Walt Disney’s 1932 “Mickey’s Good Deed”

Early in his career, Mickey Mouse starred in the 1932 Christmas themed “Mickey’s Good Deed”, an animated black and white short film that was released during the Depression years. This film has resurfaced throughout the years and was re-issued to theaters in 1974. Released just prior to Christmas on the seventeenth of December in 1932, “Mickey’s Good Deed” was directed by Burt Gillett who had overseen many of Disney’s short subjects, including the 1933 “Three Little Pigs”. 

The voice of Mickey Mouse was provided by Walt Disney himself, a role he performed until 1947. The voice of Plute in this film was done by Pinto Colvig, known for being the original voice of Goofy. Although originally in black and white, it was eventually colorized for future showings. Released in home video compilations, it was also retitled for some releases as “Mickey Plays Santa” and “Mickey’s Lucky Break”. 

In addition to the warmth and humor in “Mickey’s Good Deed”, there are also scenes involving orphaned kittens in a dilapidated house and a scene in which Mickey is forced to sell Pluto to a family of pigs so he can care for the kittens. Of course there is a happy ending as Pluto runs from the pigs’ house carrying their turkey dinner, and later emerges through the snow to his Mickey. As they eat their turkey dinner, Mickey declares “Merry Christmas” to Pluto.