1928 was a landmark year for animation. This is when Mickey Mouse debuted in the cartoon PLANE CRAZY and just a short time later, Mickey scored one of his biggest hits in his second film, STEAMBOAT WILLIE, as it was the first cartoon with a soundtrack (with sound effects and music). Because GALLOPIN' GAUCHO appeared after these two other films, it is less interesting from a historical viewpoint and also, unfortunately, isn't quite as entertaining.<br /><br />The film begins with Mickey playing a character clearly inspired by the Valentino film, BLOOD AND SAND. This is a super-cool Mickey who smokes, dances the Tango and romances Minnie--a big change from the previous Mickey films. However, the evil cat comes and kidnaps Minnie and it's up to Mickey to save the day. The usual odd Ub Iwerks style of animation is there and it's quite charming, though as I just saw it immediately after PLANE CRAZY and STEAMBOAT WILLIE, it just didn't seem as entertaining or clever. Still, it does hold up reasonably well after 80 years.