Trader Mickey Review: A super weird, uncomfortable piece of Disney history

If you want to watch Trader Mickey, you need to know what you are getting into right away. 🛶 It is a 1932 Disney cartoon that is super uncomfortable to watch now because of how it draws native people. But if you like early animation history, it is a fascinating, weird little relic.

Anyone who hates old-school racist stereotypes should skip this immediately. You will just end up mad.

The plot is basically Mickey and Pluto riding a boat down a river in Africa to trade stuff. Then they get captured by a tribe of cannibals who want to eat them. But then—because this is a 1930s cartoon—everyone just starts playing jazz music. 🎷

The animation is incredibly bouncy. Everything in the jungle seems to have its own heartbeat, even the trees.

There is a moment where a native guy tries to play a flute, and his ears wiggle with the music. It is those tiny, unnecessary details that make these old cartoons so fun to look at, even when the subject matter is rough.

Pluto is actually the best part of this. He gets chased by a crocodile and his face does this hilarious melting thing.

It reminded me of the tense, claustrophobic energy in The Big House, except, you know, with a cartoon dog. The animator who drew Pluto here really knew how to show pure panic.

The sound design is so scratchy and raw. You can hear the actual dirt on the soundtrack.

I noticed that Mickey’s voice sounds way more mischievous here than the squeaky-clean version we got later. He is kind of a jerk in this one, honestly.

He just laughs when Pluto gets scared. And the way they turn everyday objects into instruments is pretty clever.

Like, they use a saxophone that somehow survived a shipwreck. The chief puts on a corset and starts dancing.

It is just pure chaos. Is it a masterpiece? Not really, and the racial stuff is very hard to ignore.

But it is seven minutes of pure, unfiltered 1930s energy. I am glad I watched it, even if I felt a bit dirty afterwards. 🤷‍♂️