Mickey Mouse in Vietnam (1969) User Reviews

Simple Animation, Creepy Message

[Kalashnikovin · 6/10 · 13 August 2022]

Mickey Mouse is the most famous cartoon character of all time, since 1928 he has starred in multiple cartoons and apparently in 1968 he also starred in a Propaganda Cartoon against the Vietnam War.

This short was lost for decades, until it was discovered and uploaded to YouTube, and boy is it grim...

The short is about Mickey seeing a sign that says "Join the Army" Mickey without expression enlists and when he goes by ship to Vietnam he ends up being killed by a sniper and when he falls to the ground we see him die while blood drips from his head, that makes him called propaganda?, the truth this must have been chilling in its time and even, 5 decades later, it is still disturbing to see how Mickey dies.

The Animation is not great, it is quite simple and not very fluid, do not expect to see the incredible backgrounds and fluid Animation that existed in the 40s, here we are simply facing empty backgrounds and simple animation, do not expect color either, this is White and Black.

The truth was an attempt at Scary Propaganda, seeing an iconic character die in that way is Rough, although the historical value makes this interesting to Criticize.

In itself, This propaganda is not the best, its message is sudden and too ruthless, it could be implemented in a better way but that Ending with Mickey Dying makes this more interesting than it already is.

Being a short duration footage I can not comment more.

For everything I said above, This Footage Gets a 6.

Basic message and delivery but yet the final shot makes it creepily effective

[bob the moo · 9 February 2014]

Having recently watched Donald Duck be a Nazi in a propaganda film from World War II, I came to this film without knowing much but presuming it is probably something similar. Of course within seconds it is clear that this comparatively basic animation is nothing official and it is actually a protest film against the war in Vietnam, where the death of American youth is made incredibly obvious by essentially enlisting and killing that most American of popular culture characters – Mickey Mouse.

As a film it is effective in how simple it appears but yet how it ends. The looped animation on a few simple scenes lead to a death scene which is sudden and allows for a sudden shift of tone as we see the light fade from Mickey's eyes – it is strangely effective although it by all rights shouldn't be given how short and basic the film is. The lack of sound is distracting at first (I checked to see if my volume was muted – like many I imagine) but on thinking about it, I think the basics of it meant that sound would have dominated the visuals and it does work without sound.

It is a curio film and worth a look just to see it because it is quite simple and basic, however at the same time the very simple delivery and very simple point is surprisingly effective and the change to Mickey's face in that final shot is dramatic and memorable.

1/10

[arielsiere · 1/10 · 22 May 2022]

The worst show ever in 1969, not only that, they make some Mickey Mouse fanatics look like the bad guy, the worst short from world war 2 an absolute mess i have ever heard whoever created this short should be executed for good.

The dark side of the '60s; as "underground" as it gets.

[moogyboy · 10/10 · 25 January 2018]

There's not really much to spoil here: in the course of one minute, a happy-go-lucky Mickey joins the Army, ships out to Vietnam, gets a VC bullet through his head moments after landing. The final long zoom-in on the dead Disney star is an incredibly powerful image; you can see every young person who fell in that war lying there in his place without having to squint.

This has all the hallmarks of an underground work, the grainy and cheap anonymity of something dangerous created in a a basement or a back room after midnight by persons unknown--counterfeit Disney with a very dark streak, violence instead of sex. "Tijuana bibles" and radical comix of the time period come to mind when watching this, but as a film one wonders where and by whom it could have been seen. If this were made today it would probably have a healthy following on YouTube as one of those mysterious creepypasta videos that fuel so many Reddit discussions.

My review is based on the version on YouTube linked from the Lost Media Wiki, which includes a modern (and extremely effective) addition of a System Of A Down song on the soundtrack.

The '60s is, decades later, a harmless high-kitsch parody of itself as seen through the mass-media nostalgia filter; when you don your Deluxe Hippie Costume Set from the Halloween store and greet your neighbor with a faux-stoned "peace, maaaan!", do you remember what your assumed character is referring to? In this uncomfortable artifact of a bygone era, Mickey has volunteered his life to remind you.

Oh no they didn't

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 27 April 2016]

"Mickey Mouse in Vietnam" is a really short movie from almost 50 years ago and it features the world's most famous cartoon character (I guess) delivering an anti-war statement here. It was the days of Vietnam War and many were against the American involvement. This also includes Lee Savage and Dave Dixon. This duo came up with this work here and the entire thing only runs for roughly 70 seconds. Mickey decides to go to war, arrives in Vietnam in his uniform and is immediately killed. Oh no. The story or animation is almost entirely forgettable I would say. The only reason this one has some cinematic value is because it depicts the political climate of its time. That's really all there is to it. Interestingly enough Disney himself made many pro-War cartoons during World War II, even if these included mostly Donald and not Mickey. Not much to see here and I don't recommend it. Says a lot that Savage and Dixon did not manage successful careers in the film industry. Their work here is really more of a political statement than a movie. Thumbs down.

Bleak, but effective

[Rectangular_businessman · 6 April 2024]

Short Subject (Better known as Mickey Mouse in Vietnam) is a brief underground animation satirizing the way in which the American youth was lured to fight in the Vietnam War through fake promises of fame and glory, just for many of them to die in that senseless conflict.

Here, Mickey symbolizes the innocence and naivete of these young soldiers, crushed by the tragic, violent reality of war. In that sense, the short manages to deliver its message in a pretty effective manner disregard of any technical limitation.

However, I must say the first version of this short I saw a few years ago (which was entirely silent, before the original soundtrack was eventually rediscovered) had a much eerier vibe, giving a bleaker impression.