| The Spirit of Mickey | |
| Producer: | Harry Arends Phil Savenick Darryl Harris |
| Music: | Andrew Belling |
| Editing: | Darryl Harris Robert P. Schneider |
| Distributor: | Walt Disney Home Video |
| Runtime: | 83 mins |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Spirit of Mickey is an American animated direct-to-video anthology film, produced and released by Walt Disney Home Video on July 14, 1998.[1] It features clips from The Mickey Mouse Club, The Wonderful World of Disney, and A Goofy Movie, in the introductory scene, and some of the namesake character's shorts, including The Band Concert, Lend a Paw, Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip and Steamboat Willie.[2] [3]
The framing devices are centered on Mickey Mouse and his friends hosting an event at which they present some of Mickey's greatest cartoons to an audience of orphans, using archival footage from The Mickey Mouse Club, Disney's Wonderful World of Color, A Goofy Movie, and various Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck shorts. None of the shorts were shown with their original title cards, instead, the titles were shown on the corner of the screen, disappearing after a few seconds, with an exception for the final short, Steamboat Willie.
| Title | Release date | Director | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Band Concert | Walt Disney/Wilfred Jackson | ||
| 2 | Thru the Mirror | David Hand | ||
| 3 | Lend a Paw | Clyde Geronimi | ||
| 4 | Orphan's Picnic | Ben Sharpsteen | ||
| 5 | The Worm Turns | Ben Sharpsteen | ||
| 6 | Mickey's Surprise Party (redubbed) | Hamilton Luske | ||
| 7 | Mickey and the Seal | Charles August Nichols | ||
| 8 | Mickey's Trailer | Ben Sharpsteen | ||
| 9 | Canine Caddy | Clyde Geronimi | ||
| 10 | Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip | Clyde Geronimi | ||
| 11 | Steamboat Willie | Walt Disney/Ub Iwerks |
Sources:[5]
The compilation was produced in celebration of the 70th anniversary of Mickey Mouse.[6] Stan Deneroff, then Director of Programming and Product Development for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment selected older cartoons from the Disney archives which would then be presented together with new interstitial segments of rotoscoped Disney characters setting up and introducing each short.[6] While Mickey was not the primary focus in all the cartoons, with some of the included shorts including Mickey as part of an ensemble or a supporting capacity, Deneroff felt it was important to show Mickey in various positions throughout his run including in relation to his co-stars.[6]
Consumers could receive an instant $5 rebate after purchasing the video and two Sea & Ski suncare products, and a $5 mail-in rebate with the purchase of five Expressions from Hallmark cards.[7]