''Short Subject'' (commonly known as ''Mickey Mouse In Vietnam'') is a 1969

16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

underground animated short film. The director was Whitney Lee Savage (father of

Adam Savage Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and manufacturer, fabricator, actor, educator, television personality, and producer, best known as the former co-host, with Jamie Hyneman, of the Discovery Channe ...

) and the producer and head designer was

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer, recognized for his designs, including the I Love New York logo; a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan; the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Brewery; and his ...

, who produced it independently with a total running time of one minute. The short was not endorsed by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

. The short has the satirical theme of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

volunteering Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

for

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, and getting killed within moments of arriving in Vietnam to fight in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The short was considered

lost media Lost media is any piece of media thought to no longer exist in any format, or for which no copies can be located. The term primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media such as films, television, radio broadcasts, music, and video ...

up until 2013 when a YouTube user uploaded the full short, albeit with replaced music. The full short with its original music was uploaded in 2018.

Plot

is seen walking happily up until he sees a sign reading "Join the Army and See the World" before walking offscreen and coming back with a helmet and gun. He then travels by boat to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

during the war. However, moments after, while walking in the grass, he is shot in the head by an enemy. The short ends with Mickey lying dead on the ground, his smile turning slowly into a frown while blood pours from the bullet wound.

Production

The short was produced under the auspices of a studio named Max Cats and Whittesey Sledge Studios. According to Glaser, it was meant for the Angry Arts Festival which, according to him, was "a kind of protest event, inviting artists to produce something to represent their concerns about the war in Vietnam and a desire to end it". Mickey Mouse was chosen due to being a symbol of innocence.

Reception and legacy

The film received an award from the

International Short Film Festival Oberhausen The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, founded in 1954, is one of the oldest short film festivals in the world. Held in Oberhausen, it is one of the major international platforms for the short form. The festival holds an International ...

in 1970. According to Glaser it was positively received from the audience.

Conservation status

The film was erroneously thought to be lost for many years. It was shown under its French title ''Mickey au Vietnam'' or ''Mickey Mouse au Vietnam'' at the Festival Côté court de Pantin in France in 1998 and 2003. In both cases, the copy came from the French distributor ISKRA. The

Cinémathèque québécoise The Cinémathèque québécoise () is a film conservatory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its purpose is to preserve, document, film, and television footage and related documents and artifacts for future use by the public. The Cinémathèque's coll ...

in Montreal, Canada, used its own copy in 2004. On April 22, 2013,

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

user abadhiggins uploaded the video. Five years later, on July 31, 2018, the full short was uploaded by another YouTube user CDCB2 on a distorted VHS print which is low-faded; this version includes the opening and closing titles, the SMPTE Universal countdown film leader, and a Telecine Compact Video Systems servants entrance Disney segment VHS slide, both of which were absent in the 2013 upload, as well the audio track, which, until then, was assumed to be completely lost. The music prominently used in the soundtrack is " The Gonk" by

Herbert Chappell Herbert Reginald Chappell (18 March 1934 – 20 October 2019) was a British conductor, composer and film-maker, best known for his television scores. Education and early career Born in Bristol, Herbert Chappell's first musical training was as a ...

. The film was included as part of the 2022

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

documentary '' Mickey: The Story of a Mouse''.

References

External links

Buzzfeed article with video

Disney Cartoons That Aren't Disney Cartoons

An article about the representation of war in cartoons in the U.S., mentioning the existence of ''Mickey Mouse in Vietnam''

Mickey Mouse in Vietnam
on