The Mad Doctor is a Mickey Mouse cartoon released in 1933. It is known as the first appearance of the title character "The Mad Doctor", or "Dr. XXX". It was the 52nd Mickey Mouse short film, and the second of that year. Plot The plot centers on the title character, a mad scientist who has kidnapped Mickey's dog, Pluto. Mickey tries to rescue him before the doctor can perform his experiment: putting Pluto's head to the body of a chicken in order to see if a puppy will hatch from an egg (that is if the end result will "bark or crow or cackle"). Mickey battles his way through booby traps and animated skeletons before eventually getting caught and strapped onto a table to get cut open by a buzzsaw, forcing Mickey to suck in his belly, trembling. The scene then fades to Mickey asleep in bed and suddenly woken up by a fly, whose buzzing resembles the whirring of the saw. Not yet realizing the events were only a nightmare, Mickey shouts for Pluto, who eagerly jumps onto Mickey's bed with his doghouse and chain still attached to his collar. Allusions The short uses several gags that appeared in The Haunted House, such as the door locking itself after Mickey enters the Mad Doctor's lair. Reception The short's horror genre overtones made it unusual for a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Some theaters refused to show it, believing it to be too scary for kids. At one time, for this reason, it was banned entirely in the United Kingdom, as well as Nazi Germany. On February 10, 1933, The Film Daily said: "One of the liveliest animated cartoons to come along, and plenty comical." Legacy The short's title character had a cameo in the Roger Rabbit short, "Tummy Trouble", in which he was seen on a picture. The Mad Doctor was also the basis for, and title of, the second level in the video game, Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse released for the Super NES, Genesis, Sega CD and PlayStation (as Mickey's Wild Adventure); a depiction of the Mad Doctor level is used as the cover art for the game. He also appears as a major character in Epic Mickey and its sequel. The video game Kingdom Hearts III includes a mini game based on the short, with the Mad Doctor appearing as an enemy. Home media The