Tugboat Mickey (1940)
Mickey is performing routine maintenance on his tugboat (with interference from a pelican) when a call comes on the radio that there's a sinking ship needing assistance. Sadly, Mickey's crew consists of Donald and Goofy, so getting underway to help is not easy. Goofy has to fight a boiler's door to get it stoked with coal (and when he succeeds, he overfills it) and Donald gets tangled up in the machinery. Not to mention that nobody casts off, so they drag half the dock along with them. The overworked boiler soon explodes.
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The Worst Film Ever
I'll tell you why so serious
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
Classic Disney short teaming Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Here they are working on their tugboat when they receive an SOS call and rush to help. As you might imagine, things never go smoothly when Goofy and Donald are involved. Repeats some gags from earlier shorts with these three but it's still fun. As was usually the case with Disney from this era, the animation is gorgeous; nicely drawn with exciting action and beautiful colors. Great voice work from Clarence Nash, Pinto Colvig, and Walt Disney. It's a fun cartoon but not one that will likely make the highlight reel for these characters. You can't go wrong with classic Disney, though, so definitely give it a look.
Two years following their prior high seas adventure in "Boat Builders", Mickey, Donald and Goofy team up once again in a similar tale, this time aboard a ship, and roused to action when they hear a distressing S.O.S. from the Steamship Gigantic, about to flounder on a dangerous Rocky Reef. Goofy has to contend with an uncooperative coal furnace door, while Donald Duck has a bit of trouble getting in gear himself. Finally breaking free of the harbor, the trio come to realize that the S.O.S. broadcast they heard could just as well have been intended for themselves, as the intrepid sailors wind up in the drink. Excellent animation and vibrant color highlight this quick seven minute film, and Disney fans should find themselves well pleased.
I have always enjoyed the cartoons with Mickey, Donald and Goofy individually, and even more so together. While it is still a good, solid cartoon, Tugboat Mickey is not one of their better outings. The story is rather routine and reminded me a lot of The Whalers(the main reason why the ending wasn't so much as a surprise) and especially Clock Cleaners, and Mickey's re-design takes some getting used to especially as Donald and Goofy are kept the same. However, there is much to enjoy as Tugboat Mickey is beautifully animated especially in the colourful backgrounds, and the music is very energetic. The gags are familiar in a way, but they are still very funny especially with Donald's temperament with the steam piston and Goofy's confusion as the grate keeps closing on him. Mickey is not as funny but he is still likable and all three characters are impeccably voiced as always. Overall, a good cartoon if not one of the best. 8/10 Bethany Cox
A significant portion of this animated short shows Goofy trying to load up some coal to be burned in order to get Mickey's tugboat moving. Meanwhile, Donald struggles with a piece of machinery and Mickey stands around until the boat gets moving. Wow...the comic genius involved is downright mind-blowing!I know I'm being a bit of a downer, but it is disappointing that Mickey and his gang were always trying to cull laughter from idiocy instead of cleverness. "Tugboat Mickey" continued to employ that strategy. It used broad, uninvolving humor and the "surprise" ending was obvious from the get-go. 1/10