''The Mouse Factory'' is an American syndicated television series produced by

Walt Disney Productions 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 ...

and created by Ward Kimball, that ran from 1972 to 1973. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies, hosted by celebrity guests (credited as being "Mickey's Friend"), including Charles Nelson Reilly, Jo Anne Worley, Wally Cox, Johnny Brown,

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, Actor, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric stage persona, Self-deprecation, se ...

, Joe Flynn, Annette Funicello,

Shari Lewis Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody awards, Peabody-winning American Ventriloquism, ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, a ...

and Hush Puppy, Lamb Chop, Dom DeLuise,

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

and many more visiting the Mouse Factory and interacting with the walk-around Disney characters from the Disney theme parks. The series was later rerun on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

in the 1980s and 1990s. The theme played over the previews of each episode was a fast instrumental version of " Whistle While You Work" from ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

''.

Ending credits

To start the ending credits, the series depicts

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 ...

in a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

. He flies across the screen carrying a banner that reads "the end". A large ape, resembling

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

, promptly swipes said plane as well as Mickey out of thin air, dropping them in his mouth and devouring them. In season 2, this was changed to

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

uttering the phrase "it won't work". The song played over the end credits is " Minnie's Yoo Hoo", the theme song from the original Mickey Mouse Clubs that met in theaters starting in 1929. The version used in the series originated in a 1968 episode of The Wonderful World of Disney celebrating Mickey's birthday.

Premise

''The Mouse Factory'' mixes live-action with animation and features a different theme in each episode. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who plays a new character and interacts with Disney characters such as Mickey, Donald,

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fe ...

and

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 Su ...

(appearing in costume form as they do in theme parks), among others. In addition, each episode features several classic short films and clips of feature films (about three short films and clips in each episode).

Records

Disneyland Records released two vinyl 12-inch LP records and three seven-inch 33 1/3 rpm to tie in with series, all containing previously released recordings and no new soundtrack material from the TV show. ''The Mouse Factory Presents Mickey and His Friends'' was an LP compilation of songs and sketches. ''Stories and Songs from The Mouse Factory'' contained four edited "read-along" recordings of tales seen on the show. The three seven-inch records each presented four songs featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.

Cancellation of the series

Due to low ratings and limited distribution, the series was cancelled after its second season.

List of episodes

43 episodes were produced, including:

Season 1 (1972)

Season 2 (1972–1973)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mouse Factory 1970s American animated comedy television series 1970s American anthology television series 1970s American children's comedy television series 1972 American animated television series debuts 1974 American television series endings American children's animated anthology television series American children's animated comedy television series American television series with live action and animation American English-language television shows First-run syndicated animated television series Disney Channel original programming Mickey Mouse television series Television series by Disney Television shows edited from films