A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

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.

Had this Disney cartoon been made a decade later, this would have probably been seen as a rather poor cartoon, as the plot itself and gags aren't all that great. However, for the 1930s (when most short cartoons were pretty lame compared to those from the golden days at Looney Tunes and MGM), it's pretty good. The animation and colors in particular are very nice. Plus, from a historical point of view it's both a great opportunity to see the older style Goofy and Donald characters which look far different from how they look now. And, also from a historical standpoint, it's a great chance to see many of the stars of the day lampooned as cartoon characters--making many cameos (that, again, aren't all that funny). You'll see many recognizable ones such as Clark Gable, W. C. Fields, Chaplin, Harpo Marx and Shirley Temple, but also many of the older stars who are unfortunately forgotten today, such as Harold Lloyd, Jack Holt and Edna May Oliver. Not super funny, but fascinating and worth a peek.

Mickey Mouse and the gang go and play some polo.On Mickey's team there are Donald Duck (on a mule), Goofy and The Big Bad Wolf.They're playing against some well known comedians of that time.That team includes Charles Chaplin, Harpo Marx (on an ostrich), Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.The referee is Jack Holt.Also in the audience there are some big names such as Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Greta Garbo and Harold Lloyd.The Disney characters include Pluto, Clarabelle Cow and the Three Little Pigs.It's a lot of fun to watch The Big Bad Wolf huff and puff and blow.There are many other funny parts in this Disney short, like when Hardy is under his overweight horse and Laurel not being too helpful.Or when Donald loses his nerve (again).And it's fun to watch Chaplin with his cane and Harpo with the ostrich.In David Hand's Mickey's Polo Team from 1936 Walt Disney is the voice of Mickey Mouse and Clarence Nash is the voice of Donald Duck.This cartoon is a fine piece of history.