House of Mouse

[Mickey Fanatic]

Does anybody want to discuss House of Mouse in this thread? Please?:sad:

[Eutychus]

This is something I've been struggling with for the past few months since I've started getting questions about updating the House of Mouse section on the site. To wit; I just can't get interested in the show as much as I can the older classic shorts which were the main focus of the site anyway.

But I can't really put my finger on why the newer Mickey Mouse Works or House of Mouse shorts don't hold up as well. The shorts are okay on their own but certainly not the best that animation has to offer. However trying to find some connection beween them and the classic shorts is pretty well impossible save for the idea that they all used the same characters. But even then they fail. The most telling failure is that they all talk too much; compare any of the recent shorts with the classics and (except for the narraration in the Goofy "How to" shorts) they had very little dialogue.

The House of Mouse stories are even worse, painting all of the Disney characters as one big happy saccharine sweet family which they never were origionally. There is no direct descendancy from the classic characters to their newer forms. They seem to have been recreated ... and recreated badly, in my booklet.

[DarthGonzo]

I think the new shorts use gags I think youd never see in the old cartoons. Every cartoon used the same tired gags over and over again, usually trying to cram as many visual or verbal puns into 5 minutes as possible (such as Goofy's "key" ring, which is a gag borrowed from Timon and Pumbaa's "papers" routine.) Watching the characters struggle through cartoons in the old days was fun because of the complex character animation. Back in the old days, Donald could struggle with a tire for 6 minutes and we'd call that an acceptible cartoon. Nowadays, the animation is so bland that these sort of sequences come across as flat every time. The new shorts do way too many "character blur/jump to a silly pose" gags, and there's a serious attempt to make Ajax the Disney version of Acme by using it in every cartoon. It doesnt work. Neither is cramming every character into a cartoon or using Pete and Mortimer as the villians each and every time. The characters never shut up and the more I hear Donald the worse he sounds compared to Nash's duck. Part of the fun of the old Donald cartoons is his voice. Tony's Donald just sounds like he's on helium.

And Disney seems so afraid to really use expressive animation on these characters nowadays. I watched Ward Kimball's stuff on the Three Caballeros a few nights ago and was struck dumb but how free flowing, loose, manic and expressive the animation was. Compare that to anything seen in any House of Mouse or Mouseworks cartoon. I know you cant compare classic theatrical animation to watered down Toon City stuff, but it just makes everything seem so bland. Also weak are the insanely simplistic backgrounds on these cartoons, like someone is afraid to use a classic approach.

The sad part is, give me 5 minutes and I probably could make a better cartoon starring Donald Duck.

[Wolfcruiser]

One thing I like about the show is not only do they sometimes parody scenes from other Disney films. But bits of pop culture are sprinkeled throughout the show,such as when Goofy mentions Annette Funicello(Mousketeer) or Disney's direct spoofs of the Backstreet Boys or the Everybody Loves Mickey episode where at the end they have posters of Donald starring in posters directly mimicking films Armageddon,Shakespeare in Love and the Love Bug. :) I loved that. It's always nice to add that stuff to a toon,without making it look obvious.

I didn't like "The Three Caballeros" episode,though. They didn't potray none of the characters right,not even Donald. I do like how they gave Panchito a better color scheme,a darker red compared to his 1945 lighter color self. But eh,the Three Caballeros didn't seem themselves.

[David Gerstein]

The sad part is, give me 5 minutes and I probably could make a better cartoon starring Donald Duck.I had the pleasure of watching most HOM episodes together with European Disney comics fans. For us, the Mickey character cartoons in particular came across very well. True, they're a little more reminiscent of comic strips than cartoons with their talkiness; but for us that worked, as they deliberately try to be like modern versions of the classic Gottfredson stuff (particularly with use of such characters as the Phantom Blot, Chief O'Hara, and Mortimer in his comics role).
Some of my friends would agree with you on Donald, though. Whatever the reality, the results suggest they made Mickey cartoons because they wanted to, and Donald cartoons because they felt they had to— an enormous distinction.

[mac]

I'm largely in agreement with Eutychus. I find the show quite fun, but I wish that after "Runaway Brain" Disney had made more shorts starring the classic characters (and maybe some featurettes) which were given the budgets, time and development to make them into modern classics which remain true to the characters. I often find myself thinking "I wish they hadn't done that" or "This character wouldn't act like that" when watching HoM or Mouseworks cartoons.

