Mickey mousing is when an action on screen is accompanied by music that reinforces the action being made. Mickey mousing is mainly used in cartoons and some comedies, this is because mickey mousing can be quite child like and humorous.
Mickey mousing is used to bring cartoons to life, and give the actions of an animated film its musical equivalent. In most old cartoons mickey mousing normally involves orchestral instruments playing the music that helps fit with an action being made. For example, When cartoon characters walks down the stairs, it can be accompanied by a trumpet descending down a scale in time with each foot step of the character, the music is in sync with the actions of the video.
Mickey mousing is used in mostly all cartoons, one example of mickey mousing is in Tom and Jerry, the episode busy buddies babysitting. This episode is full of different musical sounds and techniques which are used to suit the actions of the episode.
Tom and Jerry- Babysitting episode
Mickey mousing is used the whole way through the episode, but varying between different instruments and techniques. In this episode there are many actions which are accompanied by the music for example at 3:24 The baby is crawling up the stairs, the music that accompanies it is ascending and gradually gets louder it is also very light and cheerful. The music perfectly fits the action on the screen and is also quite comedic. After the baby goes up the stairs he then crawls on to the pole outside the house. The baby swings up on the wire whilst the music accompanies by sliding up on the strings then sliding back down on the strings when the baby swings back down.
The use of mickey mousing here is to create a noise suitable for the cartoon, the less mickey mousing they use the more lifeless it becomes. In the episode above they rely on mickey mousing to help develop the story line because there is not much speech used through the episode.
Another example of mickey mousing is in Pop eye the sailor, which is another cartoon that uses this technique to help bring to life the actions on the screen. One episode that displays a lot of mickey mousing is 'Riot in rhythm'.
Popeye the sailor- Riot in rhythm
in this episode the music accompanied is mainly only synced for some actions is being made, rather than for every single action. Popeye has more speech than Tom and Jerry does, therefore the music only brightens the mood and gives the actions more emphasis rather than using the music to replace the speech.
One part which mickey mousing is used clearly is at 1:23, the kids are rushing around, and the music suits this, then the kids sit back down on Popeye's lap and the music is in sync with the kids jumping and sitting, The music is light and mimics the visual suitably. Mickey mousing is used again just after at 2:00 as the kids hop into bed the music accompanies them doing so, This is effective because it gives a cheerful playful sound to the energetic actions of the cartoons in the episode.
Mickey Mousing can also be used in videos other than cartoons, For example in Spider man they use mickey mousing as he climbs up the wall for the first time. Mickey mousing is normally quite humorous but in this scene they use it to make an impact on the audience, and make his actions feel much larger because it is being reinforced by the music.
Spider Man- Climbing scene
As he puts his hand up on the wall the music accompanies his action. As he climbs up slowly the music stays in sync with his action but also starts to make a rhythm, the rhythm slowly gets more complicated until he stops moving, then the instruments hold their notes until he turns around. The first time he puts his hand on the wall the music synced with his actions makes it much more thrilling to watch.
Mickey mousing is effective here because all the actions he makes is made even more powerful by the accompany of the music. Although mickey mousing is usually used in cartoons it is suited well for this scene and shows that mickey mousing can also be used to add thrill and excitement to action and adventure films other than just comedies.
Overall mickey mousing is really effective if used well in animated film, and sometimes even in other films. Mickey mousing is usually for comical effect or to add life to a cartoon or comedy, although it can also be used in action and adventure film to make actions stand out and create a more thrilling experience for the audience.
WTF
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