Mickey Mouse Short: Cable Car Chaos

Season 2, Episode 1: “Cable Car Chaos” 4/11/14
Starring: Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
Setting: San Francisco, CA

Plot:
While sightseeing in San Francisco, aboard one of its world famous cable cars, Mickey vows to show Minnie the whole city. Their first stop is China Town, where they plan to dine at a Dim Sum restaurant. But, before Minnie could exit the cable car, an errant firecracker from a nearby parade lands and explodes in the car which frightens the driver out of commission and sets the chaos in motion.

With Minnie still aboard the now out-of-control cable car, Mickey hops on a bicycle to track her down.  But, with Mickey struggling to traverse the hills of San Francisco, Minnie decides to take matters into her own hands by mustering up the strength to pull the gear shift, putting the car in reverse.  The car then collides with Mickey, throwing him back into the car where he engages in a battle with Minnie over who gets to control the gear shift.  The chaos then reaches its literal peak as the car is flung high into the sky.

Luckily (or not), the cable car lands atop the Golden Gate bridge where Mickey proudly exclaims “See, Minnie… I told you you’d get to see the whole thing!”

Short Stuff:
Some famous San Francisco landmarks included in the episode are The Bay Bridge, Chinatown, the Painted Ladies (aka the “Full House” houses), the Transamerica Building, Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I don’t know where the cable car driver and the former driver came from but they were both hilarious!  I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them and their unique brand of humour. 

Poor Mickey… his nose gets wedged right between the driver’s pantsless, underwear clad but cheeks.

This is one of Minnie’s best comedic performances – particularly her scene where she attempts to gain control of the cable car.

That Lombard Street-Pinball sequence is pretty clever. 

Final Grade: A-
Maybe I’m biased because I grew up near San Francisco, but this is one of the shorts’ best use of a location yet - it’s not just a setting, but a character.  It’s also a very simple story with a great payoff in the end where Mickey comes through with his promise to show Minnie the whole city.  Along with that, there’s some great off-beat comedy as well – mainly coming from the cable car’s driver and the former driver.  Much like season one’s “Dog Show,” this episode has a very modern feel to it like a “SpongeBob SquarePants” or others of its ilk.