Runaway Brain is an Academy Award-nominated animated short film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and starring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto. It was released on August 11, 1995, attached to the feature A Kid in King Arthur's Court (including the cancelled prints of 101 Dalmatians). In international theaters, it was shown in front of A Goofy Movie.
Plot
On a dark and stormy evening, Minnie comes home to find Mickey playing a Mortal Kombat-inspired Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs video game and becomes angry over Mickey having forgotten that tonight is the anniversary of their first date. Mickey comes up with the last-minute idea to take her to a miniature golf course and shows her a newspaper ad for it, but she instead notices another ad for a trip to Hawaii, which costs $999.99, and mistakes it for Mickey's gift. Mickey frets over how he can make enough money for the trip when Pluto shows him an ad to work with a mad scientist named Dr. Frankenollie for a day of "mindless work" that would pay the amount of money Mickey needs.
Upon reaching the home of the primate-like Dr. Frankenollie, Mickey is dropped down a trapdoor into Frankenollie's laboratory; the doctor reveals a plan to switch Mickey's brain with that of his enormous monster, Julius. The experiment causes an explosion that kills Frankenollie, but the brain transfer is a success, with Mickey's mind ending up in Julius' giant body and Julius in control of Mickey's body.
The dimwitted and insane Julius finds Mickey's wallet and notices a photo of Minnie, whom he instantly becomes smitten with. He escapes from the laboratory and finds Minnie while she is shopping for swimwear; Minnie immediately mistakes Julius for Mickey. Mickey arrives in Julius' body to save Minnie, but Minnie becomes terrified of his appearance and screams for help, until Mickey convinces her of who he is and places her on the top of a skyscraper.
Julius continues to pursue Minnie, leading to a battle between Mickey and Julius during which they land on a telephone line and get zapped, switching their minds back to their original bodies. Mickey continues to fight Julius, the two of them reaching the top of the tower, where Mickey manages to rescue Minnie as well as tie Julius down with rope. Mickey uses a huge billboard for a Hawaiian vacation getaway to suspend Julius over the city streets, with the monster reeling up and down like a yo-yo.
Finally, Mickey and Minnie travel to Hawaii together on an inflatable boat pulled by Julius as he swims after the photo of Minnie in Mickey's wallet, which is attached to a fishing line held by Mickey.
Cast
- Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse
- Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse
- Kelsey Grammer as Doctor Frankenollie
- Jim Cummings as Julius (listed as "Monster" in the credits)
- Bill Farmer as Pluto
Development
When the film was first being pitched, Dr. Frankenollie's role was played by Professor Ecks from Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comic strip storyline Blaggard Castle, though studio executives didn't go for it and the new character was created.
Most of the animation for this short was produced at Walt Disney Animation France S.A.
Release
After the theatrical runs of A Kid in King Arthur's Court, A Goofy Movie, and George of the Jungle, Disney kept Runaway Brain out of circulation because of its use of an "evil Mickey" character and the darkly comedic death of the professor.
Home video releases
- VHS
- Mickey's Greatest Hits
- LaserDisc
- Mickey's Greatest Hits
- DVD
- Blu-ray
- Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection (Disney Movies Anywhere Debut/Exclusive)
In other media
- Julius appears as an optional secret boss in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in Traverse Town.
- Runaway Brain has been adapted in print twice: as a 1996 comic in Le Journal de Mickey[1]- later translated and released in an October 2004 issue of Gemstone's Mickey and Friends[2],and in a 2009 picture book Disney Scary Stories[3].
Trivia
- This was the first traditionally-animated Mickey Mouse theatrical short to be produced using digital ink-and-paint, as opposed to traditional hand-painted cel animation.
- Zazu makes two cameos in the short.
- The first one is where he was being sucked into Frankenollie's lab with Mickey.
- And the second one where he came out of Julius' mouth as he was roaring at Mickey.
- In one frame of the scene where Minnie angrily reminds Mickey about their anniversary, a model of the Constitution Refit USS Enterprise from the Paramount Star Trek Movies can be seen in the background.
- When the video-game Dopey is killed, the "Wilhelm scream" is heard.
- On Mickey's wall is a poster with a picture of a mousetrap, labeled Just Say No.
- Julius finds a black and white picture of Mickey from Steamboat Willie in Mickey's wallet (to which Mickey comments, "Oh, that's old."). During the end credits you also hear a modern Hawaiian-themed version of the tune from that particular cartoon.
- Mickey's arrival on the street of Dr. Frankenollie imitates the poster of the famous horror movie The Exorcist, a joint production of Warner Bros. and Hoya Productions, and it was released in 1973.
- As Mickey is falling down the trap-door chute, a pink-slip with the initials "J.K." is glimpsed fluttering down the chute with him. This is a reference to the firing of Jeffrey Katzenberg from The Walt Disney Company just the previous year.
- Runaway Brain was also planned to be attached to 101 Dalmatians but was pulled out of theaters at the last minute so that trailers for Hercules, That Darn Cat, Jungle 2 Jungle, and George of the Jungle could play instead.
- At the beginning of the short, Mickey seems to be playing the video game on a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which is a reference to the many games he and many Disney co-stars appeared on that particular console.
- This movie was mentioned in Epic Mickey when Oswald asks Mickey for more confessions, which he doesn't have any. Oswald then lists some things, one being "brain-swapping". Even though Mickey took part in it, he didn't have the idea to do it.
- For unknown reasons prior to 2017, the restored Disney Movies Anywhere-exclusive digital version of this short film strangely used the 2011 Miramax logo at the beginning (followed by the retained 1995 Walt Disney Pictures logo) and the closing Miramax logo at the very end. (Miramax was formerly owned by Disney from 1993 to 2010.)
- As of October 12, 2017, the Miramax logo has been removed from the Movies Anywhere release of the short, typically correcting the error.
- While Wayne Allwine continued voicing Mickey Mouse in cameos from theatrically released films, this would be the last time Wayne Allwine voiced Mickey in a theatrical short.
- This is the last theatrical Mickey Mouse cartoon to be entirely traditionally animated.
- When Mickey in Julius' body confronts Julius in Mickey's body, he says "You monster, me Mickey", which is a reference to Mickey saying to Friday, "You Friday, me Mickey" in the short Mickey's Man Friday.
- At one point, Mickey says to Julius, "Mickey Mouse. You know? Mickey Mouse?" and puts out his hand. This is a reference to The Pointer.
Gallery
Screenshots
Miscellaneous
External links
Runaway Brain on Wikipedia
Runaway Brain at D23, The Official Disney Fan Club- Why you may never see Runaway Brain, Disney’s monstrous Mickey short (Polygon)
References
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