Watch Eliza on the Ice For Free

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The acting in this movie is really good.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is a cartoon in the Mighty Mouse series produced by Terrytoons studio. There will be spoilers ahead: This, in many respects, is your basic Mighty Mouse cartoon-the first two-thirds of this sets up a peril which befalls a heroine, with the villain creating problems and then, just when it looks hopeless, Mighty Mouse is called in to save the day. But the heroine is Eliza, from Uncle Tom's Cabin, the villain is Simon Legree and the peril is the chase across the ice. Somehow, I suspect Harriet Beecher Stowe is whirling in her grave! There's a jazz band and Uncle Remus comes bopping in while Eliza and Legree are standing around. Uncle Remus gives the signal to start the chase, after asking the various participants (including the bloodhounds) if they're ready and then off everybody goes.The gags are largely standard for Terrytoons, although there are a few which are relatively novel and some with racial connotations/stereotypes. There's a nice gag with regard to the ice floes on the river and how that begins. There's also a joke where Eliza and her baby are stoking the furnace on a train with something unusual and very stereotypical. A lot of people would blow a gasket just on this gag alone.After roughly two-thirds of the short is over, Eliza is in trouble, but Little Eva places a call to Mighty Mouse from her perch on a cloud and he comes in to save the day. Standard Mighty Mouse ending, down to the superfluous ending peril so that Mighty Mouse can show off.Worth seeing, but if you're easily offended, you might want to pass on seeing this one.

I have an old home movie copy of "Eliza On Ice" that's missing a few feet at the beginning but is otherwise in excellent shape. Yes, by today's standards this would be definitely offensive because of the several racial stereotypes. The worst, I think, is a scene where black men on a train are using watermelons to stoke the engine. Of course, on the flip side, Eliza (and Mighty Mouse) do win out in the end over the evil slave hunter Simon LeGree, so there's a positive message (of sorts). But I agree that this film will probably never be shown at a film festival. At best, it is important for students of 20th century culture and those who study race and race relations, so in that regard it's important for serious historians. But I liken this film to the old Mammy cookie jars and some of those old salt and pepper shakers of black boys eating watermelon (the pepper came from his head, the detachable watermelon had the salt, I believe). Offensive but, from a historical standpoint, curious.

This is an extremely rare Mighty Mouse cartoon, banned because of its racial stereotypes so there's a good chance this will never seen the light of day again, unless you find it in bootleg circles (as I have). In black and white, the cartoon starts off pretty strange as Eliza and her baby go to the "starting line" with the infamous Simon LeGree and his snowdogs. Uncle Tom, who starts the event, even asks everyone if they're ready ("Is the dogs ready?"). Once they're off, LeGree then chases Eliza through a winter wonderland of ice and snow. Of course during the chase Eliza comes across a giant slot machine that she has to play. Mighty Mouse ends up getting a call (from Little Eva) in his hideout and comes to "save the day" once again. One thing of interest is something at the start of the cartoon during the titles which indicated the cartoon was for home use only or something along those lines. So perhaps this was something people could rent out or buy to bring home, much like VHS tapes and DVDs years later? Definitely a cartoon Mighty Mouse completists would want for their collections.