12 Days of the Big Three, Day Five: Moose Hunters

Day 5: Moose Hunters (1937)
Starring: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy
Setting: The Great Outdoors
Plot: Mickey, Donald and Goofy employ subterfuge in hunting moose.

Yada, Yada, Yada…

It was a different time and, while there are many hunting themed shorts, it’s still unnerving to see Mickey nonchalantly tap his gun and gleefully say “I’ll take care of the rest!” when “the rest” is putting a bullet in a moose.

We actually get a repeat outfit for Goofy. He’s wearing his gray turtleneck and orange cap/vest combo that he donned in Moving Day (1936).

Under his red shorts, Mickey is wearing blue and white striped skivvies.

Mickey’s moose has an interesting look with a tuft of blonde hair surrounded by his black mane.

The fight between the two moose is ridiculously violent yet creative – the antlers as hands is very effective.

The music playing during the fight scene is the “Storm” segment from the William Tell (1829) overture.

Goofy and Donald nail the punchline of the short with their sheepish explanation of “April Fools’” to the pair of angry moose.

A Short About Nothing
The way Mickey separated himself from the group reminds me of how Fred would also split up the gang in Scooby-Doo. Mickey, like Fred, is the unquestioned leader yet finds a way to disappear so the real stars (Shaggy/Scooby and Goofy/Donald) can do all the comedic heavy lifting. The only difference is that Fred never was (nor was he ever meant to be) the international mega star that Mickey had been and is – which makes this dynamic all the more awkward. Seriously, let this settle in: Mickey is Fred!
Meanwhile, we get our first real dose of the Donald and Goofy comedy team. So far in this series, we’d see each of them doing their own thing but here, they’re literally stuck together in that moose costume while receiving the overwhelming bulk of the screen time. In fact, it’s such a success that they would go on to get their own series of “Donald and Goofy” shorts sans Mickey.