Moving Day is a Mickey Mouse cartoon that was originally released on June 20, 1936. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions, and released by United Artists. The cartoon, set during the contemporary Great Depression, follows the antics of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy as they frantically pack their belongings after being dispossessed from their home. The film was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and includes the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey, Clarence Nash as Donald, Pinto Colvig as Goofy, and Billy Bletcher as Pete.
Synopsis
Housemates Mickey and Donald are six months overdue on their rent payments. As they worriedly pace the floor, a sheriff arrives, played by Pete, and serves them a "Notice to Dispossess" authorizing him not only to evict and arrest them, but to sell off their belongings as collateral. He menacingly strikes a match on Donald's bill to light his cigar and leaves.
While Pete is outside putting up signs for cheap furniture, Donald and Mickey decide to move before Pete can sell their belongings. Soon, Goofy, employed as an iceman, arrives with a delivery and Mickey and Donald enlist his help and the use of his truck.
While Mickey struggles with an overloaded suitcase, Goofy tries to load an upright piano onto the truck, but the piano keeps rolling out of the truck when he leaves it unattended or when he doesn't notice it. Goofy eventually discovers the piano to have a mind of its own and battles it around the house. Meanwhile, Donald, in his haste to pack everything he sees, grabs a gas heater which was attached to a gas line in the wall. Seeing the leaking gas, he casually plugs it with a toilet plunger, but the pressure in the line shoots the plunger out and it sticks to Donald's bottom. He struggles to remove the plunger, but soon finds himself grappling with a fishbowl instead.
Just as Donald is able to free himself, he gets his bill stuck in the leaking gas line. His body fills with gas like a balloon until he shoots off the pipe and flies around the room. Outside, Pete hears the commotion, comes inside, and orders them to sit down and listen immediately. Unaware of the gas leak, he again strikes a match on Donald's bill to light another cigar. The catastrophic explosion which follows destroys the house, yet miraculously seems to throw most of Mickey and Donald's possessions (including the piano) into the back of Goofy's truck. As they are driving away, Pete, sitting amid the wreckage with a "For Sale" sign over his head, yells after them from a second story bathtub "Hey you! Come back here!", but accidentally turns on the shower head drenching himself in hot water. As Donald laughs at Pete's misfortune, the same toilet plunger from before lands on Donald's tail setting him off in a fit of quacking.
Characters
- Mickey Mouse (voiced by Walt Disney)
- Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash)
- Goofy (voiced by Pinto Colvig)
- Pete (voiced by Billy Bletcher)
Releases
Television
- Disneyland, episode #2.12: "The Goofy Success Story"
- The Mouse Factory, episode #1.8: "Man at Work"
- Good Morning, Mickey, episode #21
- Donald Duck Presents, episode #9
- Lifestyles of the Rich and Animated
- Donald's Quack Attack, episode #16
- The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.26: "Classic Donald"
Home video
VHS
- Mickey Knows Best
- Goofy's Greatest Hits
DVD
- Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color
- Classic Cartoon Favorites: Starring Mickey
Trivia
- This is the first depiction of Pete in color. It is also the first time he does not have a peg leg, but rather two regular legs instead.
- The "Dispossess" word on the contract in the short was the same as Alice in Wonderland, when the words start to turn red and white fast.
- It is the first time Goofy wears his trademark wardrobe, including his long-sleeved turtleneck shirt, his worn-out pants, and his floppy shoes.
- Beginning with this cartoon, Donald has been redesigned to look rounder and cuter, although his neck and bill are still long. It is not until Donald and Pluto later that year when Donald's official look has been finalized.
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