I have seen this film multiple times and have always had a problem with parts of it, so I dug it out again to give it another try. I hate to be over-critical about the first of anything in film and I did chuckle a couple times, while watching Steamboat Willie (1928), but there is something missing in this film, that wouldn't be found until later on in film history, for the character of Mickey Mouse. I also felt honored to still be able to see this moment in film history, but it really is amazing how this cartoon would eventually become a zillion-dollar empire. We must also remember it was only a cartoon, but what was up with some of the humor? The comedy in this animated short was very strange, but that may be because I am seeing it from a 21st century perspective too much. As part of the audience, we need to remember to put ourselves into the appropriate frame of mind, when watching older films, or the humor might ruin the film for you.
Case in point; the owner of the steamboat orders Mickey to go below deck and peel potatoes. While Mickey is gone, the owner (a character, that is in the design of a bull), enjoys his spitting tobacco. It may be weird to us today, seeing that kind of a scene in a cartoon, but it's also important to remember that, this far back in film history, even an animated short like this, was still geared towards adults, as much as towards kids. It was a different time back then. It is totally refreshing seeing Mickey Mouse in his first film adventure ever, but if we remove the last 100 years and look at the film on its own, it looked to me like they got off on a bad start. Even the animated shorts of Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry, had personalities, that came from the screen, in their animated shorts, but it is missing in this film. Was it a sign of the times? Obviously, I am not really looking for much of a plot in an 8 minute cartoon, but give me something. Watch this only for historical purposes, because anything else is really non-existent. Give Mickey a couple more years to cook. He eventually conquers the world.
6.2 (D+ MyGrade) = 6 IMDB.
Case in point; the owner of the steamboat orders Mickey to go below deck and peel potatoes. While Mickey is gone, the owner (a character, that is in the design of a bull), enjoys his spitting tobacco. It may be weird to us today, seeing that kind of a scene in a cartoon, but it's also important to remember that, this far back in film history, even an animated short like this, was still geared towards adults, as much as towards kids. It was a different time back then. It is totally refreshing seeing Mickey Mouse in his first film adventure ever, but if we remove the last 100 years and look at the film on its own, it looked to me like they got off on a bad start. Even the animated shorts of Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry, had personalities, that came from the screen, in their animated shorts, but it is missing in this film. Was it a sign of the times? Obviously, I am not really looking for much of a plot in an 8 minute cartoon, but give me something. Watch this only for historical purposes, because anything else is really non-existent. Give Mickey a couple more years to cook. He eventually conquers the world.
6.2 (D+ MyGrade) = 6 IMDB.