Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Birth of An Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation

Nicholas Sammond, Author
Performance, page 17 of 25
Previous page on path     Next page on path

 

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Performance, Page 70

Celebrations of Walt Disney typically praise Steamboat Willie (1928) as the first sound cartoon... a claim that is at least four years off. (The Fleischers, for one, were producing sound cartoons as early as 1924.) More significantly, though, they often fail to note that Mickey Mouse performs a minstrel-show standard, "Old Zip Coon," on the bodies of the farm animals he is transporting on the paddle wheel steamer on which he is first mate. 

In the days when minstrel shows were more common, Mickey's minstrel makeup and gloves, and his choice of music, would have been more immediately recognizable. Today it is less obvious to contemporary audiences. Compare this cartoon to Mickey's Mellerdrammer (1934).
Comment on this page
  • Local Discussion
    •
  • Popout
    •
 

Discussion of "Performance, Page 70"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Performance, page 17 of 25 Next page on path
Walt Disney    Minnie Mouse    Zip Coon    Cartoons    Black and White

Related:  Race, Page 252,  Race, Page 224,  Race, Page 247,  Introduction, Page 6,  Labor, Page 122,  Performance, Page 52,  Labor, Page 88,  Race, Page 239,  Race, Page 231,  Performance, Page 74,  Space, Page 148,  Space, Page 143,  Space, Page 172,  Labor, Page 119,  Performance, Page 54,  Race, Page 248,  Space, Page 175,  Conclusion, Page 298,  Labor, Page 133,  Conclusion, Page 289,  Race, Page 229,  Introduction, Page 26,  Space, Page 146,  Labor, Page 109,  Performance, Page 44,  Performance, Page 47,  Labor, Page 132,  Performance, Page 50,  Labor, Page 128,  Race, Page 232,  Performance, Page 46,  Performance, Page 84,  Labor, Page 110,  Labor, Page 98,  Space, Page 178,  Space, Page 193,  Introduction, Page 2,  Space, Page 177,  Space, Page 152,  Labor, Page 112,  Introduction, Page 30,  Conclusion, Page 300,  Performance, Page 72,  Performance, Page 34,  Conclusion, Page 292,  Space, Page 162,  Space, Page 190,  Labor, Page 101,  Performance, Page 35,  Labor, Page 113,  Space, Page 181,  Race, Page 220,  Space, Page 150,  Introduction, Page 14,  Space, Page 141,  Conclusion, Page 302,  Race, Page 204,  Labor, Page 102,  Performance, Page 77,  Race, Page 254,  Conclusion, Page 290,  Race, Page 230,  Race, Page 245,  Space, Page 188,  Space, Page 197,  Labor, Page 123,  Performance, Page 45,  Race, Page 261,  Space, Page 187,  Introduction, Page 21,  Race, Page 225,  Race, Page 235,  Space, Page 165,  Introduction, Page 29,  Race, Page 221,  Space, Page 155,  Conclusion, Page 291,  Performance, Page 42,  Space, Page 182,  Space, Page 194,  Conclusion, Page 304,  Space, Page 189,  Labor, Page 129,  Race, Page 253,  Performance, Page 82,  Conclusion, Page 296,  Race, Page 251,  Race, Page 258,  Race, Page 206,  Conclusion, Page 286