Welcome back to Disney Stuff.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday feasts and are enjoying some time off with your families and loved ones. Today’s the big shopping day and I’m looking forward to staying as far away from the malls as possible. Let’s face it: if you’ve been reading my Stuff articles for a while (and thank you, if you have been) you know that I’ve got plenty of stuff on my shelves to keep me happy. Besides, nobody’s really having a Disney Collectibles Black Friday Sale…are they?
Obviously, I’m not hurting in the Disney collectibles department. Even so, there are still so many pieces that I have yet to discuss here on MousePlanet. Take, for instance, this wonderful plush Mickey that I bring to you today. This has been sitting on the shelf as long as I’ve been writing here and I have yet to take it down, snap some photos of it, and discuss it with you readers.
I can vividly remember acquiring this classic looking Mickey. My then tiny little daughter and I walked into the now defunct KB Toys here in town in search of a birthday gift for one of her friends. Daddy, of course, has always been as big a fan of toy stores as his kids, so naturally I looked around.
Much to my surprise, there was this Brave Little Tailor Mickey sitting on the KB Toys shelves. I was quite surprised to find something of this nature in such a mainstream toy store. Sure, there were plenty of Mickey Mouse toys to be found throughout the store, but this was a pretty atypical Mickey. After all, most people can identify with the mouse in his usual attire: his gloves, shorts and big yellow shoes. Not everyone is as familiar with the Mickey from the classic 1938 animated short, Brave Little Tailor. This writer and collector certainly was, and was more than happy to bring home this fantastic Disney collectible, especially on sale for a cool $9.99!
The Brave Little Tailor Mickey mint in package. Photo by Chris Barry.
I’ve always been a big fan of Brave Little Tailor and I love the look of circa late ’30s Mickey, so this purchase was a real no-brainer. As far as I can remember there were a few of these in the series on the shelves that day. I remember a more modern looking Mickey in the box, as well as a Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia. Those were cool too, but to me, Brave Little Tailor Mickey was the real find. I always love when Disney puts out a product that remembers and pays homage to their legendary past
The Applause toy company was responsible for making this little gem. For years they had many licenses for such classic characters as Disney, Warner Brothers and Jim Henson’s Muppets.
The now defunct Applause Toy Company logo. Photo by Chris Barry.
The package features some stylized drawings of Mickey and Minnie seemingly dressed in their Brave Little Tailor garb.
There's something not right about the whites of their eyes. Photo by Chris Barry.
However, a true fan will instantly notice that both Mickey and Minnie are featured on the box with very different eyes than they would have had in 1938. I’m not sure why this mistake was allowed through, especially because the doll itself has the correct eyes…
Mickey's vintage, “just black” eyes are featured on the doll. Photo by Chris Barry.
…as do the illustrations from the actual short featured on the inside box cover.
A still from the original animated short. Photo by Chris Barry.
All the stills on the inside of the box feature the time period authentic Mickey and Minnie eyes. Photo by Chris Barry.
Another still from the box. Photo by Chris Barry.
There’s a little blurb about the film included on the inside cover as well.
A little back story for the unfamiliar. Photo by Chris Barry.
Mickey remains in the box, visible through the oval window only and has never been removed, assuring his value.
Brave Little Tailor Mickey. Photo by Chris Barry.
A recent search online found Brave Little Tailor Mickey, still in the box, selling for around $35.00, so my $9.99 investment is pretty solid. I, of course, have no interest in selling him. He’s one of the very few Brave Little Tailor collectibles that I have. I certainly would love to find some more pieces from this, one of my all-time favorite Disney animated shorts.
Until then, this little guy will continue to occupy some prime space on the collectible shelf.
Brave Little Tailor Mickey in his rightful spot amongst the collectibles. Photo by Chris Barry.
That’s all for this time around. As always, I’d like to hear what you have to say. Click on the link below; let me hear your thoughts and I’ll see you next time with more of that great Disney Stuff.
