PR02: Road Hogs Animated Short

Road Hogs is a Disney animated short involving Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their adventure as they get mixed up with a biker gang. The style, from the thick lines and bright colours, is what interested me first, but as it kept my interest with the story too, I would like to have a look at what this story is made up of, and what makes it effective.

This is definitely a character driven short, as it is Mickey's actions and decisions that take us through the film. He takes Minnie to a 'biker hangout' where they meet a lot of stereotypical bikers. As Minnie leaves, Mickey makes conversation with the bikers, before is own scooter knocks over the other motorbikes and earns the bikers' anger. Mickey flees the scene which is when Minnie enters and gets kidnapped by the bikers. Mickey decides to go after her in his own little scooter. Minnie stays blissfully oblivious, despite being kidnapped, keeping her personality consistent. She cleans the biker's bike, along with removing his tattoos - something unexpected from someone held captive. Mickey pulls her towards him, not realising the possible consequences of his actions again, before they begin to fall off the cliff. Being the good guy he is, Mickey saves the biker as well as Minnie, and in the end Mickey rides off as the head of a biker gang.

This story relies heavily on character interaction with both action and dialogue, but this story would have worked even without the dialogue; the biker's intentions are clear, as is Mickey's fear and Minnie's ignorance. It is a simple plot which works as every has clear motives and everything makes sense. It kind of cycles back to the beginning as it shows Mickey and Minnie riding off towards their destination again, with only a slight change at the end with the addition/creating of their 'biker gang'. The characters stay the same, and all of heir problems are solved within the 3:46 of the short. It was entertaining and understandable, which I think makes it an effective short.