This article is about the short. For the character, see Mad Doctor.

The Mad Doctor is a black and white Mickey Mouse animated short. It was released in 1933, in which brought the archetype of mad doctor inspired by the character of Dr. Henry Jekyll from Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

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Story

On a dark and stormy night, a cloaked figure kidnaps Pluto from his doghouse. Hearing his pet's cries, Mickey jumps out of bed to rescue him. His search leads him to a creepy castle full of sinister skeletons. Meanwhile, the cloaked figure reveals that he is a mad scientist who wants to see what the result of fusing Pluto and a chicken together would be. Mickey finally finds where his dog is being held, but ends up strapped to a gurney himself with a buzz saw about to cut him in half. In the end, however, like in Mickey's Nightmare it turns out to have been just a dream and Mickey is happily "reunited" with his beloved pet.

Characters

Releases

Television

Home video

Mickey Mouse: The Black and White Years - Volume One (laserdisc)

(laserdisc) Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White (DVD)

Allusions

The short uses the same gag that appears in Haunted House (1929), which has the door lock itself after Mickey enters the house. The animation of a flock of flying bats is also reused from that short.

Reception

The short's horror overtones made it unusual for a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Some theaters refused to show it, believing it to be too scary for kids. At one time, for this reason, it was banned entirely in England.

The short's title character had a cameo in the Roger Rabbit short, Tummy Trouble, in which he was seen on a picture. The Mad Doctor was also the basis for, and title of the second level in the game, Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD and PlayStation (as Mickey's Wild Adventure); a depiction of the Mad Doctor level is used as the cover art for the game.

This cartoon is in the public domain, and can be found on many low budget VHS tapes and DVDs, usually paired with Minnie's Yoo Hoo and The Spirit of '43. It was also released on DVD in 2002 as part of Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse In Black and White.

Trivia

An early title for the film was The Mysterious Castle and served as the inspiration for the Mickey Mouse comic storyline Blaggard Castle .

and served as the inspiration for the comic storyline . This film was banned in Great Britain at one time for being too scary for children.

The Mad Doctor makes a cameo appearance in a picture frame during the hospital scene in the Roger Rabbit short, Tummy Trouble .

short, . This was one of the shorts that were used as a level in the SNES/Sega Genesis game Mickey Mania .

. The Mad Doctor is one of the shorts turned into a Classic Kingdom minigame for Kingdom Hearts III .

. The Mad Doctor himself is a major antagonist in Epic Mickey, with the cartoon itself serving as one of the game's transitional levels as well as an unlockable extra. The Mad Doctor returned as the main antagonist in Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.

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