The Nifty Nineties is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on June 20, 1941 by RKO Radio Pictures. the animated short was directed by Riley Thomson and animated by Ward Kimball, Walt Kelly, Fred Moore, Claude Smith, David Swift, and Les Clark with effects animation by Art Fitzpatrick. The film stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse and romanticizes the decade of the 1890s.
The film features original and adapted music by Charles Wolcott. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey and Thelma Boardman as Minnie. Animators Ward Kimball and Fred Moore have cameos where they each voice a caricatured version of themselves.
Set in the springtime, sometime in the 1890s, Mickey and Minnie Mouse happen to meet each other in a public park one day. Minnie attracts Mickey by intentionally dropping her handkerchief so Mickey will return it to her.
They attend a vaudeville show where they first see a slideshow presentation called "Father, Dear, Father", which features the song "Come Home, Father" by Henry Clay Work. In the show, a daughter attempts to get her father to leave a local tavern because he hadn't come right home from work as promised and got drunk at the tavern. In the fourth picture in the slideshow, we see the clock tower, which reads 1:00 am. With mother home watching since tea and her son very sick in her arms, there can only be hope that the father comes home. The slideshow causes Minnie to cry, but Mickey tries to comfort her saying "Don't take it so hard. It's only a show".
No way I'm ready for 2001
Some things have got to change before that day comes
It's touch and go, excuse me have you got the time
We know what happened here we don't need a judge
When someone shouts "incoming" now it's, here comes the sun
And we don't have to wait 'til 1999
So are you ready for some changes
And if we're gonna do it, let's be dangerous
[Chorus]
So when the nineties come
We'll do what must be done
And when the nineties come
We'll sing a different song
I don't know to patch a hole in the sky
I only know that we had better try
This is the game and you don't have to qualify
We only get one chance so let's make it good
Unless you think you'll need some firewood
And we can hardly wait 'till 1999
So are you ready to make some changes
And if we're gonna do it, let's be dangerous.
[Repeat Chorus]