The Band Concert

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Band Concert is a 1935 Walt Disney cartoon in which Mickey Mouse is conductor of an outdoor orchestra.

The orchestra is performing the William Tell overture, but then Donald Duck (in his second appearance in a Mickey cartoon) appears selling ice-cream. Uninvited, Donald takes out his flute and distracts the band into playing Turkey in the Straw. Mickey tries to get rid of Donald by destroying his flute but it turns out the Duck has plenty of replacement flutes on hand.

As the cartoon continues, Mickey's band plays "The Storm" from the overture which seemingly summons an actual tornado. Despite being swept into the air, the Band continues playing regardless, even despite being flung into a tree. Donald plays "Turkey in the Straw" again with another flute, finishing the final notes after another band member throws a tuba on top of him.

Mickey's orchestra has the following lineup: Goofy (clarinet) and a similar character (Gideon Goat?) (trombone), Clarabelle Cow (flute), Horace Horsecollar (percussion), Peter Pig (trumpet), and Paddy Pig (tuba).

The cartoon is notable for being the first Mickey Mouse film in Technicolor. It is said that when conductor Arturo Toscanini first saw the cartoon in a movie theatre, he was so delighted with it that he ran up to the projection booth and asked the projectionist to run it again.

[edit] Video Games

In the Garden area of Disney Castle in Kingdom Hearts II, there is a topiary sculpture of all characters in the band besides Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

The Band Concert was also the basis for, and title of the secret level in the game, Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Sony PlayStation [as Mickey's Wild Adventure]).