The Simple Things
Encyclopedia
The Simple Things is a 1953 animated
short subject
, part of the Mickey Mouse
series, produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released by RKO Radio Pictures
on April 18, 1953, the short is notable as the final regular entry in the Mickey Mouse theatrical cartoon series. Following this short, three special one-shot Mickey shorts were produced: Mickey's Christmas Carol
(1983), The Prince and the Pauper
(1990), and Runaway Brain
(1995).
is seen whistling to the tune of The Simple Things, Pluto
sniffing behind him, spots a mussel
as he tries to cover up miniature geysers along the way. The mussel then squirts water at him. Pluto barks at the mussel and the mussel barks back. The mussel gets trapped on Pluto`s tail after they fight. He pulls the mussel up and attempts to shove it off his tail but instead he pulls the mussel up and down like a yo-yo
. The mussel accidentally gets stuck in his mouth
. Pluto then rushes to Mickey for assistance. At first Mickey thinks that Pluto is asking for food and feeds him a hotdog
. The mussel then steals Mickey's sandwich and a full pepper shaker which causes the mussel to sneeze thus freeing itself from Pluto's mouth. The mussel bounces around sneezing and wakes up a pelican
that decides to eat the mussel. The sneezing mussel escapes the pelican by entering the sea. The hungry pelican steals the hotdog that Mickey is feeding Pluto instead. The pelican then sets his sights on the fish bait Mickey is using and unsuccessfully attempts to steal the fish while the line is being cast. Dejected but determined, the pelican then sits on top of Mickey's hat and easily steals the fish as he is baiting the hook until Mickey shoos the pelican away. He then floats under the hat to the other bait bucket and again eats the fish until Pluto notices and shoos him away. The pelican by tying up Pluto using his own tail and ears. Mickey again catches the pelican in his bait and after the bird tries to fly away carrying the bait, Mickey throws a rock in it which weighs it down. To overcome this, the pelican spells out "FREE FRESH FISH" using flag semaphore
to get the other pelicans to chase Mickey and Pluto away. The short ends with the pelican floating away with fish in his mouth singing the song "The Simple Things".
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
, part of the Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
series, produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released by RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
on April 18, 1953, the short is notable as the final regular entry in the Mickey Mouse theatrical cartoon series. Following this short, three special one-shot Mickey shorts were produced: Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol is a 1983 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company. It was directed and produced by Burny Mattinson...
(1983), The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper (1990 film)
The Prince and the Pauper is an animated short film directed by George Scribner and starring Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, inspired by the Mark Twain story of the same name. It was Disney's final use of the Xerox process, which the studio had used for three decades.The film was released on...
(1990), and Runaway Brain
Runaway Brain
Runaway Brain is a seven-minute animated short-subject produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation Paris, and starring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse...
(1995).
Plot
At the start of the cartoon, MickeyMickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
is seen whistling to the tune of The Simple Things, Pluto
Pluto (Disney)
Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown , medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression...
sniffing behind him, spots a mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
as he tries to cover up miniature geysers along the way. The mussel then squirts water at him. Pluto barks at the mussel and the mussel barks back. The mussel gets trapped on Pluto`s tail after they fight. He pulls the mussel up and attempts to shove it off his tail but instead he pulls the mussel up and down like a yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
. The mussel accidentally gets stuck in his mouth
Mouth
The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
. Pluto then rushes to Mickey for assistance. At first Mickey thinks that Pluto is asking for food and feeds him a hotdog
HotDog
HotDog is the name of the HTML web editing tool developed by Sausage Software in the mid-1990s. At the time of its development, there were only a small number of HTML editors available on the market and HotDog gathered significant interest from web users due to its ease of use and "What you see...
. The mussel then steals Mickey's sandwich and a full pepper shaker which causes the mussel to sneeze thus freeing itself from Pluto's mouth. The mussel bounces around sneezing and wakes up a pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
that decides to eat the mussel. The sneezing mussel escapes the pelican by entering the sea. The hungry pelican steals the hotdog that Mickey is feeding Pluto instead. The pelican then sets his sights on the fish bait Mickey is using and unsuccessfully attempts to steal the fish while the line is being cast. Dejected but determined, the pelican then sits on top of Mickey's hat and easily steals the fish as he is baiting the hook until Mickey shoos the pelican away. He then floats under the hat to the other bait bucket and again eats the fish until Pluto notices and shoos him away. The pelican by tying up Pluto using his own tail and ears. Mickey again catches the pelican in his bait and after the bird tries to fly away carrying the bait, Mickey throws a rock in it which weighs it down. To overcome this, the pelican spells out "FREE FRESH FISH" using flag semaphore
Flag semaphore
Semaphore Flags is the system for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags; it is read when the flag is in a fixed position...
to get the other pelicans to chase Mickey and Pluto away. The short ends with the pelican floating away with fish in his mouth singing the song "The Simple Things".