Chapter 10: The Big Cheese
"Lola and the Magic Hat" was released on Sunday the 26th and opened up to pretty favorable reviews.
Safe to say, audiences were impressed by how Lola held her own against Ala Bahma, they even liked how she turned the tables on him and performed some tricks of her own.
All in all, it was a most wonderful cartoon.
But when the applause reached a ceasefire, Lola was asked by Isaac Plotz take a quick break and enjoy some quiet time.
While she rested up, Lola took the liberty of attending both temple and church services.*1
And for those of you who are wondering how Lola could do such a feat when compared to normal Jews my answer to you readers is a very simple one: When compared to normal Judaism, Jewish Christians, based on what I have learned, actually do believe in Jesus and accept him as both their Messiah and savior. Most normal Judaism followers, however, do not: they see him as a prophet, a blasphemer and nothing more.
That said, being of the Christian faith myself, I, the author, do not condemn anyone who has a different set of religious beliefs/faith, I follow what I believe in. And likewise, anyone else can follow what they believe in, if any whatsoever are applicable. It's just a matter of "different strokes for different folks" as they say.*1
Anyway, as I said, since she was born and raised that way, Lola has managed to balance both sides of the coin of her beliefs very well. And for those of you who are wondering which holidays she celebrates, I shall be happy to answer that question too.
On the Jewish side of her faith, Lola celebrates Passover, Purim, Shabbat and Yom Kippur. And for the Christian side of her faith, Lola celebrates Advent, Christmas, Easter, Lent, Palm Sunday and Pentecost.*2
Fascinating, isn't it?
So, what else went down as Lola took a much-needed break? Let's find out, shall we?
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Meanwhile, all the way out in Buena Vista, we come now to Bugs's real and true best friend outside of the rest of all the Looney Tunes.
This fellow here was also an actor himself and one thing he prided himself on was being the boss of most the, if not all of the Toons…*3
Well, American made ones, at least…
The same being in question also knew to let God be the Lord of all creation, as he was a good-natured and hardworking Christian man himself… or rather, a good-natured and hardworking Christian mouse.
Anyway, back to cartoons, any and all foreign cartoons that came from overseas, the figure in question would check them to make sure they were 'good' entertainment, or if they needed to be changed.
He went by many names according to his friends, fans and closest peers, these included, but did not limit to: the "true first cartoon character", the "king of all cartoon characters", "Walt Disney made in his own image", the "one who started it all", (fittingly for this chapter) the "big cheese", etc.*4
All of those nicknames were fine and dandy, but our mutual friend who I'm about to introduce you all to, was better known by his birth name… Michael Francis Mouse*5, or Mickey, to his family members, friends, fans and closest peers.
It was a day or two that shortly thereafter the premiere of "Lola and the Magic Hat" that Mickey was seen typing away a review for the latest The Three Stooges short that he and his friends had the pleasure of seeing an early screening themselves as they were celebrities too.
The short in question? "If a Body Meets a Body".*6
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As he was typing up his review on his typewriter, Mickey soon heard the front door to his office open up. Entering his office was his fellow co-star, friend and colleague George Maxamillion Geef, better known by his stage name and nickname of Goofy Goof.*7
"What is it, Goofy?" the mouse inquired curiously and not looking up from his work.*8
"Warner Brothers, they, uhh —." the dog answered, hoping to tell his friend the news, a newspaper was gently tucked away in one of his armpits.
Mickey, who had a glass of Chardonnay by his side, fixed to take a sip. All the while, he listened to Goofy and stopped typing.
"Have recently made another musical just as great as The Wizard of Oz?" he asked in excitement.
"No." Goofy answered.
"Are out of money and need help with their financial troubles?" the mouse quizzed with a raised eyebrow.
Again, Goofy simply replied, "No."
Mickey guessed four other guesses, but each one was met with either a 'no' or some synonym thereof from his canine ally. Finally, he was unable to give any more good guesses.
"Wanna do a crossover movie with us?*9 Wanna have a special party for all Toons?" Mickey asked, a little irritated, "What is it, Goofy?! Out with it, man!"
As he listened to Goofy's answer, the mouse took a swig of his drink.
"They've come back, Mick. They're popular again." the buck-toothed canine replied.
Mickey then did a comedic spit take of his wine. Quickly regaining his composure, the face and mascot of Disney then swallowed the rest of his drink gently.
"I haven't visited the Warner Brothers studio in years, have I?" Mickey pondered.
"Nope," Goofy shook his head. "You haven't."
Mickey then took out a sheet of paper from his file cabinet, which clearly was a review.
