Mickey Mouse Short: My Little Garden

Season 5, Episode 9: “My Little Garden” 3/9/19
Starring: Mickey Mouse
Costarring: Pluto
Setting: Mickey’s backyard
Plot: Due to neglect, Mickey’s backyard garden transforms into a nightmarish jungle.

Short Stuff

The episode is somewhat of an homage to the classic short Mickey’s Garden (1935).  Similarly, Mickey encounters scary, overgrown bugs there too. 

Mickey has a note on his refrigerator to “Call Dave.”  If this sounds familiar, it’s because we saw the same note on Mickey’s fridge all the way back in “Coned” (S3, E1). I’m still guessing it’s a shout-out to director Dave Wasson.

It’s been 2 ½ years since Mickey last tended to his garden.

Mickey spends 87 days lost in his backyard.  Even worse, poor Pluto has been in the yard for almost four months!

Final Grade: B
With Mickey’s allergic reactions and brushes with the creepy crawlies, this short relies on gross out gags and horror.  The pulsating and gooey bugs are particularly effective while the tension peaks with Mickey’s encounter with a shaggy and seemingly feral Pluto. A solid offering that never feels gratuitous yet, doesn’t quite blow you away.