A SPOUSE FOR A MOUSE

One of the items from my Disney collection currently on display at The Cartoon Museum's exhibition Animal Crackers, is a piece of sheet music for a ‘Novelty Fox-trot’ with words by Edward Pola and Music by Franz Vienna, published in London by Keith Prowse in 1933 and entitled...

This is a classic example of early British Disney merchandising which was not subject to the same rigours as were applied to the American products from the studio (and which are now universal); hence the surprising revelation that Mickey and Minnie Mouse had tied the knot – a story seriously at variance with official Disney lore which has always maintained that they are 'just good friends'!

The cover artwork is by Wilfred Haughton, a prolific British artist working for Disney in London who was responsible for much of the artwork in early Disney comics and annuals published in the UK.

The words of the song go like this...

It’s gala day, the day of the year,

The sun will shine, the sky’ll be clear,

The bells will ring, the people will cheer,

For the wedding of Mister Mickey Mouse.

There’ll be ducks and drakes, a waddl’ing goose,

A chimpanzee, the Zoo turn’d loose,

And ‘Peg-Leg’ Pete’s declaring a truce,

For the wedding of Mister Mickey Mouse.

 

The big brown bear will dance for all the company,

The whole affair will be broadcast by the BBC;

There’ll be fancy hats and fancier clothes,

A kangaroo with pretty pink bows,

And elephants with manicured toes,

At the wedding of Mister Mickey Mouse.

The band will play a one-step and a gavotte,

And then the fox will dance a real fox-trot;

Clarabelle the cow will jump right over the moon,

Then you’ll hear Pluto croon the latest tune.

Preacher man will see the knot is properly tied,

He’ll shake hands with the groom, and kiss the bride;

Then off they’ll go to find their gingerbread house,

Where they’ll be happy as Mister and Missus Mickey Mouse.

And here's what it sounded like as performed in 1933 by Harry Leader's band (not, as it says on the record label, Jay Wilbur)...