Like traffic, this cartoon goes all over the place. The voiceovers were a little muffled and hard to understand and the plot was non-existent. But, the black and white animation was great for its day. Grade D+
... View MoreThis is an early Disney cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. There will be spoilers ahead:Mickey is a taxi driver, though his taxi is basically alive, with eyes and a mouth. He stops to pick up a fare (a minor bit character named Percy) and the fun begins. Mickey is accosted by a cop resembling Pegleg Pete but with two whole legs. A slightly different looking character with a peg-leg shows up as a snake-oil salesman later on. I suspect that Pegleg was still in the formative stages here.Mickey drives off with his fare. This is probably the funniest stretch of the short, with gags involving a tiny car, potholes, the meter on Mickey's cab and the disappearing passenger. There's a really nice bit of animation involving Mickey's cab navigating road hazards in here.Mickey reaches his destination without his fare and realizes he's gone just before Minnie runs up needing a ride. Off they go for the next part of the cartoon. Mickey's cab gets a flat, with some nice character animation involving the cab.Mickey tries to re-inflate the tire using a pig as an air pump. This is when the salesman comes in and pours something in the cab's radiator and off we go for the finale. Mickey chases down his cab, which winds up on the back of Clarabelle Cow. The final gag is good.This short is available on the Mickey Mouse In Black and White, Volume Two Disney Treasures DVD set and is well worth tracking down. Recommended.
... View MoreThe summary of "Traffic Troubles" on IMDb pretty much covers everything in this cartoon, so I won't bother to explain in detail what occurs in this one. Suffice to say that Mickey is a cabbie and has a variety of adventures involving a VERY large passenger and his next passenger, Minnie.While there isn't a lot in the way of plot in "Traffic Troubles", it is filled with gags--one after another after another. So, if one of them falls flat, another soon follows that will probably make you laugh. Not a brilliant cartoon or a must-see but pleasantly animated, clever and worth seeing.
... View MoreDisney was always a big part of my childhood. Traffic Troubles wasn't a cartoon that I grew up on, in fact it is a very recent endeavour for me, but it is a great cartoon regardless. The animation is crisp and smooth, with Mickey's facial expressions of frustration very well done and funny. The music is very catchy and has the typical energy you'd expect, while the story is interesting and there are some nice moments of verbal humour which was different as Disney cartoons around this time rarely used it. The characters are all engaging, Pete is delightful in his two appearances, Mickey is still endearing(likewise with Minnie) even back when he was daring and I enjoyed seeing Percy(the opening sequence and his taxi ride is interesting for the fact that it's set entirely in the city), Horace and Clarabelle. What I loved most about Traffic Troubles were the gags, some aren't the most original I've seen but all of them are clever and never less than amusing. The best were the ones with the pothole, the fare meter and the cow("oh heck"). In conclusion, a wonderful cartoon with many gags all of which hit the right buttons. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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