It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

CALLING ON HIS own personal experiences with the gentlemanly game of Polo, Mr. Disney no doubt had the inspiration for the premise for this Mickey picture. Polo, long the province of the wealthy, was an activity in which both the producers and stars participated-if only to prove that they can! THERE IS NO doubt that the subject matter of also hearkened to the older title MICKEY'S GALA PREMIER (1936); which was a well receiver and box office $ucce$$. It also was a veritable "Who's Who" of cartoon caricature; boasting of over 50 lampooning drawings.IN THE CHOICE of the rosters of actors vs. animation, comedy ruled. Therefore, the "Live Action" people was composed of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Harpo. Mickey joined forces with the Big Bad Wolf, the Goof (Goofy) and rising star, Donald Duck.IN AN EFFORT to extend the laughs, each player might have a mount, which both resembled its rider; as well as taking on some of the riders' peculiar idiosyncrasies. For example: Donald Duck rode a donkey, Laurel had a long faced & scruffy haired look-alike, Hardy's was a stout & fully-figured draft-horse and Harpo rode an Ostrich, complete with top hat and blonde fright wig.THE MATCH WAS capably refereed by rugged Western-action star, Jack Holt; being a perfect neutral and authority figure.IN SELECTING THE membership of the Gallery who viewed the proceedings, the bleachers were filled with caricatured versions of stars of the day, interspersed with a selection of 'veteran' characters from previous Disney offerings. For example, little Miss Shirley Temple is seated and cheering along with The Three Little Pigs.THE RESULTING GAGS were executed in perfect timing to coincide with the particular brand of humor that was specialty of that character. Once again, Chaplin & horse skipped and had a bit of business with the goal posts, Laurel & Hardy had a protracted routine in helping Ollie to remount his pony, Harpo & Ostrich both silently mimed their reactions to the moving scrum of mounted players' charging and reversing field.FINALLY, BY THIS time in 1936, Disney was doing his MICKEY shorts (and all others) in Technicolor; as he had been doing his SILLY SYMPHONIES for several years. The color work here is as fine as any and aids in amplifying both the action and the Fun.AND ISN'T THAT the bottom line?

I can't help but to think of the making of the short and Walt Disney's obsession with the game of polo. In reviewing an article by Wade Sampson titled Horsing Around with Walt, we are reminded that it was directed by Dave Hand, who had to be preoccupied with is upcoming directorial responsibilities for Snow White. Additionally, I learned that there was supposed to be considerable footage devoted to a caricature of Will Rogers, a polo-playing pal of Walt Disney. The fact that Rogers died in a plane crash while Mickey's Polo Team was in production led to his caricature being removed from the cartoon. The short emerged as a homage to polo in Hollywood in the 1930s and the many entertainers who played or attended the matches. The actor's used to have their polo handicaps published in Variety. The hanks on the field of Mickey's Polo Team were indicative of the feelings about the game in Los Angeles at the time. The fact that I, too, am a polo fan might shade my judgment of the short, but I found it very amusing.

I've never seen humans drawn so ugly. Not so much the Polo players like Laurel and Hardy (I always like them) but more the spectators in the audience. I don't know who that huge-headed, bulbous-eyed guy was supposed to be but he freaked me out.Anyways, it's Disney stars vs Real Actors in this Polo match (A rather odd choice of sport. Was it popular in the '30s?) and nothing really funny happens. Sure there are a couple of clever moments but, like far too many Disney toons, it's all a set-up for everything to come crashing down.Vividly animated as it may be, it's still a bit too boring and doesn't hold up against Looney Tunes when it comes to hijinks.

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.MICKEY'S POLO TEAM (Mickey, the Goof, the Big Bad Wolf & Donald Duck) enter the field against some of Hollywood's funniest fellows - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harpo Marx & Charlie Chaplin.This very enjoyable little film features excellent animation and lots of laughs. The Disney artists get to display their skill at caricature, with all of the movie stars being perfectly recognizable. Frenzied & flustered, Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash) dominates the proceedings, leaving no doubt as to who was the top toon at the Disney Studio. It's humorous to watch the various Disney characters act with complete equality alongside their Hollywood counterparts - the unspoken, and very true, assertion being that their fame was as big as any flesh & blood inhabitant of Tinsel Town.Notice how all of the riders have a mount (not always a horse) which is a reflection of the player's personality - the Big Bad Wolf and his steed are both dastardly, Donald and his mule are both stubborn, Harpo's ostrich is as zany as his master. Babe Hardy's frustrations with his gigantic horse are very funny.The fun isn't confined to the field - there's plenty going on in the stands. Hollywood's biggest star, Shirley Temple, is there with her buddies the Three Little Pigs. Irritable W. C. Fields is seated with Greta Garbo, Harold Lloyd, Eddie Cantor & Charles Laughton - costumed, naturally, for his title role in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933). Meanwhile, Edna May Oliver is regretting her decision to sit alongside Max Hare, and, most hilariously of all, Clarabelle Cow is taking advantage of her close proximity to do a little sweet romancing with Clark Gable.Polo was very popular among the Movie Capital's male celebrities, including Walt Disney. It not only provided great exercise & excitement, but also a kind of elitism, as only the wealthy had both the leisure & the funds necessary to devote to the sport. Jack Holt, who serves as referee in the cartoon, was an avid real life polo player.It was originally planned to depict Will Rogers as part of the Hollywood team, but after his tragic death in Alaska on August 15, 1935, the Disney animators replaced him with Harpo.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.