"One of my last reviews sent on its well-earned way to fame," the mouse said looking at the review he typed up years ago, which was to Bugs's "The Case of the Missing Hare", the cartoon itself came out on December 12th, 1942.
"I said, and I quote, ' "The Case of the Missing Hare" has a really good story and Bugs Bunny's hijinx thereof against Ala Bahma are so wonderful that remind me a whole lot of another famous cartoon… ' "
But before the dog could ask, Mickey quickly replied with sincerity in his voice, " 'My very own "Magician Mickey". ' "
Goofy nodded to assure Mickey that he was listening.
" 'At this point,' " Mickey went on reading, " 'I think it's safe to say that I have found myself a worthy, yet good natured friendly rival in the entertainment industry, let alone in cartoons.' ," says Mickey Mouse, " 'Good job, Bugs, you old rascal, dear friend! Keep up the good work!'. Unquote…"
"Those were your words, Mickey." Goofy nodded once again, agreeing with a warm smile.
"Yes they were," said the mouse, as he rose from his chair. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand, Goofy… How could Warner Brothers be 'popular' all over again?"
Mickey then noticed the newspaper Goofy had underneath his armpit.
"Goofy, is that the latest copy of the LA Times I asked you to get me?" he asked with curiosity.*10
"It sure is, Mick." Goofy nodded as he approached his rodent friend and boss.
"Then why am I not reading it?"
It took the canine to think for a second before he replied, as he did so, Goofy bequeathed the newspaper like a bishop presenting a royal scepter or anything to his sovereign leader.
"'Cause I haven't given it to you yet?" he guessed.
"Right," nodded Mickey, who gently took the LA Times from Goofy's gloved hands.
The mascot of Disney then examined the newspaper and saw a picture headline and photo that caught his eyes, one that focused on the review of Lola and her cartoon "Lola and the Magic Hat".
Reading in quiet wonder and amazement, Mickey smiled in delight, which to Goofy (and the rest of the Disney company) meant one thing: that he got an idea. A humble idea. Mickey Mouse got a wonderful, humble idea.*11
Putting down the whole newspaper, he turned to Goofy.
"Goofy," the rodent said at last. "Make a memo."
Grabbing a pen and notepad, Goofy was ready to do so.
"What do ya want it to say, Mick?" the dog asked.
"Make an appointment with Warner Brothers," replied Mickey. "I'm long overdue on checking the company out. Plus, I'd like to meet this 'Lola Bunny'."
"Will do," Goofy saluted as he wrote the note and went on his way to make the phone call.*12
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A moment later, after a brief phone call, Mickey learned from his co-star, wife and girlfriend on-screen, Minerva, or Minnie Mouse,*13 that Goofy made the appointment and they were all set to meet up face to face on January 18th, 1946.
It was a tall order just to get the date, let alone for both parties to wait as both Disney and Warner Brothers were very busy companies in the entertainment industry, but it was worth it.
"Thanks for doing that, Min." said Mickey as they shared a kiss. "I love you."
"And I love you too, Mickey," Minnie squeaked back as she made her exit.
Looking at a photo of him and Bugs from their days of acting school, Mickey smiled.
Well, Bugs old friend, he said to himself in delight, I'll be seeing you, eventually.*14
Author's notes:
* So that was the Tenth chapter this story. Let me know what you thought of it, and as always, let me know what you thought of it.
- Like chapter 3, aka "When Lola met June and Bea", I wanted to keep this chapter short and to the point. Mostly on the grounds for it to be a filler chapter. As such, you can imagine that Lola will be meeting Mickey and the rest of the Disney very soon.
* And finally: I own nothing in this fanfiction, except the words I write, as such: Lola Bunny, her parents and Ala Bahma, as well as all other rights and everything else are owned and © by Warner Brothers.
* EASTER EGGS *
1. As established earlier in Chapter 1 "A (Female) Star is Born", Lola and her family are of Jewish Christian faith, when compared to my personal Christian faith.
- And those details listed below are what Jews and Jewish Christians DO believe in separately, based on what I know and have researched.
- And as said, if there's anyone out there reading this with different beliefs than me (if any), I won't condemn you. You follow your religious path (if any) and I'll follow mine.
2. The following are what makes each Jewish and Christian holiday stand out and what they're all about, based upon either what I've researched, or my faith alone:
* Jewish holidays that Lola and relatives observe/practice:
- Passover: The Hebrew exodus from Egypt long ago.
- Purim: The saving of the Jews from a diabolical plot of destruction, as recounted in the Book of Esther.
- Shabbat: The day of rest and weekly observance of God's completion of creation.
