Clarabelle Cow

Clarabelle Cow is a supporting character created by Walt Disney in cooperation with Ub Iwerks. Clarabelle is a cow, and was

part of the original Mickey Mouse cartoon cast. Her character is not to be confused with her non anthropomorphic look alike, Caroline Cow. She is the best friend to Minnie Mouse, and Daisy Duck. She is the girlfriend of Horace Horsecollar. She also began dating Goofy in the late 60's.

Background

Clarabelle debuted in the cartoon short Plane Crazy that was released on May 15, 1928, but her character was not established until the other cartoon short, The Shindig in 1930. Her name was first given in the Mickey Mouse comic strip on April 2, 1930, as part of the storyline Mickey Mouse in Death Valley. Her last appearance in the original shorts was in Mickey's Birthday Party.

In the comics, several of Clarabelle's family members have been introduced. Her little cousin Bertie made his first appearance in Horse Play, a 1940 one-pager. Clarabelle's rich aunt Miss Bovina visited her in the 1939 comic Mickey Gets the Drift, while Clarabelle's unlucky cousin Boinifacio didn't appear in the comics until 1986, in the Brazillian story Boinifácio, Muito Praz(e/a)r!.

Clarabelle's parents were introduced separately; her father Beeble, the mayor of Clarabelle's hometown, could be seen living with young Clarabelle in the Goofy comic Two Gun Sheriff (1953). Clarabelle's mother, a Dutch character called 'Moe Koe' (Dutch for 'Maw Cow'), has been used in Dutch one-pagers and short comics since 2007.

Personality

Clarabelle loves to gossip, and thoroughly enjoys doing activities such as shopping, attending special events and more. Although Clarabelle means well, she has a tendency to find herself in troublesome situations. In House of Mouse, Clarabelle gossips about private matters that usually upset Mickey, and the other Disney characters. She also has the tendency to add a moo to a word. An example is "We better get moooving!". Though mostly portrayed as well mannered, Clarabelle has been shown to be rather clumsy and goofy at times. She can also be rather sarcastic and often speaks in a business woman-esque sort of speech. She has also shown to be somewhat self-righteous at times.

Popularity

Clarabelle's first voice actress was Elvia Allman. Most of Clarabelle's roles prior to the 2000s, were non-speaking. When the character was given prominent roles once again, April Winchell was given the role.

Clarabelle would not appear again until her cameos in the 1983 theatrical short, Mickey's Christmas Carol, and the 1990 short, The Prince and The Pauper. In later years, beginning in the 2000s, Clarabelle returned as a major character in the Mickey Mouse franchise, appearing in many films, television series, video games, and a continuing character in comic stories around the world. She also began to make regular appearances in the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world, alongside Horace Horsecollar.

Film Appearances

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Clarabelle made her soft animation comeback in Mickey's Christmas Carol. Clarabelle makes a non speaking cameo appearance as one of the guests at Mr. Fezziewig's Party. She is seen dancing with Horace Horsecollar.

Who Frame Roger Rabbit

Clarabelle can be spotted with all the other toons during the final scene of the film. Despite her current appearance being fully realized in her last role, Clarabelle retains her classic black and white look in the film.

The Prince and The Pauper

Clarabelle makes another cameo appearance in The Prince and the Pauper. Clarabelle is a peasant and is being robbed by the guards by order of the captain, Pete. Prince Mickey, in disguise as Pauper Mickey, battle off the guards and provides Clarabelle with the food she and the hungry folks deserves.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

Clarabelle was cast for a cameo appearance in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas in Mickey and Minnie's segment entitled, Gift of Maji. During Mickey's performance in the park, Clarabelle is seen in the crowd next to Horace..

Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers

Clarabelle is the villainous assistant to the evil Captain Pete. He is secretly plotting against Princess Minnie to take over France. He recruits Mickey, Donald and Goofy as musketeer bodyguards believing they'll be terrible but soon prove themselves worthy. To make sure he wins, he kidnaps Mickey while the Beagle Boys kidnap Donald and Clarabelle kidnaps Goofy. Her mission was to throw him off a bridge into a river to his death, and judging by the number of human skeletons already in the river, one can tell that it's not her first time. Goofy falls in love and the two sing a ballet. Clarabelle tries to resist but eventually falls for him and warns him of Pete's plan. After the captain is defeated, She becomes royalty with her and Goofy proclaim their love.

TV Show Appearances

Bonkers

Along with Horace, Clarabelle makes a cameo appearance in the Bonkers episode "Casabonkers". She also appears in the episode "Stork Exchange".

Mickey Mouse Works

Clarabelle appears as a recurring character in Mickey Mouse Works. Clarabelle is seen as a close friend to Minnie and Daisy and makes dozens of cameos. In the Goofy cartoon How to Be a Spy, Goofy believes his neighbor (Clarabelle) is watching and decides to find out why, as a spy. In the end, it turns out Clarabelle tried to get Goofy's attention and the two fall in love. In another short, Mickey's Big Break, Mickey and Donald disguise themselves as Minnie and Daisy. Clarabelle is the only character that noticed the disguises.

