Disney Cartoon #6:
Mickey's
Delayed Date" (October 3,
1947)
by
Albert
Gutierrez

Mickey and Minnie.
Just
look at
it.
Mickey
and
Minnie.
It
sounds
so
melodic,
so
perfect.
They've
become
two
names so
connected
with
each
other,
it's
hard to
believe
Walt
ever
thought
Mortimer
would
have
worked.
The
love
story
that is
Mickey
and
Minnie
never
has been
fully
told, at
least
not to
my
knowledge.
We've
never
seen a
"how
they
met"
animated
short,
and
despite
plenty
of
themed
merchandise
featuring
the
twosome,
they
have
never
actually
married.
But
they've
become
quite a
staple
for
Disney
couples,
they're
a pair
that we
accept
immediately
and
expect
to stay
together.
To
celebrate
the love
story
that is
Mickey
and
Minnie,
this
week's
Saturday
Matinee
focuses
on
"Mickey's
Delayed
Date."
It's a
rather
"normal"
short
that
establishes
Mickey
and
Minnie
as a
regular
couple
doing
regular
couple
things.
But as
always,
it has
that bit
of
Disney
magic in
it.

It's the
night of
the big
dance,
and
Minnie
Mouse
is
angry.
Mickey
is
nowhere
to be
seen and
she's
been
waiting
for him.
She
calls
the
house
and asks
for
Pluto to
give the
phone to
Mickey,
who's
napping
comfortably
in his
arm
chair.
She
gives
him a
very
stern
talking-to
and
threatens
to break
up with
him if
he
doesn't
meet her
at the
dance
soon.
Mickey
quickly
gets
ready
with
Pluto's
help.
Looking
quite
dapper
and
posh,
Mickey
quickly
heads
out to
meet
Minnie.
What he
fails to
realize
is that
the
tickets
for the
dance
have
fallen
out of
the
envelope
Pluto
gave to
him.
Pluto
chases
after
Mickey
in order
to give
the
tickets
to his
master.

But
Mickey
has
problems
of his
own. He
can't
get a
taxi, is
splashed
in a
puddle,
nearly
loses
his top
hat,
runs
about in
traffic,
and ends
up
rolling
down the
street
in a
trash
can.
When he
finally
reaches
the
dance,
he's a
little
worse
for wear
and is
about
ready to
give up.
Fortunately,
the
dance is
themed
to "Hard
Times"
and his
ruined
suit and
tin can
top hat
match
perfectly
with
Minnie's
raggedy
dress.
She's
actually
delighted
that he
put so
much
thought
into his
costume.
The two
are
ready to
go
inside,
once he
has his
tickets.
Thankfully,
Pluto
shows up
in the
nick of
time and
Mickey
gives
him a
grateful
wink.

The
story of
"Mickey's
Delayed
Date"
could
easily
lend
itself
to a
screwball
comedy.
It
contains
a
healthy
amount
of
physical
comedy,
and
turns
ordinary
situations
into
extraordinary
humor.
And as
I said
earlier,
it's
nice to
see
Mickey
and
Minnie
doing
things
that an
ordinary
couple
would
do.
Gone
are the
days of
chasing
after a
steamboat
or
battling
knights
in ye
olden
days.
We get
a modern
Mickey
and
Minnie,
one
indicative
of the
times.
In
addition,
it's
also
great to
see
Mickey
as a
more
active
player
again.
Re-issues
of older
shorts
aside,
this is
actually
Mickey's
second
cartoon
appearance
since
1942, he
had no
new
material
from
1943 to
1945 and
"Squatter's
Rights"
was his
sole
outing
in 1946.
And
"Squatter's
Rights"
served
more as
a Pluto
vs.
Chip 'n'
Dale
cartoon
than
starring
Mickey.

For
those
interested
in
watching
"Mickey's
Delayed
Date",
there
are
three
DVDs
that
feature
this
short
cartoon.
"Mickey &
Minnie's
Sweetheart
Stories"
is a
compilation
disc
with
eight
shorts,
focused
on the
popular
couplings
like
Mickey &
Minnie
or
Donald &
Daisy,
with
Pluto
getting
some
attention
as well.
The
much-scarcer
"Mickey
Mouse in
Living
Color,
Volume
Two"
also
contains
the
short
(and all
of
Mickey's
cartoon
filmography
from
1939 to
1995).
Finally,
there's
also a
"Best
Pals:
Mickey &
Minnie"
compilation
disc
from the
Classic
Cartoon
Favorites
line.