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[[quoteright:215:[[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Peanuts_01_215_5583.png]]]]

Scoring a segment such that the music punctuates the physical motions occurring. This is a technical term coined in [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the early days of animation]], though the practice of synchronizing actions to the rhythm of the music goes back much earlier.

In a slapstick cartoon, this can be used as a complete substitute for the normal sound effects. In live action this is more commonly used alongside the normal sound effects, making it seem like a choreographed dance. In either case the effect is usually comedic, whether this was intentional or not, which is why the term is often used as a pejorative in film scoring circles.

While it was prevalent in the early days of animation due to how efficient it was for the animators to time the animation to, it soon became derided as cliché and corny, and its usage decreased considerably in the following years. That said, it's certainly ''not'' a DiscreditedTrope--there are still some modern cartoonists who still use this, such as [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Genndy Tartakovsky]] (who loves timing his cartoons to tempos) and [[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Danny Antonucci]]. Feature animated films still make some use of it, but it's limited to musical sequences, like the ones seen in {{Rio}}.

For {{videogame}}s where the player can cause Mickey Mousing, see MusicalGameplay.

See also MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon, MusicalChores, StandardSnippet, ThemeMusicPowerUp, RecordNeedleScratch. Compare VariableMix. May be used in conjunction with LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn.

This is not the same as a {{Leitmotif}}, which is a particular theme tied to a character, object, or idea. It is also not the same as the use of music to express emotions. It only counts as Mickey Mousing if the music is timed to - and usually similar in contour to - the actions on screen.

----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* This is actually a very rare practice in anime, where shows almost exclusively rely on a library of tracks composed for the show and thrown in where appropriate. Thus it is very glaringly obvious (and audibly jarring) in {{anime}} that's given an entirely new music track when it's dubbed, especially those handled by [[FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]]. Then end result gives the show a Tom-and-Jerry-trapped-in-the-eighties feel. This is usually done to save money, but also to remove potential gaps in the original music caused by cuts and edits.
* {{Justified|Trope}} with the "Both Of You Dance Like You Want To Win" attack in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Shinji and Asuka must fight an Angel that splits in two and can only be killed by destroying both pieces simultaneously. It's decided the best way to do this is to have them perform an attack choreographed to the rhythm of a piece of music.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENiDiVyqens Reenacted]] in SuperRobotWarsMX, but with [[Manga/{{Zeorymer}} Bryst of the Fire]].
* ''BlueSubmarineNumberSix'' does this. Repeat with me: ''naval battles punctuated with bossanova.''
* The FUNImation dub of ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' did this at times.
* ''SpiritedAway'' has this when Chihiro is making her way down the rickety stairs to the boiler room.
* ''KimbaTheWhiteLion'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5P9ic9GZoE&list=LL5A68Xz9vd9pNuUOTW6GeBw&index=54 has its moments]].
* ''MyNeighborTotoro'' does quite a bit of this, most notably in the scene where Mei chases Chibi-Totoro and Chu-Totoro through her backyard.
* ''CastleInTheSky'' has this early in the movie, when the Dola boys fight the Boss.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Classical Music]]
* It could be argued that all scores for operatic performances and ballets are this, by their very nature. But pieces of music that do not quite fit the description of "choreography" or "libretto" might include:-
* Prokofief's ''Peter and the Wolf'', the story of a young boy fighting off a big bad wolf, in which the various instrumental groups of the orchestra "voice" the characters and actions.
** It wasn't by accident that Disney animated this note for note and added pictured to the "Mickey Mousing" instruments.
* Britten's ''The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra", where "Mickey Mousing" themes are used to characterise the instruments.
* Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" Mickey Mouses the principle themes of Shakespeare's play - the conflict between the two Houses, the fight scenes, the recurring love theme, the death of Juliet, et c.
** Arguably, the ''1812 Overture'' mickey mouses the story of the 1812 war with France.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
* ''NuPogodi'' synchronizes the action with its eclectic soundtrack.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* The absurdly famous "Knife" cue from ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' is kind of a funny aversion, compounded with BeamMeUpScotty. If you watch the scene carefully, the music is NOT MickeyMousing. However when people mimic the scene by making a stabbing motion and singing "Reent! Reent! Reent! Reent!" they will synchronize it.
