Mickey Mouse Short: Amore Motore

​Season 5, Episode 1: “Amore Motore” 10/6/18
Starring: Mickey Mouse and Mickey’s Scooter
Costarring: Minnie Mouse
Setting: Rome, Italy
 
Plot: When Mickey’s Scooter becomes twitterpated, Mickey helps it woo the object of its affections.

​Short Stuff
 
This is the second short to take place in Italy after Venice in Season One’s ‘O Sole Minnie.
 
With its third appearance (Season One’s Croissant de Triomphe and Season Three’s Road Hogs, Mickey’s Scooter has become the series’ standout, original character.
 
Among the popular Roman landmarks we encounter are the Colosseum, the Piazza Navona, and the Trevi Fountain. 
 
The two hats on the book that Minnie’s Scooter is reading are Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet who are the eponymous stars of a sequence from Make Mine Music (1946).  Like the scooters, they too are inanimate, sentient beings who fall in love.
 
This is the third time a reference from Make Mine Music has appeared in the series.  The first was in ‘O Sole Minnie when Willie the Whale from The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met makes a cameo and then the teenage sock hop in Couples Sweaters from All the Cats Join In.

​Final Grade: B+
The gamut of emotions Mickey’s Scooter goes through while trying to woo Minnie’s Scooter is as real as it gets.  The anxiety, the nerves, and the facial expressions are something we could all relate to.  At this point, though, they really need to give the scooter a name.  Are we really going to keep calling him “Mickey’s Scooter”? How about Scootz WITH A “Z”?!?!?!
 
Rome provides a cool backdrop for the episode but it feels less lived in than with previous destination shorts.  I prefer that the environment plays a role in the plot and almost becomes a character in it of itself -  - like in Al Rojo Vivo or Mumbai Madness. This short could’ve taken place in Anytown, USA, and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.