Mousercise is a live-action television series that aired on The Disney Channel, featuring Disney characters and children working out together. It is based on the hit record album of the same name. It began airing on April 18, 1983, when the channel was launched. As such, Mousercise was the second program to ever air on the channel at 8AM, after Good Morning, Mickey!, which aired at 7AM.[1]
Set at the Mickey Mouse Health Club, the show featured Kellyn Plasschaert leading Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters and a group of young "Mousercisers" through a series of exercises: stretching, aerobics, and bending. Often, she is accompanied by a friend named Steve (Steve Stark). The Disney characters in the show are the same walkaround types who would be seen in the parks (albeit in workout clothes) and thus were mute throughout the show. Occasionally, songs from the album would play during the workouts, while other times, it was from a concurrent adult contemporary hit. Kellyn would get creative with her workout moves, from walking like an elephant or Frankenstein's monster to flying a plane. All the while, in between workouts, Kellyn would advise viewers to consult with a doctor before joining in if they had any medical or physical conditions.
After that, there would be a segment known as "Do You Know?", introduced by Mickey and hosted by Steve. Here, Steve would discuss topics of physical well-being or other forms of safety. This would lead to a quasi-educational skit involving Steve and another Disney character, usually Goofy, who, in typical Goofy fashion, would mess up any plan that Steve had.
Then Kellyn and her group would return. This time, they were stretched on floor mats for more workout-influenced story routines imagined by Kellyn. This was then followed by a cooldown. Finally, at the end of the show, Kellyn would advise viewers to "keep on Mousercising" before ending the show with another workout, with the Mousercisers, the Disney characters and Steve. Later episodes would also include a character simply named Coach, who would also advise the Mousercisers on good health.
Cover for the special videotape release
In 1985, a special version of Mousercise was released on home video, starring Kellyn, Mickey and a smaller group of kids, all comparatively older than the children on the TV show, with an emphasis more on performance, as well as health tips from Kellyn.
Mousercise was removed from the channel when it began airing commercial breaks in 1997 as a result of the move from a premium service to basic cable. There are currently no plans to release Mousercise (either the original series or the videotape special) on DVD from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment or the Disney+ streaming service (not yet).
Home video releases[]
Aside from the videotape special, no episode of the show was released in the United States, although select episodes were released on home video in the United Kingdom and Australia, as part of a series of special "Disney Channel" videotapes, which also featured sample episodes from Good Morning, Mickey!, Welcome to Pooh Corner, The Mouse Factory, and Donald Duck Presents.
Cast[]
- Kellyn Plasschaert - Herself
- Steve Stark - Steve
- Jack Wagner - Mickey Mouse
Gallery[]
References[]
