Mickey Mouse has a dream he enters his mirror and sees things as they are on the other side of the glass in the 1936 Walt Disney Animation Studios short, “Mickey Thru the Mirror.” Mickey goes through the mirror and has a fight with a deck of cards, has issues with the telephone, rocking chair and footrest, and plays jump rope with the telephone cord. Eventually, the phone calls for help from the police and Mickey runs back through the mirror and into his own body where his alarm clock is making the exact same sounds as the telephone in the mirror.

This is one of the best early Mickey Mouse shorts from the Walt Disney Animation Studios. It tells an excellent story based on a dream Mickey has when he falls asleep while reading “Through the Looking Glass.” Given the unusual nature of that story, it’s easy to understand how Mickey has such a wild dream after reading it. The physical comedy in this short is on par with some of the best ever seen in Mickey Mouse shorts. Every bit of it grabbed my attention and made me excited for what happens next as the short continues.

My only complaint is the lack of Mickey’s friends appearing in the short. That was very common for this timeframe and doesn’t hurt the short at all, I just like to see more of Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. I love seeing Mickey and friends together, so I would’ve liked to see one or more of them join him here. But, if that’s my only complaint, then this is an excellent short.

I love going through these early shorts and seeing the evolutionary process of animation at the Walt Disney Company. It’s the premier animation studio now and I love to see how it grew from a dream in Walt’s head to the multi-billion-dollar global titan it is today. This is one of the many steps along the way and I’m glad to see it available to the masses.

Ranking: 5 stars out of 5

What did you think of “Mickey Thru the Mirror?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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