Minnie Mouse Short: Sock Burglar

Season 3, Episode 15: “Sock Burglar” 4/15/16
Starring: Minnie Mouse
Costarring: Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pete
Cameos By: The Beagle Boys, The Phantom Blot, The Wicked Queen and The Big Bad Wolf.
Setting: Around Town

Plot: When a sock burglar hits town, Minnie finds herself in hot pursuit of the culprit.

Short Stuff:
This is Minnie’s fourth time getting her own Title Card and top billing after Eau de Minnie, Clogged and Doggone Biscuits.

The shot of Minnie’s socks hanging from her ceiling are equal parts strange and beautiful.

Minnie resides in the Royal Oaks apartment building… which has no significance of any sort that I can tell.

Minnie’s first suspects are the Beagle Boys. The Beagle Boys were first introduced in Carl Bark’s Uncle Scrooge comic book series in 1952 but they are probably best known for DuckTales (1987 – 1990).

If I had to guess, these three Beagle Boys most closely resemble (from left to right) Burger, Big Time and Bouncy. Although, Burger doesn’t look nearly fat enough and Bouncy not as tall.

The second suspect to get interrogated by Minnie is The Phantom Blot. He is best known as an antagonist from the Mickey Mouse comic strip where he first appeared in 1939. He went on to become a staple of the various Disney comics and even had his own seven issue series called The New Adventures of the Phantom Blot (1964). The Blot made his first television appearance as a villain in the aforementioned DuckTales and was also featured in both Mickey Mouse Works (1999 – 2000) and House of Mouse (2001 – 2003).

The third suspect is with the Evil Queen of Snow White (1937) fame. This is her first appearance in this series of shorts after unceremoniously being left out of the Snow White themed episode Wish Upon a Coin.

The fourth suspect is The Big Bad Wolf. He, of course, starred in many classic shorts as the main antagonist to both the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. Although, he looks less concerned with the questioning than he is with making a meal out of Minnie.

The fifth, final and longest interrogation is with Goofy of whom we learn has feet that smell like fish.

You may have also noticed Goofy’s use of the intrusive “R” in his pronunciation of “backwaRsh.” This is the predominant characteristic of the “American midland accent” that finds its roots in Scotch-Irish immigrants and is common in and around parts of Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, southern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and west Texas.

Parenthetically, Goofy has perfected his role as the character who appears about midway through a short to help carry the story through any potential lulls. He acts as sort of a middle reliever who bridges the gap between starter and closer. He’s done as much now in Bad Ear Day (2013) and Flowers for Minnie (2015) prior to this episode.

The only thing standing between Pete and his dream of robbing banks was a sock on his stump.

Final Grade: A
This short is one of the better written of the season – with its genres seamlessly shifting from film noir to a funky kung fu pastiche as well its super fun and clever reveal with Pete and his sockless peg leg. This is also Minnie’s best role to date as the unquestioned star of an episode. The cameos are great too – especially the Phantom Blot who represents the rich and diverse world of the various Disney Comics series and its cast of untapped characters.