The Black Duck (1934) is a weird, jazzy Mickey Mouse rip-off

You should definitely watch The Black Duck today if you have about six minutes and like seeing how lawless animation used to be. It is great for people who love pre-code weirdness and early jazz soundtracks. If you are looking for something polished or politically correct by today's standards, you will probably hate it.

This is part of the Aesop’s Sound Fables series, but it doesn't really feel like a fable. It feels more like the animators were just drawing whatever they saw in the bars the night before.

The main character is this black mouse who is herding ducks to water. I say "mouse," but let’s be real here. He is a total Mickey Mouse swipe, right down to the gloves and the round ears.

He’s leading a bunch of white ducks, and there is one black duckling that gets picked on. But the movie doesn't spend much time on the bullying, which is a relief because that’s usually pretty boring.

Instead, we get introduced to the villain, a cat named Butch. Butch has an eye-patch and looks exactly like Felix the Cat if Felix had a rougher life.

Butch is in the "duck-napping" business, which is a hilarious concept for a career. He has a little cage with a tiny black mouse in it, and they are basically a two-man crime syndicate.

The best part of the whole thing is the Day & Night Club. It’s a cat-house, but like, for cats. There are lady cats who look like they’ve seen some things.

The piano playing in this scene is actually really good. It’s that fast, frantic 1930s jazz that makes you feel like your ears are vibrating.

There is a cat playing a harp, too. It’s such a strange choice for a jazz joint, but it works in a chaotic way.

I loved the drunk waiter cat. He doesn't even have to buy a drink because he just licks the spilled whiskey off his tray. That’s a great little detail that you wouldn't see in a modern kid's show.

The boss of the club is a big, black, cigar-smoking cat named Mutt. He wants a duck dinner, and he’s willing to pay Butch for it.

To distract the Mickey-looking herder, Butch gives him a Bathing Beauties magazine. The drawings in the magazine look like Gloria Swanson, which is a very specific reference for 1934.

While the mouse is distracted by the pictures, the little mouse sidekick puts on a duck suit. He uses it to lure the female ducks away from the pond.

It’s a bit of a "mouse-in-duck's-clothing" bit, which I guess is the Aesop connection. But it feels more like a heist movie than a moral lesson.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Black Duck (1929) through its definitive frames.

The way the ducks follow the fake duck into the corral is pretty funny. They all look so eager to get kidnapped.

The ending gets a bit violent, with Mutt pulling out a knife. Our hero, the little black duck, saves the day by alerting the herder.

It’s a very fast climax. One minute there is a knife fight, and the next, the bad cat’s career is over.

I’ve seen a few of these Paul Terry cartoons, like The Golden Fleece, and they always have this same manic energy. Everything is moving constantly, even when it doesn't need to.

The background art is actually pretty decent for the time. It has that hand-drawn, slightly wobbly look that gives it a lot of personality.

It is also clearly an anti-prohibition film. The way they celebrate the "gin-joint" being open 24-7 is a pretty big hint.

I noticed that some people try to read a lot of racial stuff into this because of the colors of the ducks. Honestly, it feels more like they were just using whatever black and white ink they had on the desk.

The "Mickey" mouse is black, the hero duck is black, and all the cats are black. It’s just high-contrast animation for the sake of it.

If you like this style, you might also want to check out Pass the Dumplings. It has that same weird, early-century vibe that feels slightly off in a good way.

One thing that bothered me was the sound of the ducks. They don't really sound like ducks; they sound like humans making bad duck noises.

But that’s part of the charm, I guess. It’s messy and imperfect.

There is a sequence where the world changes in a way that looks like stop-motion. It’s very brief, but it caught my eye because it looked so different from the rest of the film.

The animation on the piano player's hands is also surprisingly detailed. You can tell the animator really liked music.

Overall, it’s a weird little piece of history. It’s not "profound," and it’s definitely not a masterpiece of storytelling.

But it’s a fun way to spend a few minutes if you want to see a cat drink floor-spills while a mouse looks at pin-up girls. It’s pure chaos from a time when movies didn't have to be so careful.