Lonesome Ghosts
Encyclopedia
Lonesome Ghosts is a 1937 Disney animated cartoon featuring the Mickey Mouse
, Donald Duck
and Goofy
trio as members of the agency "Ajax Ghost Exterminators" (often described later as precursors to the Ghostbusters
).
s from a haunted house
. Unknown to them, they were hired by the ghosts themselves, four lonesome ghosts who are bored because nobody has visited the house they are haunting for a long time (one ghost assumes that none of the locals were scared, another ghost implies that they scared them all away). They wish to play tricks on the mortals. And they do so through a series of inventive gags, annoying the trio, Eventually, by the end, the trio has actually managed to scare the very same ghosts out of the house when a mixture of flour and molasses accidentally spilled over them.
Goofy offers what is considered the short's most memorable quote while warily looking around him: "I'm brave but I'm careful." Other quotes include Donald's observation: "So you can't take it, you big sissies!", or another Goofy quip: "I ain't scared of no ghosts!"
, and in the DVD release of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
.
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
, Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
and Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
trio as members of the agency "Ajax Ghost Exterminators" (often described later as precursors to the Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
).
Plot
Mickey and his best friends are hired by telephone to evict a number of ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s from a haunted house
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
. Unknown to them, they were hired by the ghosts themselves, four lonesome ghosts who are bored because nobody has visited the house they are haunting for a long time (one ghost assumes that none of the locals were scared, another ghost implies that they scared them all away). They wish to play tricks on the mortals. And they do so through a series of inventive gags, annoying the trio, Eventually, by the end, the trio has actually managed to scare the very same ghosts out of the house when a mixture of flour and molasses accidentally spilled over them.
Goofy offers what is considered the short's most memorable quote while warily looking around him: "I'm brave but I'm careful." Other quotes include Donald's observation: "So you can't take it, you big sissies!", or another Goofy quip: "I ain't scared of no ghosts!"
Home video
Lonesome Ghosts is available on the 1980s Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment release of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as one of the segments of Mickey's House of VillainsMickey's House of Villains
Mickey's House of Villains is a direct-to-video film produced by The Walt Disney Company. It is a film adaptation of the Disney Channel animated television series Disney's House of Mouse, starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Daisy Duck and Disney Villains that have appeared in...
, and in the DVD release of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 animated feature produced by Walt Disney. The film was released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and is the eleventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
.
Subsequent usage
- A somewhat edited (and silent) version of the cartoon was made available as a cartridge for the Fisher-PriceFisher-PriceFisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...
Movie Viewer, a small crank-operated toy. - The screaming sound heard in the beginning of this short was later used on Zorro in its fourth 1957 episode "The Ghost of the Mission". It appropriately aired on HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. - This short was one of the many featured in Donald Duck's 50th BirthdayDonald Duck's 50th BirthdayDonald Duck's 50th Birthday is the 1984 television special broadcast on The Magical World of Disney on November 13, 1984 on CBS. As the title suggests, it was produced for the 50th anniversary of the Donald Duck character....
. - Lonesome Ghosts was the basis for, and title of the fourth level of the video game, Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse, and its PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
version, Mickey's Wild Adventure. - The scene of Lonesome Ghosts with new music added only heard on T.V. in Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey MouseDisney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey MouseDisney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse is a Disney adventure video game developed by Capcom, published by Nintendo and distributed by: Disney Interactive Studios for the Nintendo GameCube.-Gameplay:The game uses a simple point-and-click mechanic which involves using a cursor to guide Mickey...
. - A shortened version of the cartoon appeared on the Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
in October of 2009 as part of a new cartoon collection called Disney Have-a-Laugh, which would take old cartoons and update them with remastered images and redubbed voices. - The cartoon appeared along with another cartoon called Donald Duck Trick or Treat on a VHS release of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
- As the game uses old Disney cartoons as transition levels, there is a travel map in the videogame Epic MickeyEpic MickeyEpic Mickey is a 2010 Mickey Mouse action-adventure platforming video game designed by Warren Spector and developed by Junction Point Studios for the Wii console...
based on this cartoon. The ghosts themselves appear as Wasteland denizens and all four are named: Gilbert, Ian, Gabriel and Screechin' Sam. - The Lonesome Ghosts and Ajax Ghost Exterminators were incorporated into an original painting and limited edition print offering by artist Randy SoudersRandy SoudersRandy Souders is an American painter in the realistic and magic realism traditions. He is best known for highly detailed works painted with acrylic on wood panel , and sometimes on canvas...
. Entitled A Haunting We Will Go the project was created for the 1997 Official Disneyana Convention at Walt Disney World.