HOW MUCH IS THAT GORILLA IN THE WINDOW?

ORIGINALLY POSTED 9-25-2008



I believe THE PET STORE (1933) rounds out a trilogy of 30's Disney gorilla toons. Mickey finds himself at the mercies of an ape with delusions of KONG sized proportions. The Empire State riff is a delight to watch - I never get tired of tributes to the undisputed giant of Hollywood.

Previous Disney ape entries:
FIGHT CLUB - "Mickey's Mechanical Man"
Mickey and THE GORILLA MYSTERY (1930)

FIGHT CLUB

ORIGINALLY POSTED 8-12-2008

Watching THE MONSTER AND THE APE has me all fired up about robots and apes and wouldn't ya know? - it was not the first joining of the two. Years prior to the serial, Walt Disney had Mickey Mouse create a Mechanical Man to battle a ferocious ape, the Kongo Killer. The wild gorilla is something to behold and the sound design for the creature is downright blood curdling. Who shall triumph in this titanic tussle of machine vs muscle? My money is on Mickey!

MICKEY AND THE GORILLA MYSTERY (1930)

ORIGINALLY POSTED 7-23-2008

THE GORILLA MYSTERY perfectly illustrates the perceptions of Depression era audiences regarding apes. The beast who snatches up Minnie is a loathsome, toothsome, snarling, drooling brute with talon like fingers and a nasty demeanor. The cartoon is simple enough, but takes it's cues from popular Dark House mysteries of the period. It's interesting to note that Mickey addresses the gorilla as Mr. Ingagi, a clear sign that the title of the 1930 exploitation film INGAGI had become rapidly synonomous with apes or gorillas.
You can read more about INGAGI at the Gorilla Men Gemora Tribute site.