Mickey's Rival is a 1936 Mickey Mouse short film.[3] It was directed by Wilfred Jackson and produced by Walt Disney. It introduces the character of Mortimer Mouse. It was the 84th Mickey Mouse short film to be released, the fifth of that year.[4]
Plot
Mickey Mouse is by his car, getting ready for his girlfriend, Minnie, as they are planning a picnic together. A mouse named Mortimer drives by in his sleek sports car, and recognizes his old flame Minnie. He backs up and crashes into Mickey's car, pushing it into a tree. He greets Minnie, and she's delighted to see him.
Mortimer starts to make fun of his short rival, making Mickey angry. He shakes hands with Mickey, only to reveal a fake arm sleeve. He deliberately takes two of his buttons off from his shorts, much to Mickey's chagrin and annoyance. Mickey grumpily tries to grab Mortimer's buttons from his long trousers, but they are connected to batteries and electrocute him. Mortimer laughs at Mickey's expense, saying, "Never a dull moment!" Mickey's car pushes Mortimer's sports car off and tries to scare it away by rattling its engine, but Mortimer's sports car loudly honks its horn, pushing Mickey's car to hide behind a rock nearby.
Afterwards, Minnie, Mortimer, and Mickey, have the picnic together. Mortimer sees a bull in a nearby pen and tries to impress Minnie by doing some bullfighting. He grabs the red picnic blanket to use to fight the bull. Minnie applauds Mortimer and asks Mickey if he is good, but Mickey breaks a teacup, calls Mortimer a "perfect scream" and furiously storms off to his car. Minnie is shocked by Mickey's jealous behavior.
Mortimer taunts the bull, making it angry. Mortimer sees the pen's gate open, and immediately yelps, scared out of his wits, and runs away, and the bull ends up on the warpath against him. Mortimer drops the blanket over Minnie and flees in his sports car, leaving Minnie to deal with the bull alone. Minnie runs away with the blanket still over her and climbs a tree.
Mickey manages to stop the bull, getting stuck under it in the process. Mickey bites the bull's tail, making it jump and allowing him to get out. While trying to get Minnie down from the tree, the bull charges at them again. Mickey manages to get out of the way as it rams into the tree. Mickey then fights the bull with the red blanket, only to get wrapped up in it and is unable to run fast enough to get away. He does manage to avoid the bull by grabbing a branch with his mouth, but he is forced to retreat again as the bull turns around, crawling to get away.
Mickey's car suddenly sees its owner in danger and saves him by biting the bull's tail and leading it on a chase using its red taillight, tiring out the bull. It then uses its back wheels to splash mud over the bull. Meanwhile, Mickey tries to get a still frightened Minnie down from the tree, only for them to both fall. Their car catches them with the bull still in pursuit. The car then creates a cloud of dust around the bull, confusing it and allowing them to escape. While on their way home, Mickey asks Minnie if Mortimer is still funny. Minnie says no, and the pair shake hands, friends again.
