Runaway Brain (1995)

Why so much hype?

Excellent adaptation.

A different way of telling a story

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

"Runaway Brain" is an animated 7-minute short film from 20 years ago and as it features world's most famous mouse it is obviously a Walt Disney movie. And a fairly successful one at that as it managed an Oscar nomination many decades after the mouse's glory days. Still I was not too impressed. The Frankenstein and King Kong references were not enough to make up for the lack of a great story or really funny moments. It lost the Oscar to Nick Park, but his film there is also maybe my least favorite "Wallace & Gromit" picture. Must have been a weak year in terms of animated shorts. One of the weakest Mickey Mouse short films I have seen in a while, which is pretty disappointing as the writer and director have both been prolific in animation at that point already. Not recommended.

This is the first time I comment on a film I haven't seen.Not that I didn't want to. I bought the Disney Treasures/Mickey in Color 2 DVD set, official edition (not some bootleg) here in Germany. I watched Leonard Maltin announce it in his intro, including a second of snippet.. I watched all 5 hours of the DVDs, bonuses and all.. tried all the menus for hidden Easter eggs.. no luck.As I've met possible censorship on another Treasures DVD just some days ago (Der Fuehrer's Face was missing from Chronological Donald 2 - possibly because displaying swastikas is illegal in today's Germany), I suspect a somewhat similar reason here.. not law, but viewer clearance. The whole Disney cartoons are cleared for age 0 and up. Now if a DVD contains just one item with a higher limit (6/12/16/18), it must display that clearance for the whole bundle.. I suspect that marketing considerations led the German distributor to self-censor and remove Runaway Brain, even though announced by Maltin. I'm really frustrated.Update, July 11, 2011: Now I've watched the film, on YouTube. A nice combination of modern-day dynamics in cartoons with many 1930s themes: the ancient looks of Mickey and Minnie, the King-Kong, mad scientist, brain transplantation themes and so on... very likable! I was surprised that it was produced in France, but hey, that's globalisation...So I'm softening my above point on censorship, too. It certainly exists, but given the Net, there just as certainly are ways around it. By the way: some weeks ago, I also located The Fuehrer's Face on archive.org.

I agree with the above review that it is not only in poor taste for Disney. But I too was frightened by the harsh imagery and evil mickey, Disney can do much, much better. I understand why it was pulled from circulation for a number of years.I agree with the above review that it is not only in poor taste for Disney. But I too was frightened by the harsh imagery and evil mickey, Disney can do much, much better. I understand why it was pulled from circulation for a number of years.But I too was frightened by the harsh imagery and evil mickey, Disney can do much, much better. I understand why it was pulled from circulation for a number of years.

This short was nominated for an Academy Award when it came out and I can see why. It's hilarious, exciting and the pace is frenetic and unrelenting. There are also quite a few gags pointed at heavy-duty Disney and/or movie fans, starting with the opening shot of Mickey playing a video game. Look at what he's playing. This is not your grandfather's Mickey. The visuals are great and the gags come almost as fast as the average Tex Avery cartoon.This was recently released on the Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse In Living Color, Volume 2. If you haven't already got it, you probably better hurry. I doubt they'll last too long. The cost on the secondary market will be considerable. The set is great, as are the other Disney Treasures releases. This short is definitely recommended and the Disney Treasures sets cannot be more highly recommended!