Alpine Climbers (1936)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Awesome Movie

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"Alpine Climbers" is a movie from before World War II that has its 80th anniversary this year. It is a Walt Disney cartoon that runs slightly under 10 minutes and features Donald, Micky and Pluto on a tour in the mountains. Unluckily for them, and lucky for us, the run into all kinds of different animals and complete chaos ensues quickly. The one downside here is that our trio does not have as much screen time together as I hoped they would. But this does only momentarily take away from the fun. Lots of hilarity in here and at the end we even have two drunk dogs and hands down, the animation is absolutely outstanding for its time. Many filmmakers from the 1960s and 1970s could only have dreamed of that level. I certainly recommend the watch.

Not one of my absolute favourite cartoons, but one I do love Alpine Climbers anyhow. The character designs have been a little better before and since, but still there is a certain charm to them. The colours have a nice contrast between light and dark and the backgrounds are fluid and not too jerky. The music is energetic and dynamic, as you'd expect from a Disney cartoon. The story is simple, but never dull, and all three characters are great. Mickey is good and likable, though it's in the climax where he's at his most involved. For me, while Donald still delights with his frustration and cantankerous personality Pluto is as cute as ever and his moments are the best in Alpine Climbers. All the gags are funny and imaginatively spaced-out, the best being the moment between Pluto and the St Bernard Dog who comes to his aid, though the fun climax and the gag between Donald and the baby goat are just as effective. All in all, great fun. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.ALPINE CLIMBERS Mickey & Donald get themselves into trouble by picking edelweiss & swiping eagle's eggs.This is a very funny little film, which provides fine scope for Donald to vent his famous temper. Incongruously, Pluto is also brought along, but has a humorous inebriated scene with a friendly St. Bernard. Mickey has some good moments, but plays definite second fiddle to Donald. They are voiced by Walt Disney & Clarence Nash, respectively.The snowy-white edelweiss, which cheers Donald's heart, is a woolly-leafed herb (Leontopodium alpinum) which grows in the higher regions of Europe & Asia. It is much beloved by the peoples of the Alps and is the floral emblem of Switzerland. During World War Two, it served as the secret symbol of the Austrian Underground which fought against the Nazis.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off.

I own all of the four films with Silly Symphonies and Micky Mouse. I found many of the short films to be masterpieces. They are all so very well-done and funny.This one is about Mickey,Donald and Pluto that is going to go out and climb a mountain. It's a hilarious little film with many funny things in it.