* In ''TheGreatDictator'' Creator/CharlieChaplin shaves a customer in perfect synchronisation with the 5th Hungarian Dance [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCevzLGnrbo See here.]]
** Impressively, he also did it in one take.
* ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' used this for several extended scenes, including spacecraft in flight. The music wasn't actually written for the film, so they simply chose the most accurate piece to use for the individual sequence.
** The score as we know it was originally just used by Kubrick as make-shift editing music, so he'd have something to work with. It turned out he liked it so much he threw the entire original score, which had already been written and recorded, out of the window. (And this may have been his plan all along: Also Sprach Zarathustra, in particular, is ''suspiciously'' thematically appropriate.)
** When auto-docking with a space station in the game ''{{Elite}}'', it plays "On the Beautiful Blue Danube", in reference to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. (Not all of the versions of ''Elite'' do this, though.)
* Still with Kubrick, in ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' the overture to "La Gazza Ladra" is used in two places, and apart from heralding bouts of the old ultraviolence, in at least one of them (the fight of Alex and his droogs against a rival gang in an abandoned theatre) the music goes together with the tremendously violent action in the screen.
* Used in ''TheBluesBrothers'' when the eponymous duo are trying to sneak into the performance, with the band playing "Minnie the Moocher" as the music (although being heavily musically inclined, the two are doing it on purpose).
** Also used much earlier during the "SCMODS" sequence.
* The original ''Film/KingKong'' used this. It's most noticeable during the famous "taking off the dress scene", when Jack is climbing on rocks, and when the tribal chief walks (or rather, marches along to the soundtrack) down to greet the film crew.
* ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'' movie. While attempting to get back the pet dog, Nevins, the two main protagonists attempt to sneak in, all the while the sound of their footsteps punctuated by the Cat playing on his whiskers. The children both look at him, and he replies "I thought the moment needed something."
* In ''Film/{{Stardust}}'', an absolutely epic fight scene is set to the Can-Can -- as is [[spoiler: Robert de Niro dancing around in drag.]]
* The pub jukebox left on Random in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. The protagonists beat up a zombie with pool cues in time with Music/{{Queen}}'s "Don't Stop Me Now".
* The film ''BlackNarcissus'' was infamous for its Mickey Mousing, especially with its climactic scene on two nuns fighting on a cliff.
* ''Film/TheCourtJester'' - the final swordfighting scene when Creator/DannyKaye's character gains ImplausibleFencingPowers.
* Occurs in the [[Film/{{Spider-Man}} first Spider-Man movie]] where Peter learns to wall-crawl.
* The "garden tool fight" in ''{{Hobgoblins}}'', as pointed out by Crow:
-->'''Crow T. Robot''': Their garden tools make little Casio sounds.
* Pretty much anything with JerryLewis in it incorporates this at some point or another.
* Serious examples do exist - one appears ten minutes into the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vteImijZQM0 1932 film "The Most Dangerous Game"]] (based on [[TheMostDangerousGame the short story of the same name]]).
* In ''Film/ThePrincessBride'', seen (heard?) during the famous "you killed my father" scene.
** And also during the chatty swordfight duel. The music stops every time a stroke is parried. The music and the dueling both stop to allow the characters to perform acrobatic feats and talk to one another.
** Also used the next time Cary Elwes got to go {{Flynning}}. During the climactic sword-fight in ''RobinHoodMenInTights'', much of the action is synched with the music, including "parry, parry, thrust, thrust, *CLANG* Good!" Not so much the shadow-puppet bit though...
* "Eye of the Tiger," written for ''RockyIII'', was written for precisely this reason--the famous training scene had been filmed with "Another One Bites the Dust" in mind, but when they couldn't get Music/{{Queen}} to let them use the song, they asked Music/{{Survivor}} to write a song with a riff to match Rocky's punches.
* Featured in the ultra-cheesy ''[[Film/PsychoCop Pyscho Cop Returns]]'', making the film even funnier.
* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean: Dead Man's Chest'', three characters have a [[InterestingSituationDuel swordfight on top of a rolling water-wheel]]. The climax is set to the main theme of the series.
