| Short Subject | |
|---|---|
Short Subject, without soundtrack | |
| Directed by | Whitney Lee Savage |
| Produced by | Milton Glaser |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production companies | Max Cats and Whittesey Sledge Studios |
Release date | 1969 |
Running time | 1 minute |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Short Subject (commonly known as Mickey Mouse in Vietnam) is a 1969 16 mm anti-war underground animated short film. The director was Whitney Lee Savage (father of Adam Savage)[1] and the producer and head designer was Milton Glaser, who produced it independently with a total running time of one minute.[2] The short was not endorsed by The Walt Disney Company.
The short has the satirical theme of Mickey Mouse volunteering for military service, and getting killed within moments of arriving in Vietnam to fight in the Vietnam War. As it doesn't have a copyright notice, it is in the public domain. However, its sounds, which are taken from other sources, are under copyright.
Mickey Mouse is seen walking happily until he sees a sign reading "Join the Army and See the World" before walking offscreen and coming back with a helmet and gun. He then travels by boat to Vietnam during the war. However, moments after, while walking in the grass, he is shot in the head by an enemy. The short ends with Mickey lying dead on the ground, his smile turning slowly into a frown whilst blood pours from the bullet wound.
The short was produced under the auspices of a studio named Max Cats and Whittesey Sledge Studios. According to Glaser, it was meant for the Angry Arts Festival which, according to him, was "a kind of protest event, inviting artists to produce something to represent their concerns about the war in Vietnam and a desire to end it". Mickey Mouse was chosen due to being a symbol of innocence.[3][4]
The film received an award from the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 1970.[5] According to Glaser it was positively received from the audience.[3][4]
The film was erroneously thought to be lost for many years. It was shown under its French title Mickey au Vietnam or Mickey Mouse au Vietnam at the Festival Côté court de Pantin in France in 1998[6] and 2003.[7] In both cases, the copy came from the French distributor ISKRA.[8] The Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal, Canada, used its own copy in 2004.[9]
On April 22, 2013, YouTube user abadhiggins uploaded the video.[10][11][12][13] Five years later, on July 31, 2018, the full short was uploaded by another YouTube user CDCB2 on a distorted VHS print which is low-faded; this version includes the opening and closing titles, the SMPTE Universal countdown film leader, and a Telecine Compact Video Systems servants entrance Disney segment VHS slide, both of which were absent in the 2013 upload, as well the audio track, which, until then, was assumed to be completely lost. The music prominently used in the soundtrack is The Gonk by Herbert Chappell.[14]
The film was included as part of the 2022 Disney+ documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse.[15][16]