House of Mouse

Clarabelle appears as a recurring member of the House of Mouse staff. Clarabelle provides the club with exciting gossip of many Disney characters, such as Chernabog or the White Rabbit. Clarabelle's gossip tends to get annoying.

Clarabelle is shown to be the love interest of Goofy in the series as well. In the episode Super Goof, Goofy transforms into Super Goof to impress Clarabelle, and succeeds. However, when he asks her out as Super Goof, she rejects the offer, stating "I have a date with Goofy." She also makes a cameo in the Goofy short "How to be a Ghost" in Mickey's House of Villains.

The episode Thanks to Minnie is probably the best example of how her gossip can cause trouble. Clarabelle mistakingly believes Mickey feels the show would run better without Minnie, having Minnie feel unimportant and prompted to quit. However, this is simply out of context.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Clarabelle is seen along with most of the Mickey and Friends characters in a recurring role in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Clarabelle owns her own shop called The Moo Mart and hosts many events. In the series, she is once again featured as Goofy's girlfriend, and has a puppy named Bella. In the episode "The Go-Getters", Clarabelle became the heroine Captain Clarabelle and joined forces with the already established Detective Minnie and Secret Spy Daisy. Clarabelle also appears in the spin-off series Mickey Mousekersize.

Minnie's Bow-Toons

In Clarabelle's most recent appearance she plays a supporting role and seen in the debut episode "Leaky Pipes" as an engineer for Minnie and Daisy's shop. Clarabelle was the focus of the episode "Dance Lessons" where Minnie, Daisy, Millie and Melody teach Clarabelle how to dance for an upcoming Christmas party.

Mickey Mouse (2013 TV Series)

She makes a cameo appearance in the episode "Dog Show" as one of the show's judges. She later appears in the background in her traditional 1920s/30s form in "Third Wheel" and also makes a cameo appearance in "The Adorable Couple" as part of a band conducted by Goofy. She also appears at Goofy's "wedding" in the episode "Goofy's First Love". She made another appearance in the episode "¡Feliz Cumpleaños!".

Clarabelle has her first major role in No Reservation. She attends a dinner reservation with Minnie and Daisy, but the maitre d' refuses to let them dine in the restaurant despite Minnie's protests. The trio tries several attempts to enter the restaurant but get caught and thrown out every time. When they find an opening at the top, Clarabelle gets stuck in it when she tries to move through, and squirts milk below the diners as the girls try to pull her out, causing the guests to panic. In the commotion, the girls fall down into the restaurant and finally get to dine at the restaurant, starting with the maitre d' who denied them earlier.

Mickey and the Roadster Racers

Clarabelle regularly appears in the series as the Grand Marshall for Mickey, and friends' races. She also takes part as the host of other ceromines as well, such as a dance competition in Madrid.

Video Games

Kingdom of Hearts II

Clarabelle Cow is a civilian living on the Timeless River in Kingdom Hearts II. She is one of the citizens working on the building of Disney Castle. She was not aware of the Heartless' attack, and was dumbfounded by the appearance of the Windows of Time and Pete chasing Pete. She is likely still alive somewhere in Disney Castle, although Sora never sees her during the storyline.

Epic Mickey

In Epic Mickey, Mickey meets Clarabelle in OsTown, where she is tending to her garden. Saddened at Mickey not recognizing her at first, Clarabelle eventually requests Mickey to help her with baking a present for Horace. If Mickey is able to get her some ice cream, she'll make an Ice Cream Cake, and if not, she will give you a pie to deliver to Horace instead, though she'd prefer to do something other than that for Horace's birthday. For a quest in Ventureland, she can be asked to assist Mickey with a bouquet of flowers to give to Damien Salt for his efforts to ask out Henrietta.

Relationships

Horace Horsecollar

Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle were featured as a couple in the early shorts. They would often tag along with Mickey and Minnie on double dates. Today, their relationship is somewhat inconstant, mostly seen only in promotional material.

Goofy Goof

In some of her more recent appearances, in addition to some comic books from the late 1960s, she's been portrayed as the girlfriend of fellow Disney character, Goofy. The two were shown as a couple in Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey Mouse Works, House of Mouse, and Minnie's Bow-Toons.

They also appeared together along with many other Disney couples in the closing of the 1994 Walt Disney's World on Ice adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as well as some theme park entertainment. Goofy and Clarabelle's relationship is still currently strong as on the official Mickey Mouse website, Goofy's Sweetheart section has him state "Gawrsh, Clarabelle's awful purdy." as well as a picture of Clarabelle in Goofy's home for the cartoon How to Hook Up Your Home Theater. They were seen flirting with each other in the early Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Band Concert".

Trivia

• Concept art for Clarabelle's appearance in Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. She is seen on the film's DVD bonus features, but Clarabelle never appeared in the final film.
• Clarabelle makes a cameo appearance in the Roger Rabbit cartoon Roller Coaster Rabbit.

Voice Actresses

• Japanese : Romi Park (all media)
• English : the late Elvia Allman (1935 – 1990), April Winchell (1996 – Present)

all information on Clarabelle Cow came from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Clarabelle_Cow