Monster Terrorizes Disney!

The title’s a bit hyperbolic. But we’re talking about monsters, and the ‘happiest place on earth.’ If I don’t get to be hyperbolic with those two things, when can I? So let’s jump down this rabbit hole.

In 1995, Disney released the theatrical short, Runaway Brain. It was a 7 minute Mickey Mouse cartoon intended to run before a few of their upcoming features. The plot is a classic brain switch horror-comedy where a mad scientist puts Mickey’s brain into a giant monster, and the monster’s less-than-refined brain goes into Mickey. As expected, chaos ensues.

I won’t spoil the plot. But the chances of seeing this short are so slim, I’m not sure it would matter. Because, for some reason, it seems like Disney has never fully backed or promoted this amazing cartoon and now it is almost impossible to find.

What you can find are posts all over the internet about Runaway Brain that break down all the edits and changes the higher-ups made to this cartoon as it was being animated. And maybe that’s a natural part of the creative process.

But once finished, Disney kept throwing roadblocks in the way of the short’s success. They cancelled a couple planned theatrical runs, they never bothered airing it on the Disney Channel or Disney+, and they gave it only sparse home video releases. And the worst part of all this is that Runaway Brain is a fantastic short! Thrilling, funny, at times truly scary. The animation is beautiful and the story wraps up in a cute, satisfying way. It was even nominated for an Academy Award. So why bury this monster so deep?

There’s never been a really satisfying answer, as far as I’m concerned. But the consensus is that it might be too disturbing for Disney’s target audience to see a feral, snarling version of the company’s corporate symbol scurrying around the city, hungrily chasing down Minnie. I get it. I guess. But I also think that, for the time period in which it came out, Runaway Brain presented the most exciting, engaging Mickey Mouse short anyone had seen in a long time.

So this week, Michelle and I did our part to bring this amazing portrayal of Mickey to as wide an audience as we’re able. We grabbed some acrylic paint and hacked out a Runaway Brain Mickey Mouse for our YouTube audience. For someone who never uses acrylics, I’m pretty happy with the results. I even framed it and hung it on a wall in my studio.

If you want to see me slap this thing onto canvas — and discover where you might be able to find a copy of the Runaway Brain short — you can watch our process video below.