* In Orson Welles's preview cut of ''The Lady from Shanghai'', he filled in the spots where music would later go with stock themes from the studio's library, which he thought worked quite well. However, [[ExecutiveMeddling the studio took the picture out of his hands]] and had an original score composed designed to punctuate the action. This enraged Welles, who dismissed it "a Looney Tunes score".
* In the original ''Film/TheLastHouseOnTheLeft'', a character is stabbed to death with a jarring electronic chord playing with each stab.
* In ''Film/{{Tron}}'', when Mega!Sark is walking outside the [=MCP=]'s core, the four electronic beats are from Wendy Carlos' score.
** In ''Film/TronLegacy'', the [[UncannyValley Armory Sirens']] movements and footsteps are synchronized to the beat of the BGM ''Armory''.
* Used briefly in ''Film/DrNo,'' when Bond is crushing the tarantula. The music emphasizes his strikes.
* Also used in the ''Film/TheFifthElement'' where the music comes from an in-universe opera and emphasizes Leeloo's strikes against the aliens. Seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0qy3JHz6X0 here.]]
* Jim Henson's Oscar nominated experimental short ''Time Piece'' was about eight and a half minutes of this trope, where everything was done to a rhythm or musical beat.
* In ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', Lucas Lee's neck cracks are timed to the "Unversal Movies" opening.
* ''JohnnyEnglishReborn''. During the end credits English cooks a meal for his LoveInterest to the strains of "In the Hall of the Mountain King".
* Two scenes in ''HudsonHawk'' features two thieves robbing places while...[[BigLippedAlligatorMoment dancing and singing]]. For them, [[YouFailLogicForever it's a way to remain synchronized]].
* Done to an almost ludicrous degree in ''DownWithLove'', which was an homage and period piece for movies from the sixties. Even a character blinking merits musical stings.
* ''Film/{{Stardust}}'' has a sword fight between Septimus's men and Captain Shakespeare's men, with blades clashing in time to the Can Can.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Done very often in Latin American soap operas, where, for example, in a scene with dialogue against music with lyrics, speech and singing will alternate, resulting in a pretty neat scene.
* In a rare live action example, ''TheDickVanDykeShow'' used it to great effect -- but then, DickVanDyke is something of a walking cartoon when he wants to be.
* The '60s ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series, along with many other cheesy movies of the decade, tended to feature obnoxious, brass-heavy music during fight scenes, which would provide a stinger chord for every punch that landed.
* In the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "Safe," the semi-Celtic-style folk music River dances to in one scene happens to synch up beautifully to the fight scene occurring over with Mal and the crew.
** ''Firefly'' actually does this routinely due to its aversion of SpaceIsNoisy requiring something else to punctuate the otherwise silent action onscreen.
* ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'' plays with this trope in the episode "Kicked Out," where the nephew of Francis' employers does this to Francis with a keyboard, which drives him crazy.
* Done during the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'''s silent episode, "Hush", despite also having sound effects.
* Unusual example from ''Your Show of Shows'': Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray playing a married couple arguing to the tune of [[Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] Fifth Symphony. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEhF-7suDsM here.]]
* Done once in ''TwoAndAHalfMen'', with Charlie behind the piano, slowly but surely driving poor Allen insane.
* The absolutely classic MorecambeAndWise Breakfast sketch.
* Often the music in ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'', particularly during Bertie's schemes, would complement the action quite well.
* Spoofed in ''Series/TheFactsOfLife'': The episode, a parody of slasher/horror films, features Tootie sneaking through the house, with pizzicato strings accompanying her every step. Finally she gets fed up and [[BreakingTheFourthWall yells at]] [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn the music conductor]]: "Do you MIND? I'm [[HypocriticalHumor TRYING TO SNEAK UP ON SOMEONE!]]"
* A favorite comedic device of ErnieKovacs was having musical interludes in which mundane objects would move in time to the music. E.g. his [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX5khYGqjPY "Kitchen Symphony"]].
* Used many times in ''KamenRiderHibiki'', set to anything from a fight scene to a bike-ride through town.
* In every episode of ''TheMonkees'', slapstick gags are punctuated by the music.
* MrRogersNeighborhood often uses little piano twinkly-charm things to orchestrate Mr Rogers' movements when speaking to the audience.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* As a tourist attraction, a "lover's spat" between ElizabethTaylor and Mike Todd is portrayed with trumpets in a short segment of ''TheStanFrebergShow''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* The song "Now (It's Just The Gas)" in ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' begins with chords that match the action of Orin struggling to remove his mask.
