Disney's House of Mouse

Premise

The basic premise is that Mickey Mouse and his friends run a dinner theater club called the "House of Mouse" in downtown Toontown, which shows Disney cartoons as part of its floor shows. Located at a corner of an intersection on Toontown's Main Street, the club is considered a very popular destination by the local populace. Some episodes have specific themes, with cartoons to fit that episode's theme. The theme is usually not beneficial to at least one character, usually Donald.

Many characters from Disney animated films (such as Aladdin, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Hercules, and many more) have appeared on House of Mouse, mostly as patrons and guest star performers. The show is notable for including many relatively obscure and otherwise rarely used Disney characters, often with speaking parts for the very first time. Notably, Li'l Bad Wolf and April, May and June, who had appeared very often in Disney comic books but never before in an animated cartoon, finally made their animated debuts on House of Mouse. The show also featured some cameos by characters created for other television cartoons and theme park attractions, but these appearances were few and far between.

Each episode explores the comical mishaps of Mickey and his associates running the club, which are used as wraparounds for Disney cartoons (some of which are classic theatrical cartoons from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, but most of which are reruns from Mickey Mouse Works).

Characters

Mickey Mouse (voiced by Wayne Allwine): Mickey Mouse is an entertainment superstar and general manager/co-owner/master of ceremonies of the House of Mouse. Mickey is most visible as the club's flamboyant theater host and, in practice, leaves most of the club's management to the other staff.

Minnie Mouse (voiced by Russi Taylor): Minnie Mouse is Mickey's girlfriend, show planner and bookkeeper. Minnie is responsible for much of the club's day-to-day administration. Her cool, rational personality has kept the club running in times of crisis.

Donald Duck (voiced by Tony Anselmo): Donald Duck is Mickey's best friend and assistant manager/co-owner of the House of Mouse. Donald is responsible for the overall customer service at the club and attends to the needs of the club's VIP guests. He secretly covets Mickey's fame and position at the club and tries to use every opportunity to usurp the top job but his guilty conscience prevents him from following through with his plans.

Daisy Duck (voiced by Tress MacNeille): Daisy Duck is Donald's girlfriend and reservation clerk. Somewhat frivolous, Daisy harbors ambitions to perform on-stage at the club with various acts.

Goofy (voiced by Bill Farmer): Goofy is Mickey and Donald's friend, Max's father and head waiter of the club. Clumsy yet lovable, Goofy manages the club's restaurant operations.

Pluto (voiced by Bill Farmer): Pluto is Mickey's pet dog and club mascot.

Horace Horsecollar (voiced by Bill Farmer): Horace is Mickey's long-time friend and technician. Horace runs and maintains the club's technical equipment including lights, loudspeakers and video players.

Clarabelle Cow (voiced by April Winchell): Clarabelle is Minnie's long-time friend and gossip columnist. Clarabelle collects gossip and rumors from all over Toontown for her talk show at the club. Her gossip has occasionally lead to problems for the club's staff.

Max Goof (voiced by Jason Marsden): Max Goof is Goofy's son and valet parking attendant.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie (voiced by Tony Anselmo): Huey, Dewey and Louie are Donald's three nephews and a house band with alternating names such as "The Quackstreet Boys", "Quackwork", "Kid Duck" and "The Splashing Pumpkins".

Gus Goose (voiced by Frank Welker): Gus Goose is Donald's cousin and executive chef of the club. A notorious glutton, Gus sometimes eats the food he prepares for the guests just before it is served.

Magic Mirror (voiced by Tony Jay): Magic Mirror is a magical artifact and on-site consultant. Mickey and his friends sometimes ask for advice from the Magic Mirror on a variety of issues. He is also available for queries from the club's guests. Unsurprisingly, the Evil Queen can sometimes be found staring at the Mirror.

Mike (voiced by Rod Roddy): Mike is a talking microphone and announcer. He usually assists Mickey in presenting and ending events on-stage nightly.

Penguin waiters: The Penguin waiters are the waiting staff of the club. According to an advertisement at the club, they are also available for hire on a temporary basis.

Animated brooms: The brooms are the janitors of the club.

Pete (voiced by Jim Cummings): Pete is the club's greedy landlord, who often attempts to shut the theater down for his own personal gain by sabotaging the show, since Mickey's contract states that the club stays open only for as long as the show goes on.

House of Mouse locations

Below are descriptions of the areas within the club itself.

Location

The club at the beginning of the opening credits is said to be located at "Main Street"--no doubt that of a Disneyland or Disneyworld.

Foyer

The front hall of the club is accessible via glass double doors from the street. Here, guests may converse among themselves or with the Magic Mirror that is located just within the entrance. There is also a small lounge for guests waiting to be seated. Donald can usually be found here greeting visitors personally; often with a handshake. Daisy works at a reception desk situated just outside the restaurant/theater area, helping guests to book reservations or assist with any requests they may have. Outside, Max Goof assists visitors in parking their cars at a nearby lot owned by the club.

Restaurant / Theater

One of the busiest areas of the club, this wide, spacious area has at least thirty tables that can seat over 120 people. Given the wide variety of clientele at the club, which includes Willie the Giant and Elliott the Dragon, the amount of seating at the club could vary wildly at times. Goofy and the penguin waiters take orders and deliver various dishes, ranging from conventional to outlandish, to the guests. At the far end of the area is a stage where performances of all sorts are conducted, including that of Huey, Dewey and Louie. There is also a huge TV screen in the stage background to show cartoons. Mickey often hosts the night's events on-stage.

Backstage

This area behind the stage is restricted only to club staff and performers hired by the club. Located here are staff offices, dressing rooms, storage rooms and an employee rest area. This area has direct access to the club's kitchen. The back entrance to the club and the door to the prop room are also located here. Minnie is often seen here using a PDA to assist in keeping the night's schedule on track or directing guest star performers to the stage.

Kitchen

All types of ingredients and cooking equipment can be found here to cater to the wide and, often, exotic palates of the club's clientele. There is also a cold storage room to store fresh meat and other perishable foods. Gus Goose works here nightly to prepare various dishes for the guests, but he sometimes eats said dishes before they reach the tables.

Control Room

From this room, located behind and above the restaurant/theater area, much of the technical equipment at the club is operated. The club's collection of cartoons is stored here as well. Through a window that overlooks the restaurant/theater area, Horace operates the lights, the loudspeakers and various record players (for example, DVD or VHS players) to show cartoons at Minnie's direction.

Prop Room

Perhaps the most interesting area of the club, the prop room consists of a cavernous basement much larger than the club itself. Props from all of Disney animation can be found here, including magical items such as Genie's lamp and the Black Cauldron. The prop room is so large that one could get lost for days unless one took Pluto along as a guide. However, Mickey and his friends usually have little trouble navigating in the prop room.

Production

The show was produced by Walt Disney Television, and originally aired from 2001 to 2003, running for 52 episodes. The show is one of many Disney cartoon series made in the widescreen HD format.

House of Mouse aired on One Saturday Morning on ABC. It reran from September 3, 2002 to February 4, 2006 on Disney Channel. The show ceased broadcast on U.S. television on February 6, 2009, after being aired for the last time on Toon Disney before becoming Disney XD.

The theme song is performed by Brian Setzer.