However, some of the cartoons are real gems and worth seeking out. It's a shame that many people who would like these cartoons may miss out because they've been put off by the rest of the shows output.

I would like to see the HoM section on the shorts site updated eventually - if only to provide a list of all the episodes along with which shorts were shown. Eutychus, if you need a list of which cartoons are in each episode maybe we could start up a thread where people can post which shorts are in each episode they have? I could get the ball rolling on that if you want.

[mac]

I had the pleasure of watching most HOM episodes together with European Disney comics fans. For us, the Mickey character cartoons in particular came across very well. True, they're a little more reminiscent of comic strips than cartoons with their talkiness; but for us that worked, as they deliberately try to be like modern versions of the classic Gottfredson stuff (particularly with use of such characters as the Phantom Blot, Chief O'Hara, and Mortimer in his comics role).

Although I'm not as familiar with the comics as I am the classic shorts, I agree that the Mickey cartoons were often better. Mortimer was a great addition to the cast and the rivalry between him and Mickey was fun. It's interesting that I didn't like the Mouseworks trio cartoons with the exception of "Mickey Foils the Phantom Blot" - now that was a good one.

[Mickey Fanatic]

Is your name real name Lee Suggs?

[Prism]

Somewhat mixed on The House of Mouse. First thing I like the way they poked fun at itself and I liked Mickey's new nervousness and being neurotic. It was interesting how they portrayed the film characters even though I felt it was a shame that they didn't use the characters from the TV shows. If they had lasted longer then 3 seasons, maybe it'd be different. And it was nice to see all the characters from the old shorts together, even if Goofy and Clarabelle's sideromance felt forced with little chemistry. The new shorts were of course not going to be theatrical quality but for networks it was very good animation, fluid, very little recycling and the backgrounds were decent. HOM was a solid show that probably could've used some improvement but was still good.

[mac]

Is your name real name Lee Suggs?

No, that's not me!

The romance between Goofy and Clarabelle is something I don't like. I thought she was suppossed to go out with Horace! I remember, when I was a kid, once reading a comic where Goofy and Clarabelle seemed to be a couple - I didn't like it then either! Infact I don't really like Clarabelle's character on HoM much at all.

[ThePeterNetwork]

My first exposure to House of Mouse was at the tail end of ABC SatAM schedule... for about two years. Then I got mad that they moved it to the Disney cable channels (even if they did give us Kim Possible and later Lilo and Stitch) Then after watching the new reruns on my DirecTV, everything was all right.

What I like about HoM is that it establishes two concepts that I've always held on to with Disney characters: 1> HoM establishes all the Disney characters living in the same universe; 2> It shows that Mickey and the gang are still active in providing entertainment to people who will watch.

[Wolfcruiser]

You know what? I thnk Mortimer's actually pretty cool. From his voice to even maybe the clothese he wears(when not in the shorts).

[Cartman]

"House of Mouse" is okay of a show, but it is certainly not something I want to watch on a regular basis. I really don't like the idea of mixing the shorts characters with the movies characters for some reason. It just doesn't sound right to me. I find Daisy to be an extremely annoying character. She's nothing like she was in the original cartoons. Then again, her character didn't really fully develop in the original cartoons. The "Mouseworks" shorts that play on the series really aren't horrible, but they are just mush compared to the vintage stuff. They can't even allow politically correct images in them because cartoons are seen as "kid stuff" today.

My overall rating for the series:

6/10

[Wolfcruiser]

What HOM episode shows the short "Mickey Tries to Cook"?

[Mickey Fanatic]

Goofy's Menu Magic.

[Mickey Fanatic]

How many of you guys were disoriented by the House of Mouse cartoon called 'Pinball Mickey'?

[mac]

How many of you guys were disoriented by the House of Mouse cartoon called 'Pinball Mickey'?

I didn't really feel disorientated, but it was a bit of an odd short. I quite enjoyed it, hardly the best Mickey cartoon (even for HoM), but O.K.

[Juu-kuchi]

I've never been too fond of the House of Mouse series. I thought it was too happy and I didn't like all the Disney characters (past and present) joining together and all that. That and Mickey is not really all too appealing now.