Welcome to my Mickey Mouse Club rterospective. Last time, I looked at the original '50s version of the show and I said it was a classic. I still beleive that. Today however we will be looking at the often forgotten '70s revival.
A Breif History
In the 70's Disney decided to revive this classic but they modernized the cosmetics so that it would fit the decade. You'll see what I mean.
The Opening
Now if I had to choose one word to describe this opening, it would be lazy. It's not that I hate it but I don't hate because it is just the classic '50s opening in color. That's it. I mean sure they changed the song to make it have a Disco beat and added two new lyrics but other than that it is the same opening. They could have done so much more with this to make its own unique entity. That's just my thoughts though.
Gear
I'm skipping the logo as they didn't seem to use it during this version of the show. Instead I'll be moving straight onto the gear.
I'm sorry but I thought I was reviewing The Mickey Mouse Club not The Muppet Show. Those hats are just way too bright and what is with the matching outfits and I swear that girl sitting Indian style in the front of this group shot looks like she is wearing a Kermit the Frog costume with Mickey's ears. This has to be one cosmetic change that was a bad move. Sure, you could say that this was the '70s and of course it was, these outfits scream '70s. Really the only thing less subtle about the '70s are Disco Balls and at least those arecool. groovy. Sure I may joke about the coustumes and even if I do dislike them, they do fit the era.
Mouseketeer
I do apologize for saying I was going to cover a max of two Mouseketeers when I only talked about Annette last time. That is the case here as well as I find this easier. Though when we hit the '90s version I will talk about more than one. Though some of you may find this funny as a young Courtney Love audtioned to get a part on this show. She did not get that part.
Lisa Whelchel
Today's Mouseketeer is Lisa Whelchel. When Lisa saw in her local newspaper that they were looking for Mouseketeers for a new Mickey Mouse Club, she wrote the casting director and was at first denied but she kept on trying until she eventually got the part. Now you may not know who Lisa is from this young picture but if you ever watched The Facts of Life, she played Blair.
Serials
Remember, what I said about the opening being lazy. My feelings towards their serials is pretty much on the same level. Because in this area, things just got sad. There was only one original serial produced for the '70s version while the rest were classic Disney movies cut up into small pieces. As I said, they produced one original serial titled The Mystery of Rustler's Cave. Sadly, I could not find any info on this serial. Still it bugs me that this is the only original serial that they produced. Were there no other ideas that they could come up with. Or was it just easier to rely on old Disney movies.
Disney World Special
One cool thing that came from this version was The Mouseketeers at Disney World. This one area where I can give the show some leeway as they had what is to my knowledge one of the earleist Disney World specials, The Mouseketeers at Disney World. I have seen it before but that was ages ago. Luckily, YouTube had it and I swear going back and watching it, I couldn't remeber it until I got to one particular moment. The story is okay, I guess but it is just a simple story for a special about the Mouseketeers at Disney World. Admittedly, I was paying more attention to the backgroudnd shots as seeing Disney World the way it was all those years ago made for some nice eye-candy. Here's that clip I was talking about.
The End!
The New Mickey Mouse Club as it was known did not do very well but it was cancelled, 70 station picked it up and they 130 packaged episodes that included new material. It's hard to pinpot why it failed but I beleive part of ti had to do with ratings.
My Final Thoughts
While it may come across that I hate the '70s version. That is not the case at all. I just feel that it was a lazy attempt to revive The Mickey Mouse Club. There is more that they could have done. Quite honestly at best it just feels as though that this version of The Mickey Mouse Club lost that Disney magic that made the '50s version a classic and was swapped out for Disco dust. No more '70s jokes, I promise. It just didn't feel well put together.
Return of The Requests
That's what I'm calling the next Request Month and so far I have gotten 4 Requests, I'm still taking them. Leave your request either in the comments or shoot me a private message. Also don't forget I'm Music Friday: Requested Songs during this time. Again, you can request a song in the comments or with a private message but do know that I will only choose 4 for Music Fridays as that is the standard number.
A Breif History
In the 70's Disney decided to revive this classic but they modernized the cosmetics so that it would fit the decade. You'll see what I mean.
The Opening
Now if I had to choose one word to describe this opening, it would be lazy. It's not that I hate it but I don't hate because it is just the classic '50s opening in color. That's it. I mean sure they changed the song to make it have a Disco beat and added two new lyrics but other than that it is the same opening. They could have done so much more with this to make its own unique entity. That's just my thoughts though.
Gear
I'm skipping the logo as they didn't seem to use it during this version of the show. Instead I'll be moving straight onto the gear.
I'm sorry but I thought I was reviewing The Mickey Mouse Club not The Muppet Show. Those hats are just way too bright and what is with the matching outfits and I swear that girl sitting Indian style in the front of this group shot looks like she is wearing a Kermit the Frog costume with Mickey's ears. This has to be one cosmetic change that was a bad move. Sure, you could say that this was the '70s and of course it was, these outfits scream '70s. Really the only thing less subtle about the '70s are Disco Balls and at least those are
Mouseketeer
I do apologize for saying I was going to cover a max of two Mouseketeers when I only talked about Annette last time. That is the case here as well as I find this easier. Though when we hit the '90s version I will talk about more than one. Though some of you may find this funny as a young Courtney Love audtioned to get a part on this show. She did not get that part.
Lisa Whelchel
Today's Mouseketeer is Lisa Whelchel. When Lisa saw in her local newspaper that they were looking for Mouseketeers for a new Mickey Mouse Club, she wrote the casting director and was at first denied but she kept on trying until she eventually got the part. Now you may not know who Lisa is from this young picture but if you ever watched The Facts of Life, she played Blair.
Serials
Remember, what I said about the opening being lazy. My feelings towards their serials is pretty much on the same level. Because in this area, things just got sad. There was only one original serial produced for the '70s version while the rest were classic Disney movies cut up into small pieces. As I said, they produced one original serial titled The Mystery of Rustler's Cave. Sadly, I could not find any info on this serial. Still it bugs me that this is the only original serial that they produced. Were there no other ideas that they could come up with. Or was it just easier to rely on old Disney movies.
Disney World Special
One cool thing that came from this version was The Mouseketeers at Disney World. This one area where I can give the show some leeway as they had what is to my knowledge one of the earleist Disney World specials, The Mouseketeers at Disney World. I have seen it before but that was ages ago. Luckily, YouTube had it and I swear going back and watching it, I couldn't remeber it until I got to one particular moment. The story is okay, I guess but it is just a simple story for a special about the Mouseketeers at Disney World. Admittedly, I was paying more attention to the backgroudnd shots as seeing Disney World the way it was all those years ago made for some nice eye-candy. Here's that clip I was talking about.
The End!
The New Mickey Mouse Club as it was known did not do very well but it was cancelled, 70 station picked it up and they 130 packaged episodes that included new material. It's hard to pinpot why it failed but I beleive part of ti had to do with ratings.
My Final Thoughts
While it may come across that I hate the '70s version. That is not the case at all. I just feel that it was a lazy attempt to revive The Mickey Mouse Club. There is more that they could have done. Quite honestly at best it just feels as though that this version of The Mickey Mouse Club lost that Disney magic that made the '50s version a classic and was swapped out for Disco dust. No more '70s jokes, I promise. It just didn't feel well put together.
Return of The Requests
That's what I'm calling the next Request Month and so far I have gotten 4 Requests, I'm still taking them. Leave your request either in the comments or shoot me a private message. Also don't forget I'm Music Friday: Requested Songs during this time. Again, you can request a song in the comments or with a private message but do know that I will only choose 4 for Music Fridays as that is the standard number.
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