Let's get this show on the road!
Episode 36: House of Mouse/ The Pre-Show
Up in the sky, a camera zooms down over the Magical World, going onto Main Street and focusing on the House of Mouse.
"Live from Downtown Disney!" announced Mike the Microphone. "It's Disney's House of Mouse!"
The doors swing open as a live jazz band plays the main theme.
Who's that knockin' at the House of Mouse?
We're all knockin' at the House of Mouse
Max Goof opens the door for guests to enter as many iconic Disney vehicles- like Cinderella's carriage, a TRON Light Cycle, the Millennium Falcon, and Carl Fredrickson's house- land outside. The characters all pile into the club, ready to see the show.
So come on in, we're gonna shake the house
We're all rockin' at the House of Mouse
Donald shakes the hands of various characters as they enter, even leaning down to give a hand to Chip and Dale, whom are wearing their Rescue Rangers attire tonight. The duck gets nervous when Dr. Facilier offers to shake his hand, however. Daisy sits at the receptionist deck, stuck between the White Rabbit and Dr. Strange as they discuss time.
We're havin' a ball, and we're rockin' the hall
So come one and all to the House of Mouse!
The characters all take their seats. Some highlights include Luke and Leia having an awkward family dinner with their father, Darth Vader, A massive table that somehow holds all 202 dalmatians at it, and Hades and Maleficent having a date right across from their daughter, Mal, on her own date with her boyfriend, Ben.
The party's just started, so come on in
The good times are all just about to begin
Some more tables are shown. Vanellope and the Princesses are all hanging out together, Stitch and Rocket Raccoon are causing mischief together at another table, and Jack Sparrow is having a game of Liar's Dice against Captain Hook.
Step inside we're gonna have some fun
There's plenty of room here for everyone
Goofy and the waiter penguins come out of the kitchen, bringing people their appetizers for the show.
The gang's all here and we're hangin' out
All this fun makes you jump and shout!
Jasiri runs into the backstage, where Minnie points her to the room where Gabriel is getting ready for the show.
Hey little girl, I wanna dance with you
We'll find so many things to do
He tries on a tie, but Jasiri shakes her head at the look. Gabriel tosses the tie and gives a good luck kiss to his girlfriend before exiting the room.
So come on in, we're gonna shake the house
We're havin' a ball at the House of Mouse!
Minnie gives a thumb's up to Horace Horse collar up in the digital booth, the horse giving a thumb's up back as he starts the show and dims the lights.
"Alright guys, let's do this," Gabriel said.
Rather than have Mike make his usual announcements, the lights dimmed to a single stage light as an iconic cello line plays, followed by a violin. Oswald takes to the light and starts to sing.
Oswald:
How does a no one, poor one
Son of Flora and his father
Dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in Chicago by providence
Impoverished in town,
Grown up to be a leader world renound?
Another light came on, this time for Daisy to take the spotlight.
Daisy:
The youngest son, of a father with no job offer
He failed as a farmer
His sons working a lot harder
Made them be a lot smarter
Turned them into self-starters
By age nine, had Walt
Tossing papers around as unpaid labor
Donald took his spotlight next.
Donald:
And every day Walt slaved
He had little time to play
Throwing papers on a doorstep every night
And every day
Inside he was longing for
Something to put his brain on,
A way to free himself and put his
Focus work and pain on
It was Goofy's turn once the Spotlight came in his direction.
Goofy:
Then a World War came and
Devastation reigned, our man
Faked his age his passion could not be contained
Put a pencil to his paper his
Drawings helped with his strain
But the newspapers rejected them
Told him it was in vain
Oswald's light came back as he moved towards the center of the stage.
Oswald:
Well, our Walt was undeterred
And he never lost his dream, man
He went to Kansas City bound to show them
His new game plan
He used his last penny and his studio began
And the world's gonna know your name
What's your name man?
In the center of the stage stood Mickey, dressed in Walt's best suit as he sang.
Mickey:
Walt Elias Disney
My name is Walt Elias Disney
And there's a million things I haven't drawn
But just you wait, just you wait
Minnie was next to get a verse.
Minnie:
His first studio lasted all of thirty days
He found a new job where he got a big raise
By studio two
He thought that he'd mastered the film trick
Everyone:
Lasted longer than the first
But it still went quick
Horace was on stage now, singing his own line to the song.
Horace:
Moved in with his uncle
His uncle lived out west in LA
He went out in the fray knocking on
Studio doors everyday
No turning back
He started drawing in his uncle's old garage
He knew one day he'd hear and see
The whole world applaud
Oswald jumped forward to sing as the song picked up.
