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Articles
/ The Evolution
of Minnie Mouse
Minnie
was strictly Mickey's girlfriend until at least the 1940's.
During that decade Minnie was in cartoons with Pluto, and
Figaro. (Yes, Figaro from Pinocchio, somehow he became Minnie's
cat.) Two of the cartoons- "Out of the Flying Pan into the
Firing Line"(1942) and "First Aiders"(1944)- deal directly
with the life of civilian women during World War Two. The
first short was a commercial paid for by the Federal Government.
Minnie is (shown) about to give Pluto bacon grease when he
hears an announcement that the government is collecting fat
for its glycerin. (Which could be used to make explosives.)
Pluto refuses the grease and instead has Minnie package it
so he can take it to a meat shop for collection. "First Aiders"
has Figaro laughing at Pluto as Minnie practices bandages
on him so she can qualify as a First Aider. (This was a real
effort by the Red Cross to train women to take care of victims
of bombing or other kinds of warfare.
Of course,
they never used their skills since after Pearl Harbor and
the Japanese Forces taking of the Philippines and other Pacific
Territories, the United States was not attacked during World
War Two.) This short is probably the source of "Nurse Minnie"
collectables; since First Aiders dressed like nurses. In 1946
Minnie was in one more short with Figaro, "Bath Day". This
is just a standard short with Figaro resisting Minnie's efforts
to bathe him. While Mickey was not in any of these shorts
Minnie was not really the main character. Figaro and Pluto
have almost all the scenes with just short appearances by
Minnie.
In "MouseWorks"
first season Minnie finally gets to be a real main character.
"Purple Pluto" allows her to make a ridiculous mistake, and
then try to literally cover it up. Mickey is in the short,
but Minnie causes the conflict and deals with herself. "Daisy
visits Minnie" has Minnie dealing with a very obnoxious Daisy
Duck, who eventually lets an escaped lion into Minnie's house.
Minnie fights the lion and forgives Daisy after it's all over.
In shorts which feature both Mickey and Minnie ("Hansel and
Gretel" e.g.) Minnie saves Mickey as much as she saves him.
So "MouseWorks" has made Minnie a more "modern woman" and
much more Mickey's equal. Now if they'd just get the girl
a soccer ball.
Special
Thanks to MouseBear for allowing me to use this essay!
