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.