The Cactus Kid (1930)

Mickey finds himself down old Mexico way as he approaches a cantina where Minnie tends bar. He does some fancy dancing but grabs her nose and the next thing you know, everything that isn't bolted down comes flying at him. Also, to make matters worse, Pete shows up and puts the moves on Minnie. There is quite a shootout in the dark and Pete and Minnie ride away. Mickey and his horse pursue them. Lots of dancing and the usual ending.

Minnie sure fought with Mickey a lot in the earlier cartoons like this one, not liking his dance moves at first, but warmed to his many clever styles and piano skills. There is much catchy music in this one including the Can-Can, set to the galloping chase between Mickey and Peg-Leg Pete, whom had kidnapped Minnie. A clever little cartoon, overall. Grade B+

This is an early Disney cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. There will be spoilers ahead:This is, in some ways, The Gallopin' Gaucho, V 2.0. The two cartoons are instructive as to the improvement in Disney's shorts. The short is tighter, the animation is better and there's more of a plot here, Both shorts are enjoyable but this one is just a touch better, Mickey rides up to a cantina, enters and through his exuberance, annoys Minnie. Trying to make amends, Mickey winds up at the piano. Pegleg Pedro (Pete) comes in and annoys Minnie even more than Mickey did. Mickey moves to defend Minnie's honor and things escalate.There's actually a gun battle between Mickey and Pete, before Pete grabs Minnie, rides away and the chase is on. There are some nice visual gags, with a bit of repetition, during the chase. Of course, in the end, virtue triumphs and Pete has a really bad day. The end gag is nice.This short is on the Mickey Mouse In Black and White, Volume Two Disney Treasures DVD set and is well worth looking for.

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.Mickey Mouse - THE CACTUS KID - must try to save cantina hostess Minnie from the foul clutches of bandito Peg-leg Pete.Although Disney used this basic plot formula many times, this little black & white film is still fun to watch. The South of the Border soundtrack propels the action right along. Horace Horsecollar plays the Kid's faithful steed; Walt Disney provides Mickey's squeaky voice.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.