BREAKING MOVIE/TV NEWS

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

"The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse" on Disney+

"The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse", produced by Disney Television Animation, is the new original TV special, streaming February 18, 2022 on Disney+: 

"...'The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse' spotlights the adventurous and comedic antics of  ‘Mickey Mouse' and his female friend 'Minnie', geared towards fans of all ages..."

Recently left-wing 'cancel culture' vultures have been attacking Disney's original 'Mickey Mouse' character, that according to the book "Birth of an Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation" by Nicholas Sammond, was created to be the most popular 'Jim Crow' minstrel of all time.

"Commercial animation in the United States didn’t borrow from blackface minstrelsy, nor was it simply influenced by it, " writes Sammond.

 
"American animation is actually in many of its most enduring incarnations an integral part of the ongoing iconographic and performative traditions of 'blackface'. 
 

"'Mickey Mouse' isn't like a minstrel; he is a minstrel."

Sammond insists the cartoon short "Steamboat Willie", the debut of Mickey in 1928...

...is a classic example of the popular singing 'black minstrel' of the time.

In another cartoon short, "Mickey’s Mellerdrammer" (1933), 'Mickey' and girlfriend 'Minnie', wear white gloves worn by black servants, performing their version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" with a cast of cartoon animals. 

Rather than burnt cork, Mickey carelessly uses an exploding stick of dynamite to apply his 'blackface', topped off with an Al Jolson impression of "Mammy".

Click the images to enlarge...