Oswald:
He sold his new cartoons
He finally found some success
With his Comedies of Alice
And with Oswald he found solace
He was workin', churnin' out cartoons
And whimsy fun galore
He thought how could I ever
Again end up on the floor?
The rabbit looked angry as he sang the next part.
Then Mintz met up with Disney
How could this be controversial?
Much to Walt's surprise the meeting
Took an unforeseen reversal
They took Oswald
And his animators ran away
But in LA you can make your own way
The classic Mickey characters gathered around the mouse as they sang together
Everyone:
In LA you can make your own way (Just you wait)
In LA you can make your own way (Just you wait)
In LA you can make your own way
In LA (LA)
Mickey:
Just you wait!
Everyone was now together as the song went on.
Everyone:
Walt Elias Disney (Walt Elias Disney)
We are waiting in the castle for you (Waiting in the castle for you)
You could never back down
Now you are the king of
Anaheim
Oh, Walt Elias Disney (Walt Elias Disney)
When your characters sing for you
Will they know of your legacy?
Will it fill all their hearts with glee?
The world will never be the same
Oswald and the Sensational Six stepped forward to the front of the stage.
Oswald:
The train is in the station now
He can see the mouse now
Travelling back to home
His future has the know-how
Little did he know that
That mouse could change it all
"Me? I fought with him," Donald said.
"Me? I laughed with him," Goofy said.
"Me? I trusted him," Daisy said.
"Me? I loved him," Minnie said.
"And Me?" Oswald said, singling himself out. "I'm the dang fool that lost him!"
Everyone:
There's a million things I haven't drawn
But just you wait
Oswald:
What's your name man?
Everyone:
Walt Elias Disney
As the song ended, the crowd gave their applause. Once the cheers died down, Mike the Microphone came down from the ceiling to make his announcement.
"And now, for the rodent with the most film awards, it's Mickey Mouse!" Mike announced.
Gabriel took that as his cue, sliding onto the stage. "Hey there, everyone! I hope you enjoyed that special performance to start our show tonight."
"Is it just me, or did Mickey get taller than the last time I saw him?" Timon whispered to Pumbaa.
"As you can probably tell, I'm not Mickey," Gabriel said.
"What tipped us off to that?" Iago said sarcastically.
"I was asked to be your host for tonight's show, so you can give a big round of applause to Pete for our 'special' show that we've put on," the raven said. Most of the crowd booed at that, though Pete took it in stride. "Anyway, I'm Gabriel the Dream Keeper, and me and my friends will be performing for all of you tonight. Now then, let's roll a short film to start off the night while we prepare our first act."
Gabriel walked off the stage, the crowd giving their applause as the short "Paperman" played on the screen. The raven gave a big sigh as he went to the back, where Jasiri was waiting for him.
"That was a lot harder than it looked," Gabriel said, taking a sip of water.
"But you did well out there," Jasiri stated.
"And we'll make sure that others are prepared as well," Minnie added.
"The guys are going first, right?" Jasiri asked. "I wonder what they picked to do."
"Wait, you guys didn't check with them beforehand?" Donald said in disbelief.
"I trust my friends to do well," Gabriel said. "Just let us preform while you guys make sure that Pete didn't do anything back here to mess us up."
"Aw, and why would I do that?" Pete said, lumbering backstage.
"Oh, I dunno, how about that your whole thing is trying to get the club out of Mickey's hands?" Gabriel replied sarcastically. "You're not even a really evil guy, but wow are you irritating at how petty you can be."
"Don't let Pete get to you," Mickey said. "Although I do hope the crowd understands about the change-up tonight. I wouldn't want them going ape out there."
Out on the floor, suddenly a commotion happened while food was being served. King Louie and his monkeys were getting into an altercation with Mauro and his marmosets, along with the lemurs from Dinosaur. Daisy was trying to get them all to calm down, but that wasn't going over very well.
"What set off all these crazy monkeys anyway?" she huffed.
At a nearby table, Abu was laughing to himself as he had managed to steal all the food from the other apes, only to get whacked on the head by Rafiki's stick, the shaman not approving of his fellow simian's behavior.
Author's Note
This chapter was a lot of fun to write! The open to "House of Mouse" is really iconic in my opinion, and it has a similar vibe to the song "Rock this Town" by the Stray Cats if you know it.
The second song of this story was obviously a parody of the opening song of "Hamilton," though this specific parody is from the Youtube star Brian Hull. He's a big Disney fan and does a lot of voice impersonations, so if you haven't seen his stuff before you should go do that!
Next Time: The boys perform, but an unexpected accident happens before they can go on stage.
