Mickey's Polo Team is a 1936 Mickey Mouse short. It features Mickey and his fellow Disney stars Goofy (here called "The Goof"), Donald Duck, and The Big Bad Wolf facing off against Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, and Harpo Marx in a game of polo. And with all these comedians and 'toons on the field, it's bound to be an unorthodox game.
Tropes:
- Butt-Monkey:
- Ollie Hardy either can't control his steed, or can't stay on it.
- Donald gets the brunt of the slapstick in this cartoon.
- The Cameo: Shorts of the stands feature such Hollywood stars as Shirley Temple, W. C. Fields, and Charles Laughton, as well as a number of characters from Disney shorts, including Pluto, Cock Robin, King Midas and Goldie, Max Hare, and The Three Little Pigs.
- The Comically Serious: Jack Holt retains his trademark stone-faced demeanor, even when his helmet keeps slipping over his eyes, or when the game degenerates into utter chaos.
- Extendo Boxing Glove: Harpo has a boxing glove on a spring hidden in his hat and another under his coat, both of which he uses on Donald when he gets tired of one of Donald's temper tantrums.
- Horse of a Different Color: As befitting the zaniest of the Marx Brothers, Harpo Marx rides an ostrich instead of a horse. Donald, meanwhile, rides a donkey.
- Huge Rider, Tiny Mount: The cartoon ends with the game in utter chaos, including the steeds riding around on their riders.
- Interspecies Romance: One scene has Clarabelle Cow flirting with an oddly-receptive Clark Gable.
- Moody Mount: Both Oliver Hardy and Donald Duck have the most trouble controlling their respective steeds.
- Non-Mammalian Hair: Harpo's ostrich has a mane of curly blonde hair, just like its rider.
- Oh, Crap!: Donald is understandably concerned when he accidentally swallows the polo ball, and sees all the other players barreling towards him.
- Pain to the Ass: Laurel tries poking Hardy's horse in the rump with a pin to get it going, but the horse runs off just in time to leave Hardy getting stabbed in the butt instead.
- Precision F-Strike: When his donkey won't cooperate, Donald appropriately calls it a "jackass".
- Rump Roast: One of the ways Harpo screws with Donald is by burning his tail-feathers with a blowtorch.
- Token Evil Teammate: The Big Bad Wolf is the only villain on Mickey's team, though the nastiest thing he does is use his trade-mark huffing and puffing on Shirley Temple and the Three Little Pigs when they heckle him.
- Uncatty Resemblance: Each of the riders has a steed that resembles their rider (including referee Jack Holt). In Donald's case, his rowdy donkey steed resembles him more in temperament.
- The Voiceless: Mickey has no dialogue in this episode.
