The Simple Things (1953)

You won't be disappointed!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Let's be realistic.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Mickey and Pluto decide to go fishing by the ocean. They have little success because Pluto has an encounter with a clam and Mickey with a seagull. What could have been the enjoyment of the simple things becomes an incredibly unpleasant day. The clam seems a bit over the top. I've never liked seagulls. Basically it's about two pleasant characters having their days ruined through no fault of their own.

This is one of those cute and uplifting Disney shorts that I loved the most as a kid and that always popped up in my mind whenever I'd remember them, it was on some VHS mini collection of the shorts and I must have watched that tape a hundred times before bedtime until it was busted! This was probably my favourite one because it's so fun and wacky, and despite the lack of Donald and Goofy, it feels very similar to the much earlier animation "Hawaiian Holiday." Despite the obvious similarities like Pluto matching wits against a tiny sea creature, to me it just has the same kind of free-spirited sunny atmosphere. If not the words, I always remembered the tune of that song, it's such a heartwarming little ditty that reminds one of the simple free pleasures in life such as a carefree day on the beach, as well as providing in a way a subtle bittersweet note of finality for what was to be the last appearance of Mickey in a short for decades, and while it's a shame that it had to come to that, retiring such a beloved character for that long, I think this short was a good way to end things, it's very true to the pure spirit of joy that the earlier cartoons possessed. And Mickey never completely went away anyhow, he was always around in some form or other, so be happy! To me some of the animation is as nicely done as anything from the 30s or 40s, like the rich details put into the crashing surf at the beginning and a lot of the backgrounds, while some of it is noticeably not so impressive, like Mickey's character design which just looks really off and weird! I also remembered a lot of the comedy gags involving the clam with a face, like the yo-yo clam tail, when it mimics Pluto's bark with its clacking shell, and mostly when it begins to sneeze uncontrollably after eating the pepper. I felt really bad for Pluto as he kid when he gets the clam stuck in his mouth and gets unfairly scolded by Mickey when it eats all the food! And no sooner is that little terror banished back to the ocean then a fish-crazed seagull appears on the scene which even starts to pick on Mickey after hogtying and gagging Pluto with his own tail! And at the end, the very very end as it were, it's the hilariously voiced seagull who gets the last laugh and the last word! Nice well meaning short, I don't have any real problems with it at all, it certainly lights up my mood whenever I watch it and it's a very fond farewell for me, keep your sunny sides up!

The final Mickey Mouse theatrical short in the classic era. Also the last one made in Walt Disney's lifetime. The story is a very simple one. Mickey and Pluto are going fishing. Pluto gets into trouble with a clam and Mickey fights off a seagull trying to steal his bait. It's an enjoyable short albeit an unexceptional one. The colors are luscious and the animation is beautiful. A few funny moments here and there. Mickey's final line is bittersweet. My favorite part about the whole thing is that title song. I'm not sure who sang it but it's just lovely. This isn't one of the best Mickey or Pluto shorts I've seen but it is nice.

By 1953, Mickey Mouse's great short subjects were behind him. The experimental excitement of Steamboat Willie, the atmosphere and adventure of The Klondike Kid, the silly fun of Ye Olden Days-- all gave way to the watering down of Mickey's character and the decreasing profitability of the short films. Sure, those black and white cartoons are technically crude in comparison to the later shorts of the 40s and 50s, but they have more character than the Technicolor blandness of that later period.As far as Disney shorts go, you can do worse than the final of the classic era Mickey Mouse shorts, The Simple Things. It's not a clinker by any means, as it possesses a few charming moments and competent character animation. But it is certainly not terribly entertaining or re-watchable. More focus is given to Pluto and the hungry seagull which torments him more so than Mickey, showing just how bland his character had become by the early 1950s.As a big fan of 1930s Mickey Mouse, it depresses me how dull the character became, but at least we have later shorts like Runaway Brain and the direct to DVD Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers to compensate for decades of snooze fests.