Ta ...
'', ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'', and ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' footage intermixed with performance and live-action.


Production notes

As evidenced in the descriptions of the music videos, while ''Simply Mad'' included new animation, it made great use of existing animated footage. Most new animation in ''Simply Mad'' is
rotoscope Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced o ...
d, a technique highly disregarded by Disney's animators, who, while sometimes referring to video footage for reference, prefer to create their character's motion from scratch. The video begins in a set created of "the
Disney Vault The "Disney Vault" was a term formerly used by The Walt Disney Company for its policy of regularly placing sales moratoria on home video releases of specific animated feature films. Each Walt Disney Animation Studios film was available for purcha ...
", where the camera pans around various objects and pictures, including "props" from the animated movies, such as
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
's glass slipper, or the submerged skull from ''
The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The 23rd Disney animated feature film, its story follows Bernard and Bianca, two members ...
''. An animator's pencil drawing of Sorcerer Mickey slowly comes alive, and enchants five musical notes out of a
baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...
; the notes proceed to whip around the room at varying speeds. The vault is entered through a dark and slightly industrial side; at the end, it exits onto an
English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
. Created by Garen Entertainment and Stellar X Productions, it was distributed by
Buena Vista Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the Home video, home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films ...
, the
Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's distribution company. An album of the music was created by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, and released on LP,
cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...
and
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
. Also on the record was
En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hol ...
with "
Someday My Prince Will Come "Someday My Prince Will Come" is a song from Walt Disney's 1937 animated movie ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. It was written by Larry Morey (lyrics) & Frank Churchill (music), and performed by Adriana Caselotti (Snow White's voice in the ...
" and
Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
with " Mad About the Wolf". The title is not currently in stores but is available through digital download distribution."Music: Simply Mad About The Mouse"
Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...
, accessed November 8, 2010.


Credits

* Based on a material idea by B. A. Robertson * Executive producer: Scott Garen * Producer: Rhaz Zeisler,
B. A. Robertson Brian Alexander Robertson (born 12 September 1956) is a Scottish musician, composer and songwriter. He had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s characterised by catchy pop tunes and jaunty humorous lyrics, including " Knocked It ...
* Executive music producer: B. A. Robertson * Co-executive music producer:
Rick Chertoff Richard E. Chertoff (born March 29, 1950 in New York, NY) is an American five-time Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize ...
* Animation effects: Rhaz Zeisler * Choreography: Rhaz Zeisler * Writer: Scott Garen, Rhaz Zeisler * Director: Scott Garen * Supervising Producer/ 1st AD: Morgan D. Smith


References


External links


Rotten Tomatoes: Simply Mad About the Mouse
Covers albums Disney albums 1991 video albums