The Prince and the Pauper

In 1990, Disney released their 29^th animated film, “The Rescuers Down Under.” ON the theatrical release, the film had the 25-minute short, “The Prince and the Pauper,” directed by George Scribner. It is a strange short of Walt Disney animation history, and probably deserves to be talked about and appreciated more than it currently it.

The film adapts the Mark Twain 1881 novel and uses Disney’s most famous characters in place of the original characters. Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine) plays both the main prince and pauper, one who has Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo) as a friend, and the other Goofy and Pluto (both voiced by Bill Farmer). The famous villain Pete, voiced by Arthur Burghardt, plays the antagonist captain of the city guard. Other famous characters include Horace Horsecollar (Farmer) and Clarabelle Cow (Elvia Allman) make cameos. Grant Watson said in his review, “They are a wonderful range of characters with a rich, memorable history, and it is good to see that even as the company’s original animated films went from strength to strength they were not forgotten.” It was Disney’s first Mickey Mouse film since “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” in 1983, which came with the re-release of the original “Rescuers.”

“The Prince and the Pauper’s” other famous trait is that it was the last traditionally animated film that Disney ever made. Watson noted, “The Little Mermaid had included a test sequence at its climax of a new computer-aided animation system known as CAPS, and from The Rescuers Down Under all of Disney’s subsequent cel-animated films made use of it. The difference is palpable: there is a genuine hand-crafted sense to The Prince and the Pauper, and a loose roughness to the details that all-but vanishes from later films. It creates an immediate warmth: a human touch that you only really gets from films that have been drawn and coloured by hand.” Everything is well directed by George Scribner, and is far superior to “Oliver & Company.”

The length really helps. Watson mentioned, “At 25 minutes, there is no need for padding or extended musical numbers.” It is much longer than a usual Disney short, which lets the story have more depth and a three-act structure. Watson said, “It is an odd length all told, and it is a shame that there are not more avenues for works at this length. Hopefully with the versatility of online streaming, we might get more half-hour animations via Disney+.”

This version is available on Disney+ along with the 1962 live-action version. This short was released on DVD as part of the Walt Disney Animation Collection and Walt Disney Fables range. This is a well made short that should be seen by everyone.

Like I mentioned already, this is a nice little short that everyone can put on Disney+ and enjoy. Check it out and see what you have been missing because this is an easy short to put and sit through the entirety of. I give this a high recommendation because I think everyone will love this short, especially with the classic characters playing the roles from the book.

Tomorrow I’m going to look at a live-action film that I believe Nostalgia Critic was going to review by Nostalgia Chick already did in “Disney Month 2024.”