Mumbai Madness

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox television episode

| series = Mickey Mouse

| image =

| season = 2

| episode = 8

| director = Paul Rudish

| writer = {{Plainlist|

  • Darrick Bachman{{Cite AV media|author=Mickey Mouse|title=Mumbai Madness | A Mickey Mouse Cartoon | Disney Shorts|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlMReeBTNOI|website=YouTube|publisher=YouTube, LLC|date=September 27, 2014}}
  • Alonso Ramirez Ramos
  • Paul Rudish}}

| story =

| music = Christopher Willis

| editor = Illya Owens

| production = 028

| airdate = {{Start date|2014|09|26}}

| length = 4 minutes

| guests =

| prev = Captain Donald

| next = The Boiler Room

| episode_list = List of Mickey Mouse episodes

}}

"Mumbai Madness" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series Mickey Mouse,{{cite web|last=Sanza|first=Cristina|title=INTERVIEW: Disney composer Christopher Willis talks making music for 'Runaway Railway' ride, Mickey Mouse Halloween special|url=https://insidethemagic.net/2017/09/interview-mickey-mouse-composer-christopher-willis-talks-upcoming-spooktacular-halloween-special-runaway-railway-attraction/|website=Inside the Magic|publisher=JAK Schmidt, Inc.|accessdate=July 13, 2020|date=September 6, 2017}} and its 26th episode overall.{{cite web|title=Mickey Mouse – 'Mumbai Madness'|url=http://tv.msn.com/tv/episode/mickey-mouse/mumbai-madness/|publisher=MSN TV|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819125729/http://tv.msn.com/tv/episode/mickey-mouse/mumbai-madness/|archive-date=August 19, 2014|url-status=dead}} Co-written and directed by series creator Paul Rudish, the episode first aired on the Disney Channel in the United States on September 26, 2014, and was subsequently released on YouTube the next day. In the episode, Mickey Mouse is an auto rickshaw taxi driver in Mumbai, India tasked with transporting an elephant with a broken tusk to a distant mountain, encountering various obstacles along the way.

As the episode's score involved the use of authentically Indian instruments and approach to composition, composer Christopher Willis has deemed it to be his hardest assignment for the Mickey Mouse series.{{cite web|author=Disney Family|title=Mickey Mouse Cartoons' Composer | Behind the Animation|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8is32ArDEhs|website=YouTube|publisher=YouTube, LLC|accessdate=July 13, 2020|date=September 29, 2014}}

Plot

An elephant with a broken tusk arrives in Mumbai by train while holding a lotus. Looking around for further transportation, he spots Mickey Mouse with his auto rickshaw taxi. The elephant indicates that he would like to travel to a particular mountain, with Mickey agreeing to take him there, albeit insisting that a map isn't needed. As Mickey drives the elephant through Mumbai, various cows keep blocking their way, reaching a point where a clear path to the mountain is obstructed by a large herd of cows. Mickey solves the problem through a Bollywood-style musical number, though he unwittingly ends up taking the opposite direction from their destination.

After 17 hours of driving, Mickey relents and asks the elephant for his map, upon which the two proceed to travel through a variety of challenging terrains, ending up in a town next to a river. Nearing the point of giving up, Mickey notices that the river's reflection shows the mountain to be nearby. Taking a pot of spicy curry as fuel for his auto rickshaw, Mickey and the elephant blast through town and are able to arrive at the mountain, though Mickey's taxi is destroyed as a consequence. The elephant gives Mickey his lotus in return for the transportation, then mysteriously disappears in front of him, with Mickey noticing that he is at a temple filled with many elephant statues. As he ponders, the lotus lands in a pool and opens up to reveal a new auto rickshaw with wings, which Mickey cheerfully rides out of the mountain.

Production

=Music=

Christopher Willis, the series composer for Mickey Mouse was told by the production staff about their plan to set an episode in India before production began to allow him time to prepare for composition. Willis, who was previously a musicologist, extensively researched Bollywood-related music and its traditions, and inquired with another musician who had knowledge of Indian music to better understand obscure methods of how they are composed and played.{{cite web|last=Pappas|first=Catherine Cappiello|title=LTG Interviews Presents: Emmy Nominated Composer Christopher Willis|url=https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/09/ltg-interviews-presents-emmy-nominated-composer-christopher-willis.html|website=Living the Gourmet|accessdate=July 13, 2020|date=September 2, 2017}} Charenjeet, an Indian singer-songwriter, was brought in to help write music for "Mumbai Madness" as well as provide vocals for the songs.{{cite web|author=Charenjeet Cj|title=CHARENJEET CJ sings for Disney | Mumbai Madness | Mickey Mouse | Behind the scenes|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKXxzeUt9U|website=YouTube|publisher=YouTube, LLC|accessdate=July 13, 2020|date=October 14, 2014}} Instruments used for "Mumbai Madness" include a sitar, a bansuri, and a shehnai. Willis considers the episode to be his "most labor-intensive" out of all the Mickey Mouse episodes.

The episode's entire score has since been released on SoundCloud by Willis on November 21, 2019.{{cite web|last1=Willis|first1=Christopher|title=Mumbai Madness|url=https://soundcloud.com/christopher-t-willis/mumbai-madness|website=SoundCloud|publisher=SoundCloud Limited|accessdate=July 13, 2020|date=November 21, 2019}}

Release

"Mumbai Madness" originally aired on the Disney Channel in the United States on September 26, 2014. The following day, the episode was released on YouTube by the official Mickey Mouse YouTube account. As of June 2023, the episode has garnered almost 50 million views on the streaming platform.

Accolades

Christopher Willis won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production for "Mumbai Madness".{{cite web|title=Christopher Willis|url=https://www.ascap.com/news-events/Events/2018/sundance/composers/christopher-willis|website=ASCAP|publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|accessdate=July 13, 2020}} The episode was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.{{cite web|title=Disney Mickey Mouse|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/disney-mickey-mouse|website=Television Academy|accessdate=July 13, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Disney's Mickey Mouse gets another Emmy Nomination|url=https://mercuryfilmworks.com/press_releases/disneys-mickey-mouse-gets-another-emmy-nomination/|website=Mercury Filmworks|publisher=Mercury Filmworks|accessdate=July 13, 2020|date=August 25, 2015}}

References

{{Reflist}}