* Cho Chang's introduction in ''AVeryPotterMusical'' is timed to the music (especially the classic "Bitch, I ain't Cho Chang!"/"Racist sister!" exchange).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
Games should only be included if their case of Mickey Mousing isn't MusicalGameplay.

* Happens often in the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' series, most notably in ''64: The Crystal Shard'''s cutscenes. ''Super Star Ultra'' attempted it in places, but in several occasions, most jarringly in the cutscene that occurs wherein you find Nova, the music is just baaaarely out of sync with the video.
* The Moblins in ''Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker'' do this, the music usually beating in time with their footsteps.
* In the ''SlyCooper'' series, sneaking up on an enemy would shift the music volume down and play a series of single notes in time with each step the player took.
* ''EpicMickey'', naturally. Bonus points for the player to do it themselves whenever you make Mickey sneak and a little musical dun plays with every sneaking step.
* The "Record of the Graylands Incident" in ''VagrantStory'', which serves as the opening sequence of the game, punctuates dramatic events with musical cues, from Ashley's first appearance in the game to Sydney's wyvern D'Tok crashing through the chapel's ceiling.
* ''Sheep, Dog And Wolf'', a PS1 puzzle-platformer based on Looney Toons, let you do this whenever you sneaked around.
* ''OddWorld'' does this in games featuring Abe, with a dramatic drumbeat whenever he starts chanting.
* ''{{Banjo-Kazooie}}'' does it at the beginning of the game with the Nintendo 64 logo walking across the screen. For the X-Box Live Arcade version, however, it was removed for obvious reasons, so we just get Mickey Mousing without visual accompaniment. No, really.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} ''series, various events and bosses are partially scripted to coincide with the music:
** One of [[spoiler:Kogasa Tatara]]'s appearances coincides with the sound of Youkai giggling in ''Undefined Fantastic Object''.
*** Another example from UFO is stage 5, where some enemies appear with their sound effects, contributing to the melody.
** Hina's first appearance in ''Mountain of Faith'' is timed to coincide with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43nF8t6EcAk 0:20]] of her stage theme, when the tone of the music changes,
** Some other boss spellcards are timed to match the tempo of their leitmotifs very well. Special mention to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuU9Rxi_vyY Yuyuko's finale]], which goes into a guitar solo ''as the whole pattern explodes around you''.
*** Other bosses aren't assured to match up as well depending on how quickly the player defeats them, but a straightforward kill keeping decent pace will often see things line up suspiciously well. This happens as early in the series as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDBux2ykYks#t=0m53s Yuki]] filling the screen with red right as the percussion drops off, or as recent as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0BNGd1nk#t=3m45s Miko]] going up in a technicolor blaze as the music peaks.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvgiSe1ypb4 Perfect Cherry Blossom stage 4]] has shifts to coincide with Lily White's appearance (which is also when the background starts to turn white) and the pause at the end of the stage before the boss battle.
*** Actually, it loops when stage scroll stops and Reimu/Marisa/Sakuya approaches the gate to Netherworld, just before the boss battle. The effect of music returning to the slow pace at that moment is epic, to say the least.
*** This is itself a take on the third stage of ''Story of Eastern Wonderland'' back on the PC-98. Near the end of the level, you go over a cliff, the enemies all clear out at once, and the music dramatically drops off back into its quiet intro...and goes back into its buildup when you see the boss.
** In fact, many stages are scripted to exactly correspond to the music, to the extent where the game will throws out bonus enemies for you to destroy if you kill the midboss quickly, and sometimes skip midboss patterns if you kill them too slowly, all in attempts to perfectly synchronize the stages with their themes (assuming your game isn't running slowly for some reason, that is).
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'': The Goombas and Koopa Troopas, as well as the powerups, interact with the music. Whenever there is a "wah-wah", all of the enemies will stop and do a half-step.
** Also, in VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii, Yoshi when he stands still and a player is not riding on him.
* In ''SonicUnleashed'', specifically in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reL293uPEYc "The First Night" cutscene]] around 1:25. Please pay no mind to DanGreen crying.
