Mickey's 60th Birthday

Mickey's 60th Birthday is a 1988 television special broadcast on The Magical World of Disney on November 13, 1988 on NBC.[1] As the title suggests, it was produced for the 60th anniversary of the Mickey Mouse character. Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit (which had been recently released at the time), much of the footage featured in the film is live-action with newly made animation (although some of the animation used for some scenes was made from existing footage) provided by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. It was rebroadcast on Disney Channel Europe on November 18, 2008 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the special, as well as Mickey's 80th birthday.

Mickey's 60th Birthday
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Written byJoie Albrecht
Scott Garen
Directed byScott Garen
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Producer(s)Walt Disney Television
Murakami-Wolf-Swenson
Garen/Albrecht Productions Inc.
DistributorBuena Vista Television
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseNovember 13, 1988 (1988-11-13)
Chronology
Preceded byDonald Duck's 50th Birthday

As an NBC spectacular, the special features the cast of several contemporary NBC television shows, including Family Ties, Cheers, Hunter, L.A. Law and The Cosby Show.[2]

Plot

Mickey Mouse's 60th Birthday special is being taped and as his appearance in the show draws to a close, Mickey finds himself trying to decide how he should present himself to his audience. Rummaging through an old trunk, he finds the magic hat from The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia and considers using it, but he is warned by the sorcerer who owns the hat (who was not Yen Sid) that he shouldn't be using other people's magic when he has his own, which Mickey initially doesn't understand. With that in mind, Mickey goes out on stage along with his birthday cake, provided by Roger Rabbit, who realizes that he placed a stick of dynamite on the cake instead of a candle. In his attempt to put the dynamite out, Roger ends up destroying the set, which prompts Mickey to use the magic from the hat to repair the damage. The audience screams for more and Mickey agrees to do so, but when he does, he suddenly vanishes.

The sorcerer, annoyed that Mickey disobeyed his warning, decides to teach the Mouse how to find his own kind of magic, by casting a spell on him in which anyone he runs into fails to recognize him as Mickey Mouse. The Mouse is then returned to the real world, where he's found by Andy Keaton of Family Ties, who mistakenly believes him to be a good impression of the real thing. Andy shows Mickey off to Mallory and Jennifer, but when they're not convinced, even Andy turns him down. Dejected, Mickey goes to the bar from Cheers, only to realize he has no money to buy himself a drink. He then sings the "Happy Birthday" song to Rebecca Howe, cheering her up so much that she takes him out to dinner and a movie.

Meanwhile, The Walt Disney Company has organized a search party, led by Sergeant Rick Hunter (from Hunter) to find the missing Mickey, which was reported on a local news show. In the process, anchorpersons Dudley Goode (John Ritter) and Mia Loud (Jill Eikenberry) begin to suspect Donald Duck after being told of how upset he was that he wasn't going to appear in Mickey's special. Their suspicions go even further when they find old footage in Donald's trash of Donald doing his own version of The Mickey Mouse Club theme song, and Donald is soon arrested after he tries (unsuccessfully) to testify his innocence (he claimed that the kidnapper was either Minnie Mouse, "the guy who framed Roger Rabbit", the Wicked Witch or Porky Pig). Donald is to be represented by the legal firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak. As they continue with their reports on the search, the reporters show various clip montages of Mickey and various tributes.

As the special nears its end, Mickey returns to Disneyland, where a custodian (Cheech Marin) mopes over the fact that he can't see any point in his profession if the guest of honor isn't going to show up for his own birthday party. A fellow custodian (Phylicia Rashad) then sings a song called "It's Magic" to cheer him up, with Mickey accompanying the ensuing song-and-dance number. At this point, the sorcerer reappears and congratulates Mickey now that he's finally found his own magic inside him and thus breaks the spell. Just as the sorcerer exits, Roger rushes up to Mickey and instantly recognizes him. The news of Roger having "found" Mickey is brought to the news and the innocent Donald is released from jail just in time to join Mickey's birthday celebration. Soon, a parade appears, taking Mickey to the Disneyland Castle, where Minnie is. People in the parade throw him up to the balcony of the castle where Minnie is standing. Finally, Mickey and Minnie are reunited.

Also making cameo appearances are several reporters for NBC stations, including Allison Rosati of WGRZ-TV and Sue Simmons of WNBC-TV.

Cast
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References
  1. Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Hyperion Books. pp. 135–136, 537. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 297. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
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