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''Plane Crazy'' is a 1929 American animated
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
directed by
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
and
Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert "Ub" Iwerks ( ; March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, Invention, inventor, and special effects technician, known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in general, and f ...
. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, is the first finished project to feature appearances 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 ...
and
Minnie Mouse Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. The longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, w ...
, and was originally a
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
. It was given a test screening to a theater audience and potential distributors on May 15, 1928. An executive from
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
saw the film, but the film failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, ''
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 Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...
'', which was an enormous success; ''Plane Crazy'' was officially released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be given a wide release after ''Steamboat Willie'', ''
The Gallopin' Gaucho ''The Gallopin' Gaucho'' is a 1928 American animated short film and the second short film featuring Mickey Mouse to be produced, following '' Plane Crazy'' and preceding ''Steamboat Willie''. The Disney studios completed the silent version in A ...
'' and '' The Barn Dance'' (1929).


Plot

Mickey is trying to fly an airplane to imitate
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
. After building his own airplane, he does a flight simulation to ensure that the plane is safe for flight, but the flight fails, destroying the plane. Using a roadster, a turkey's tail and the remains of his plane to create a new plane, he asks his girlfriend Minnie to join him for its first flight after she presents him with a horseshoe for good luck. They take an out-of-control flight with exaggerated, impossible situations.
Clarabelle Cow Clarabelle Cow is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As an anthropomorphic Cattle, cow, Clarabelle is one of Minnie Mouse's best friends. She was once depicted as the girlfriend of Horace Horsecollar, although now she is oft ...
briefly "rides" the aircraft. Once he regains control of the plane, he repeatedly tries to kiss Minnie. When she refuses, he uses force: he breaks her concentration and terrifies her by throwing her out of the airplane, catching her with the airplane, and he uses this to kiss her. Minnie responds by slapping Mickey and
parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
s out of the plane using her bloomers. While distracted by her, Mickey loses control of the plane and eventually crashes into a tree. Minnie then lands, and Mickey laughs at her exposed bloomers. Minnie then storms off, rebuffing him. Mickey then angrily throws the good luck horseshoe given to him by Minnie, then flies and it boomerangs around a tree, hitting him and knocking him out.


Production

The short was co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks was also the sole
animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
for this short and spent just two weeks working on it in a back room, at a rate of over 700 drawings a day. It is also speculated Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising might have done work for the short as well. The sound version contained a soundtrack by Carl W. Stalling, who recorded it on October 26, 1928, when he was hired, and a month before ''Steamboat Willie'' was released. The point of view shot from the plane made it appear as if the camera was tracking into the ground. When they shot this scene, they piled books under the spinning background to move the artwork closer to the view.


Reception

''
The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...
'' (March 24, 1929): "Clever. Mickey Mouse does his animal antics in the latest mode via areoplane. icThe cartoonist has employed his usual ingenuity to extract a volume of laughs that are by no means confined to the juveniles. The sound effects are particularly appropriate on this type of film, and certainly add greatly to the comedy angle with the absurd squeaks, yawps and goofy noises." '' Variety'' (April 3, 1929): "Walt Disney sound cartoon, produced by Powers Cinephone, one of the Mickey Mouse series of animated cartoons. It's a snappy six minutes, with plenty of nonsensical action and a fitting musical accompaniment. Constitutes an amusingly silly interlude for any wired house. Disney has derived some breezy situations, one or two of them a bit saucy but, considering the animal characters, permissible."


Home media

The short was released on December 2, 2002, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White'' and on December 11, 2007, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit''.


Copyright and preservation status

The silent version was copyrighted on May 26, 1928, eleven days after it was test screened. The copyright for the silent version was renewed on March 14, 1956. The sound version was copyrighted on August 9, 1930, and was renewed on December 16, 1957, but the copyright on the title card of the film says 1929 (MCMXXIX). It is unknown to what extent changes were made between the original silent version and the sound version. The silent version of the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024. The sound version entered the public domain on January 1, 2025 according to current U.S. copyright law.


Legacy

* In 1930, the story of ''Plane Crazy'' was adapted and used for the first story in the ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip. This adaptation, entitled "Lost on a Desert Island", was written by Walt Disney with art by Ub Iwerks and Win Smith. * In the Mickey Mouse short '' The Nifty Nineties'' (1941), Mickey and Minnie's car runs out of control and runs into a cow. The scene was taken almost directly from ''Plane Crazy''. * The cartoon ''Mickey's Airplane Kit'' (1999) from the series '' Mickey Mouse Works'' and ''
House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
'' featured a similar premise in which Mickey built his own airplane to impress Minnie. * In the feature film '' Walt Before Mickey'', ''Plane Crazy'' was featured. * ''Plane Crazy'' plays in a continuous loop in the Main Street Cinema at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
, albeit silently, next to ''
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 Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...
''. * The airplane, horseshoe, and "How to Fly" book are on display as props from this short in the queue of the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway attraction at Disneyland.


See also

* ''Mickey Mouse'' film series


References


External links

* * * * *
Plane Crazy
' at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts {{Clarabelle Cow in animation 1928 American animated short films 1928 comedy films 1929 American animated short films 1929 comedy films 1920s Disney animated short films 1920s English-language films American animated black-and-white films American aviation films Animated films about aviation Animated films without speech Cultural depictions of Charles Lindbergh Films directed by Ub Iwerks Films directed by Walt Disney Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Carl Stalling Films set on airplanes Mickey Mouse short films Silent American comedy short films Surviving American silent films