- Yom Kippur: The Jewish Day of Atonement. A day devoted to self-examination, and the chance to begin the New Year with a clean slate.
* Christian holidays that Lola and relatives observe/practice:
- Advent: The period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ
- Christmas: The annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
- Easter: The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Lent: The period of 40 days during which Christians remember the events leading up to and including the death of Jesus Christ.
- Palm Sunday: The commemoration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
- Pentecost: The festival celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension.
3. In this AU, I like to have it implied Mickey is (as I've said) the most of, if not all of the Toons. Well, American made ones, at least…
4. None of the listed nicknames are real ones that Mickey goes by, so I had to create some for this story as I couldn't find any real nicknames he goes by, outside of "Mick", which Goofy calls him.
5. In a recently released Mickey Mouse cartoon, or "The Fancy Gentleman", Mickey is trained up to be all that the title suggests. By the time his training is complete, the man who trained Mickey (or Wadsworth Thorndyke the 3rd) said Mickey's full name is Michel Francois Mouse.
- That, however, DIDN'T sit well on the tip of my tongue, so I rechristened it in this AU and MY canon as Michael Francis Mouse.
6. "If a Body Meets a Body" was the 86th out of 190 shorts of The Three Stooges franchise. The plot sees Curly (along with Moe and Larry) trying to solve a case of his murdered uncle, who may or may not be leaving him a huge inheritance. The short arrived in theaters on August 30th, 1945.
* For me personally, the short was never one of my favorites, as I found it to be okay at best.
- And if you're wondering HOW Mickey and the gang got to see it a few days earlier before anyone else, seeing as they are cartoon stars and celebrities, plus this story IS an AU, anything goes, so they were probably given special permission. That, and, as they say, "it's cartoon logic", I wouldn't question it.
7. In one or two cartoons, it's established that George Geef is one of the OTHER names that Goofy goes by, so I thought why not make that his real name.
- That said, his middle name is never mentioned, so I decided to make it Maxamillion, which in turn would explain where his son, or Max, gets his first name.
8. Mickey and Goofy's talk here was heavily inspired by the talk both Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) and his associate Ambrister Minion (Brad Bird) have in Ratatouille about Gusteau's re-rise in popularity after the former condemned both the chef and his restaurant years ago.
- The main difference here is that Ego was disgusted on hearing the news, whereas Mickey (as you learn) is good friends with Bugs.
- Also, Mickey's cartoon that he mentions, or "Magician Mickey", which I have not seen yet, but I want to, the cartoon itself came out on February 6th, 1937.
9. How ironic Mickey brings this up, as he and Bugs would INDEED cross paths with each other as seen in one scene in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
- Mostly the scene where Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) goes into Toontown and he falls out of the skies from an apartment building. They claim that they have a spare parachute for the private detective, but it was actually a spare tire.
10. The whole "Is that the paper I asked you to get me?" bit is a moment line for line that was used between Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) and Otis (Ned Beatty) as seen the original 1978 live-action Christopher Reeve Superman movie.
- Only difference is that Lex snatched the Daily Planet paper out of his minion's hands, whereas Mickey graciously accepts it as I can't see the mouse becoming evil.
- And before you ask me in your comments that you leave me, yes, I HAVE heard about the whole "Darth Mickey" schtick these days, but I don't think Mickey is greedy at all. What I think is ruining Disney these days, if anything, is his evil counterpart, Mortimer Mouse, and other bad people working for Disney, both real AND fictional, as well as other characters that are ruining the company's good image and name. As well as most of (if not all of) the remakes of their classic movies.
11. Another How the Grinch Stole Christmas homage here.
12. Originally, Goofy was gonna get some of the pen's ink in all over his face, but a friend of mine who helps me co-write this story (who I have mentioned in the past) decided it be best if Goofy was goofball only on-camera and a normal guy when not seen working on a cartoon.
- And I couldn't disagree with that idea, especially as there are 1 or 2 cartoons where Goofy has been seen as a serious character.
13. We all know that Mickey and Minnie are seen dating each other on-screen, but seeing as this is an AU story, I'm going with what Walt himself has said in interviews.
- That being, while they may not look like it, especially as they DON'T have wedding rings, Walt has confirmed that in personal life both Mickey and Minnie ARE married.
14. I will have established in a few chapters from now that not only will you see Bugs and Mickey's friendship, but they are also friendly rivals in the entertainment industry.
- Kind of like how Street Fighter's Ryu and Ken Masters are not only sparring partners in fighting, but they are also friendly rivals.
Until the next chapter, my fellow readers and Toons:
I'm M. R. Parkerson signing off…