Mickey Mouse in Haunted House and The Opry House

Directed by Walt Disney
Produced by Walt Disney Productions

In Haunted House, our verminous hero finds himself stuck in the middle of a terrible storm. He seeks refuge in a dilapidated home, but soon learns this haven may be more terrifying than anything Mother Nature can dish out. Will the home's undead occupants prove too much for Mickey? Or will he be able to keep them toe-tapping to some organ music long enough to make his escape?

In The Opry House, the rascally rodent performs a vaudeville show for the residents of a small town. The mouse is literally a one man show. He sweeps the theater's porch, performs every role and plays every instrument. But will he be able to handle all of these responsibilities?


After the giddy kick-in-the-pants that was Steamboat Willie, I was excited to revisit some more of Walt Disney's early Mickey Mouse cartoons. The animator's sound breakthrough reveled in the hero's mischievous attitude and the short's innovative use of music and noise.

Sadly, these shorts feel like a bit of a step back. Mickey never really gets to shine through as a character. In Haunted House, he enters a house, gets frightened by some spiders and bats, and is forced to play music for a room full of skeletons. Stuff happens to him and he just passively takes it.

In The Opry House, he's just putting on his show. There's not a lot of conflict he's dealing with (except for his efforts to fit a portly audience member through the front door).

Both shorts are gag-driven and I could forgive the issues above if they were funny, but they're not. Haunted House is monotonously boring. Skeletons dancing over and over. At least The Opry House switched things up a bit by having Mickey perform different numbers. Even these though seemed more a showcase for an animation style (which is unavoidably dated) than for producing laughs.

Throw a racist portrayal of Mickey as a Hasidic Jew into the mix and I get nothing but disappointment. The Opry House is slightly better than The Haunted House, but both are pale shadows of Steamboat Willie.

Photos from Wayfaring Mouse and Mickey Mouse Cartoon