24 Days of Waltzmas, Day 11: Squatters' Rights

Squatter’s Rights (1946)
Starring: Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Chip ‘n Dale
Setting: Mickey’s Hydout

Plot: Chip ‘n Dale are squatting in Mickey’s seasonal hunting shack

Stocking Stuffers:

Mickey’s “Hydout’s” front door has a two-by-four nailed across it along with a lock keeping the front latch closed.  However, there is also a key (presumably for the lock) hanging from a nail to the right of the door.

This short actually takes place before the two chipmunks were given the names “Chip n’ Dale” along with their distinctive looks and personalities that help distinguish one from the other. 

Mickey gets as close as I remember seeing him work blue or lose his temper when the exasperated mouse lets out his frustrations at not being able to light a match, “Darn it! What’s wrong with these doggone matches?”

This is Mickey’s first appearance in a theatrical short since 1943’s Pluto and the Armadillo.

Putting a Bow on It:
This one plays out like most Chip ‘n Dale shorts until the very end and that’s when it gets bizarrely morbid… and I absolutely LOVED it!  A shot from the rifle is fired, Pluto is left unconscious and splayed out on the cabin floor and covered in catsup with the gun lying across his chest.  And, when Mickey finds him, he’s left to believe Pluto has shot and killed himself only for the dog to awaken and start howling in pain at the sight of what he thinks is blood splattered across his chest.  Mickey then picks him up in a panic and sprints off into the snowy wilderness looking for help.  Merry Xmas, everyone!!!