Mickey Mouse Short: Carnaval

Season 4, Episode 12: “Carnaval” 2/3/2018
Starring: Mickey Mouse
Costarring:  Jose Carioca, Goofy, Pete, Penguin Waiters, Clarabelle Cow, Fantasia Ostriches
Setting: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 
Plot: When Minnie’s feathered samba takes flight, Mickey races through the streets of Rio to save her

Short Stuff
This is the second short to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and be spoken in Portuguese.  The first was Season Two’s O Futebol Classico.

Carnaval is an annual Brazilian festival held for six days up to Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent.  Carnaval attracts tourists from all over the world and is known for its parades, costumes, parties, and general debauchery.

Brazilian parrot Jose Carioca makes his third appearance (O Futebol Classico and !Feliz Cumpleanos!).

The red afro’d pig from O Futebol Classico returns for the second time.  The pig joins the female hippo (‘O Sole Minnie and Locked in Love), Mickey's Scooter (Croissant de Triomphe and Road Hogs) the Walrus judge (Dog Show and Three-Legged Race), Gubbles the fish (Gasp! and No) as the only characters introduced during the series who made made more than one appearance.

Making their debut in the Mickey Mouse series are the Penguin Waiters from Mary Poppins (1964) and the Ostriches from Fantasia (1940).

The Santa Teresa Tram was built in 1877 and is now a tourist attraction and historical landmark.

Seen in the background is Christ the Redeemer (the giant Jesus statue) standing atop Corcovado mountain. 

​Final Grade: B
It’s cute how excited Mickey is to see and showoff Minnie during the parade but it feels like we’ve been here before… and, it’s because we have!!!  Don’t get me wrong, Carnaval and Rio is a worthy scene/setting for the series but we’ve already been to Rio and, with so many other countries left to visit (Ireland, any African country, or Australia), we shouldn’t be seeing repeats yet.  The short’s colour palate and art design are amazing and we get a bevvy of seldom used characters but the whole thing with Minnie’s samba/feathered costume sending her airbourne is a bit contrived even for a cartoon.