
Mickey is performing routine maintenance on his tugboat (with interference from a pelican) when a call comes on the radio that there's a sinking ship needing assistance. Sadly, Mickey's crew consists of Donald and Goofy, so getting underway to help is not easy. Goofy has to fight a boiler's door to get it stoked with coal (and when he succeeds, he overfills it) and Donald gets tangled up in the machinery. Not to mention that nobody casts off, so they drag half the dock along with them. The overworked boiler soon explodes.
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Tugboat Mickey leans on a strong ensemble — Walt Disney, Clarence Nash, Danny Webb — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about animation titles of 1940.
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Mickey Mouse, piloting a steamboat, delights his passenger, Minnie Mouse, by making musical instruments out of the menagerie on deck.
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