The Gallopin' Gaucho
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The Gallopin' Gaucho was the second film featuring Mickey Mouse to be produced, following Plane Crazy and preceding Steamboat Willie. However The Walt Disney Company failed to distribute it at first. The film was the third Mickey Mouse short to be released (on December 30, 1928.)
Both Mickey and Minnie Mouse had already made their debutes with the release of Plane Crazy on May 15, 1928. However the film had failed to catch the attention of the audience. The Gallopin' Gaucho was a second attempt at success by co-directors Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The latter also served as the sole animator for it.
As the title implies, the short was intended as a parody of Douglas Fairbanks' The Gaucho, a film first released on November 21, 1927. Following the original film, the events of the short take place in the Pampas of Argentina with Mickey cast as the gaucho of the title.
He is introduced riding on a Rhea instead of a horse as would be expected (or an ostrich as often reported). He soon reaches local bar and restaurant Cantina Argentina. He enters the establishment with the apparent intent to relax with some drinking and tobacco smoking.
Already present are resident barmaid and dancer Minnie Mouse and a fellow customer. The latter is Black Pete and is soon introduced as a wanted outlaw. Pete had already been established as an antagonist in both the Alice Comedies and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. However this short marks his first encounter with either Mickey or Minnie. The latter pair also appear unfamiliar to each other. The short apparently depicts their initial encounter.
Minnie performs the tango and both customers start flirting with her. Pete then attempts to put an early ending to their emerging rivalry by proceeding in kidnapping her. He escapes on his horse while Mickey gives chase on his rhea and soon catches up to his rival. Pete and Mickey then procced in challenging each other to a sword duel. The latter emerges the victor and finally gets hold of the damsel in distress. The finale has Mickey and Minnie riding the rhea into the distance.
In later interviews, Iwerks would comment that Mickey as featured in The Gallopin' Gaucho was intended to be a swashbuckler, an adventurer modeled after Fairbanks himself. Later audiences would comment on all three characters seeming to come out of rough, lower class backgrounds that little resemble their later versions.
However the feature characters of the short were obscure at best. And reportedly Mickey was at first thought to be much too similar to Oswald, resulting in the apparent lack of interest in him. Walt would soon start to contemplate ways to distinguish the Mickey Mouse series from his previous work and that of his rivals.
The result of his contemplations would be the third Mickey short to be produced, the second to be released and the first to really draw the attention of the audiences: Steamboat Willie. That short featured the same three characters as its predecessor but had the added appeal of being a sound film. It was first released on November 18, 1928 and soon became a hit with the audiences. Sound was then added to both Plane Crazy and Gallopin' Gaucho and they were released again. They became popular hits as well. All three are considered significant in establishing Mickey Mouse as a popular character by the end of 1928.