Mickey Mouse Short: Road Hogs

Season 3, Episode 9: “Road Hogs” 12/11/15
Starring: Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
Co-starring: Mickey’s Scooter
Setting: Pacific Coast Highway, California (?)
 
Plot: After both Mickey and his Scooter offend a motorcycle gang in a roadside bar, the gang abducts Minnie, leaving Mickey in hot pursuit.    

Short Stuff:
 
There is nothing specific indicating that this short takes place on and around the PCH but the coastline prominently featured and this particular stretch of highway being a popular destination for bikers adds credence to this assumption.
 
Although it never appeared as a character in the classic Disney shorts, Mickey’s Scooter’s second appearance here (after its debut in Croissant de Triomphe) earns it a spot as a cast member.
 
The Hogs’ motorcycles are sentient just as Mickey’s scooter is.
 
Mickey and Minnie may be stopping at a bar but they order milkshakes in lieu of alcohol.
 
The scene where Mickey’s scooter knocks over the Hogs’ motorcycles creating a domino effect very closely mirrors a scene from my favourite movie Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
 
The tune Minnie sings to herself before getting abducted is Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo which first appeared in the classic short Mickey’s Follies (1929). You can also hear renditions of this ditty in Eau de Minnie (2014) and Bottle Shocked (2015).
 
The Suck-O-Lux brand vacuum Minnie uses to remove Boss’ tattoo originally appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
 
The fall into the ravine evokes the iconic tumble Wile E. Coyote would often make during his classic Looney Tunes series of shorts which also co-starred the Road Runner.  

Final Grade: B-
 
I like the idea of incorporating a biker gang and the setting is nice but there’s not enough here.  The one interesting thing to note is that Mickey’s Scooter is the first original character to establish itself in this series of shorts.  It will be interesting to see if more characters make a second appearance in the future thus solidifying themselves as actual cast members. Also, I just don’t buy the ending… why would the Hogs all eschew their hogs in favour of scooters and why would Mickey then still want to hang out with this group after they abducted his girlfriend?  I’m not buying it.