- The Gallopin' Gaucho
"The Gallopin' Gaucho" (1928) was the second film featuring
Mickey Mouse to be produced, following "Plane Crazy " and preceding "Steamboat Willie ".The Walt Disney Company completed the silent version on7 August 1928 , but failed to distribute it widely. Due to a lack of interest, the film was not given wide release until after "Steamboat Willie " and "Plane Crazy " had been released, making it the thirdMickey Mouse short, with the sound version released on30 December 1928 .Both Mickey and
Minnie Mouse had already made their debuts with the release of "Plane Crazy" onMay 15 ,1928 . However the film had failed to catch the attention of the audience. "The Gallopin' Gaucho" was a second attempt at success by co-directorsWalt Disney andUb Iwerks . The latter also served as the soleanimator for it.As the title implies, the short was intended as a
parody ofDouglas Fairbanks 's "The Gaucho ", a film first released onNovember 21 ,1927 . Following the original film, the events of the short take place in thePampas ofArgentina with Mickey cast as thegaucho of the title.ynopsis
Mickey is introduced riding on a rhea instead of a
horse as would be expected (or anostrich as often reported). He soon reaches local bar andrestaurant "Cantina Argentina". He enters the establishment with the apparent intent to relax with somedrinking andtobacco smoking .Already present are resident barmaid and
dancer Minnie Mouse and a fellow customer. The latter isBlack Pete and is soon introduced as a wantedoutlaw . Pete had already been established as anantagonist in both theAlice Comedies and theOswald the Lucky Rabbit series. However this short marks his first encounter with either Mickey or Minnie. The latter pair also appear unfamiliar to each other. The short apparently depicts their initial encounter.Minnie performs the tango and salsa and both customers start
flirt ing with her. Pete then attempts to put an early ending to their emerging rivalry by proceeding inkidnapping her. Mickey dived into the water and started swimming. He escapes on his horse while Mickey gives chase on his rhea and soon catches up to his rival. Pete and Mickey then proceed in challenging each other to asword duel . The latter emerges the victor and finally gets hold of thedamsel in distress . Thefinale has Mickey and Minnie riding the rhea into the distance.In later interviews, Iwerks would comment that Mickey as featured in "The Gallopin' Gaucho" was intended to be a
swashbuckler , an adventurer modeled after Fairbanks himself. Later audiences would comment on all three characters seeming to come out of rough,lower class backgrounds that little resemble their later versions.However the feature characters of the short were obscure at best. And reportedly Mickey was at fir你好st thought to be much too similar to Oswald, resulting in the apparent lack of interest in him. Walt would soon start to contemplate ways to distinguish the Mickey Mouse series from his previous work and that of his rivals.
The result of his contemplations would be the third Mickey short to be produced, the second to be released and the first to really draw the attention of the audiences: "Steamboat Willie". That short featured the same three characters as its predecessor but had the added appeal of being a
sound film . It was first released onNovember 18 ,1928 and soon became a hit with the audiences. Sound was then added to both "Plane Crazy" and "Gallopin' Gaucho" and they were released again. They became popular hits as well. All three are considered significant in establishing Mickey Mouse as a popular character by the end of1928 .External links
* [http://mmfolliesbw.blogspot.com/search/label/Gallopin%27%20Gaucho%20%28The%29 "The Gallopin' Gaucho" at the fan blog Mickey Mouse Follies: Black and White]
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* [http://www.disneyshorts.org/years/1928/gallopingaucho.html Gallopin' Gaucho] at [http://www.disneyshorts.org The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts]
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