'The Band Concert (1935)' is a fantastic short film. It casts Mickey as a conductor trying to work his way through 'William Tell' as he contends with Donald Duck's mischievous flute playing and a cow-swallowing hurricane.
I try to picture myself as an audience member in the theater watching this for the very first time back in 1935. That had to be quite the experience, not only because it was Walt Disney's first Mickey Mouse cartoon in color, but the vibrancy and dynamic action make it a blast to watch even today.
Mickey Mouse conducts a symphony performing the William Tell Overture at the park, all the while Donald Duck playfully interferes with the conducting and while a ferocious tornado crashes the concert. This is musical fun from start to finish, from the frolicking of the birds during the peaceful sounds of the overture to the hilariously chaotic mêlée of the tornado during the overture's storm sequence.
Mickey is conducting a band concert in the park. However, Donald manages to interrupt everything.
In terms of the concept, final result and the longevity of its vibrant and joyful spirit, this iconic cartoon is amazingly well constructed. No way did it ever deserve to lose against "Three Orphan Kittens" in 1935, that Silly Symphony just doesn't compare to this one in terms of meaning and overall worth to the history of animation.
Brilliant color, wonderful animation, and tremendous characterization. Mickey is the leader of a kind of community band.
By the mid-1930s, Disney was hard at work pushing the boundaries of animation as groundwork for his feature films, his 'Silly Symphonies' were becoming more sophisticated at creating characters with physical weight and substance, moving through increasingly realistic surroundings with plenty of nuance in their 'acting'. He was turning the old 'short subject' diversion into serious art.
"The Band Concert" is a Disney cartoon which runs for 9 minutes (unusually long, mostly they are 7 minutes) from 80 years ago. Mickey conducts an orchestra, but he and the musicians have to face several obstacles on their way to a great performance.
A beautifully simple Disney short about Mickey Mouse trying to conduct an outdoor concert while constantly being interrupted by, among other things, Donald Duck. This was Mickey's first color cartoon and it's a fun one, despite Mickey never speaking and most of the funny bits going to Donald.
