When the Cat's Away

The sixth Mickey Mouse cartoon, and a curious one: Mickey and Minnie are depicted as actual mouse-sized mice, while Tom Cat is the size of a person. When Tom Cat staggers out hunting, Mickey, Minnie, and a swarm of mice break into his house and throw a musical party, playing the piano and turning household objects into instruments. The short is a loose remake of Disney's 1925 Alice Comedy, Alice Rattled by Rats, and the last time Mickey was portrayed at real mouse scale. Animated by Ub Iwerks and Ben Sharpsteen with a Carl Stalling score. Published in 1929, it entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2025.