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June 20

June 20, 1936 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Moving Day is Released to Theaters


“Too late! I’m selling your furniture, see?”

On June 20, 1936, the Mickey Mouse short film Moving Day was released to theaters. This short is one of the many that showcased all three leading Disney stars, although was credited only to Mickey. Goofy sings a snippet of his theme song, “The World Owes Me a Living.” The short was directed by Ben Sharpsteen, and stars Walt Disney as Mickey, Clarence Nash as Donald, Pinto Colvig as Goofy, and Billy Bletcher as Pete.

Mickey and Donald are pacing the floor nervously, staring at their calendar as it announces that their rent is six months overdue. As they pace, a loud knocking and ringing of their doorbell alerts the duo, and they run to hide. Finally, Mickey screws up the courage to open the door, and Sheriff Pete bursts in, holding a notice to dispossess. Mickey and Donald stutter that they’ll get the money to pay it, but Pete tells them that it’s too late, then uses Donald’s bill to light his match for his cigar. After Pete leaves, Donald throws a tantrum, but leaps to hide in an umbrella when someone knocks on the door. Outside, the knocking is just Pete nailing a sign to the house with his bare hands, announcing that there will be a sheriff’s sale of everything inside that day.

Goofy arrives as the ice delivery man

Goofy arrives as the ice delivery man

On the other side of the house, the ice delivery man Goofy pulls up in his truck and attempts to bring in a block of ice. When he calls out that he’s here, Mickey and Donald immediately shush him, and then decide they need to pack everything in a hurry and move. Mickey has trouble with over-packing a suitcase, and Goofy battles a piano that refuses to stay on his truck. Goofy and the piano chase each other around the house, with the piano purposefully trying to escape. Meanwhile, Mickey and Donald frantically pack, and when Donald shoves a plunger into a pipe to stop the air from escaping, the air builds up and sends the plunger flying onto Donald’s tail. Donald hears the plunger handle knocking against the floor and is confused by the sound, but once he sees the stuck plunger, he tries in vain to remove it. After finding himself attached to a cord on the ceiling, he finally gets unstuck from the plunger, but lands in a fishbowl. The plunger then lands itself on Donald’s head.

Goofy continues to tease the piano, which finally flies in and sends him flying into the refrigerator. He is undettered by this, however, and sits in the fridge door, enjoying a large piece of watermelon. Donald, at the same time, has managed to remove the plunger from his head, but is still stuck fast to the fishbowl. He uses a pair of suspenders to try and free himself, and when he does, he is sent flying into the pipe he tried to stop up with the plunger. After being filled with air, Donald flies around the house, crashing into Mickey’s packed suitcase, along with many other fragile items. Pete hears the commotion from outside the house and hurriedly enters, angrily demanding the trio to sit down. The three are blown into the wall from the force of Pete’s voice, causing the gas from the pipe to grow in intensity. When Pete tries to light his match for his cigar, the house explodes, leaving Pete stuck in the bathtub. Although Donald laughs at the sheriff’s predicament, he throws a tantrum when he finds that, once again, the plunger is stuck to his tail.

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