TV Recap: The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse – “The Brave Little Squire” and “An Ordinary Date”

Two new adventures from The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse were released today on Disney+ and we’ve got you covered with recaps of both shorts, as well as a look at all of the Easter Eggs and inside jokes hidden within.

The Brave Little Squire

This short pays homage to the 1938 classic short The Brave Little Tailor, with both Mickey and Minnie wearing their costumes from that short.

Mickey dreams of being the bravest knight in the kingdom and after an opening book sequence (narrated by Joanna Lumley, James and the Giant Peach), we see Queen Minnie on stage surrounded by royal guards, the rhinoceroses from Robin Hood. She is joined by Sir Mortimer, who has been Mickey’s rival ever since his short debut in Mickey’s Rival and he’s also appeared several times in the Mickey Mouse shorts series.

Mickey idolizes Sir Mortimer, who is in need of a new squire. It looks like Donald Duck held the position prior.

As Mortimer’s biggest fan, Mickey is chosen as his new squire out of some stiff competition. But little does Mickey know that Sir Mortimer picked him because he seemed the most gullible.

Shortly after starting his new gig, they come across a troll and Mickey retrieves Sir Mortimer’s sword, who refuses to take it. Thinking he’s receiving a lesson in knight strategy, Mickey plays the part of a distraction only to find that Mortimer has no plans to actually save him. Mickey ends up vanquishing the troll with his tail and the shirt off his back, but Mortimer gets all the credit.

They next come upon a village being ransacked by Maleficent’s goons where the Nottingham residents are fleeing for their lives.

Asked to be a distraction again, Mickey saves the day with just his wooden spoon and Morty steps in just in time to make it look like he is the hero.

The narrator and book return to showcase a few more examples, one of which found Mickey Mouse facing off against Mad Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone. It looks like she might’ve tried the same spell that turned boys into donkeys on Pleasure Island in Pinocchio.

Mickey eventually decides he’s had enough, dropping his wooden spoon and quitting.

But a true hero can’t resist the urge to save the day and while Mortimer has a victory tea with Queen Minnie, a dragon appears to terrorize the kingdom.

Mickey bumps into Mortimer on his way to the castle as the cowardly knight tries to flee, taking back his wooden spoon as heavenly light shines down upon him and marching into battle.

The citizens of Nottingham witness Mortimer’s cowardly deed as Mickey takes action.

Mickey is no match for the fire-breathing dragon, or is he? Knocked into the castle moat where a catapult was tossed aside, Mickey’s spoon gives him an idea, as evidenced by the lit lantern above his head.

Shooting water into the dragon’s mouth, Mickey stops its reign of fire and sends it running away scared. Mickey’s heroism is celebrated by the kingdom and Queen Minnie, who gives him a kiss. In the end, Mickey’s dream of becoming a knight comes true and his shield bears a very special emblem, the Disney family crest. You’ll find it on Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland and Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom. The crest also appears in the title card of this short.

An Ordinary Date

Mickey arrives at Minnie’s apartment to pick her up for their weekly Tuesday night date, but each of them have something planned to make it extra special. Mickey has Donald and Goofy standing by outside with a cage full of bluebirds. Hey, is that Tuppence?

Minnie is doing the same thing with Daisy and Clarabelle with a talking parrot from Steamboat Willie that will tell Mickey he loves him.

Once outside, Mickey’s bluebirds roll out a red carpet for Minnie and lead her to the car like Snow White.

But once the parrot is realised, it’s discovered that it has beef with one of the bluebirds and they start to fight, turning a romantic moment into a streetside turf war.

Driving through a park adjacent to The Old Mill, Mickey has Donald and Goofy disguised as some of Snow White’s forest friends.

Minnie also has a park surprise for Mickey, with Clarabelle and Daisy hiding as a tree and a rock.

Once again, their romantic plans don’t go well together. Donald and Goofy release a giant balloon of Minnie’s face while Daisy and Clarabelle erect a giant topiary statue of Mickey as cupid. Before Mickey and Minnie can see each other’s surprise, the gifts collide and destroy one another.

The resulting explosion scares the deer, which causes Mickey’s car to roll.

Mickey uses the highway to get to their dinner reservation. Oh, look, Interstate 5! It’s the main North/South highway on the West Coast that also happens to connect Disneyland with The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.

Donald, Goofy, Daisy and Clarabelle are still working on more surprises. When Daisy tells Clarabelle she quits, the cow slaps some sense into her…. WITH HER UDDERS!

Climbing to the top of a billboard, Clarabell also uses her udders to help her get up.

When the billboard to Mickey is illuminated, it blinds skywriters Donald and Goofy who crash into it before Mickey or Minnie can see the surprise.

Ow…

Things have to go well at a dining establishment called Bestaurante Restaurant, right?

Mickey and Minnie both spill their dinner on themselves on purpose to run to the restroom to salvage try to make a plan to salvage their date. Look at the signs on each door!

They both decide to unleash “The nuclear option,” unleashing all of their planned surprises at once against their friends' advice.

Daisy and Clarabelle join the diners in disguises.

Donald and Goofy also have fabulous disguises.

When the mousse and ice sculpture collide, it unleashes terror on the restaurant.

The planned entertainment is equally frightening, reminiscent of the dancing ornaments window display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during the holidays.

It all culminates in some indoor fireworks. Running for the hills, Mickey and Minnie realize they should’ve just told the other how much they mean to them. When Bestaurante Restaurant explodes, their table, dinner, and waiter land right in front of them, giving them the perfect ending to a crazy date.

The last two shorts in this release of episodes will air next week and I’ll be back to recap them on December 18th. Until next time, see ya real soon!

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Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).