* ''{{Ikaruga}}'' mickey-mouses its music to the {{scripted event}}s of the levels.
** The most impressive of which is that if you [[PlayingTennisWithTheBoss play your tennis]] properly, the final boss dies exactly at the end of the musical phrase.
** Among other things, the third boss starts firing its rotating lasers right as the boss music hits its big dramatic chorus.
* [[Disney/WinnieThePooh Tigger]] does this in Piglet's Big Game, essentially making two areas of the game VideoGame/MetalGearSolid with MickeyMousing.
* Sort of at the end of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' "Meet the Spy"; you can hear his stabs in time with the theme music!
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' does this several times. In 343 Guilty Spark, a ScareChord in the soundtrack is timed to play when a corpse falls through the door during the Pvt. Jenkins cutscene. A certain percussion hit plays when the Athens Station explodes in ''Halo 2'', and another scare chord is used when MC rides the bomb out of the Cairo. During the final EscapeSequence in ''Halo 3'', the music segues to the final phrase exactly when you make the jump to the ship.
* In the Dark Side Ending of ''TheForceUnleashed II'', the music matches with the lightsaber clashes.
* In the Thunder Plains of VideoGame/FinalFantasyX, the lightning strikes in time with the music.
* An extremely noticable trait in ''{{Hellsinker}}''.
* The final boss of ''{{Ristar}}'' has a soundtrack that starts off slow and ominous while he sits in the background and throws minions at you and makes some preliminary attacks -- if you make decent time on this phase, it builds and gets faster while he tries to suck you into a black hole, and then turns into chaotic, fast-paced jazz right as he starts [[TeleportSpam warping all over the place]] and dropping lightning on your head.
* The {{Famicom}} puzzle game ''Banana'' plays extra notes over the main theme whenever the mole character is moved around. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGwpuXLwR4c]]
* Done occasionally in RaymanOrigins. Most noticeable in the treasure chase stages in which the levels seem to be partially based around the music.
** The E3 2012 trailer for it's sequel, Rayman Legends uses this in full effect.
* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' does this in the flight sections during gameplay, as the music syncs to dialogue, changes in atmosphere, and the beginning and end of the level.
* The ''{{FEAR}}'' series uses this trope regularly, usually with {{scare chord}}s, such as when Alma appears or a SentryGun activates.
* A very unsettling variant occurs in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' where a Reaper Destroyer blows its [[BrownNote horn]] synced with the background music as it prepares to [[spoiler:shoot down a shuttle with children on it]].
* The screen in ''VideoGame/SuperHexagon'' will often pulse with the beat.
* In ''ConkersBadFurDay'', the battle against The Great Mighty Poo is a crass, childish, and ''elaborately scripted'' setpiece of the game, set to the Poo's ridiculous opera music. His weak point is exposed when he opens his mouth to sing harmony with the BGM's bridge.
* The GameCube logo would appear as a series of squares unraveling into a stylized G/cube, each square laid down would produce a note and once completed the logo would "hop" landing with a final note. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HevHbYbnLHQ As seen here.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* A fun Flash animation example: ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/304212 Shoo Fly]]''.
** Reasonably common. Another good example would be [[http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/nutjob The Nut Job]]. WordOfGod confirms that a certain scene in [[http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3375324 Katan]] has arrows simply because the artist heard appropriate sounds in the music used.
* Another example found in the Flash Tarboy. The eponymous hero is creeping along in a dark storage facility, tracked by an insect-like robot. Their footsteps and actions mesh with the song pefectly, and are even sound coded.
* An EasterEgg at the end of an episode of ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' syncs up dialogue in time with the background theme:
--> ''I miss video games.''
--> ''I miss my mom.''
--> ''I miss video games.''
--> ''I--I--I miss my mom.''
* A stick figure animation by the name of Breaking Rust has MickeyMousing sprinkled over the course of the fight, matching attacks to the lyrics of The Rocket Summer's ''Break It Out''.
* Numerous animations by Youtube user [[http://www.youtube.com/user/cyriak Cyriak]] feature plenty of Mickey Mousing alongside stacks and stacks of horrific imagery and SoundtrackDissonance. Click at your own risk.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mousing Named]] after the extensive usage of this in the ClassicDisneyShorts.
** Special mention goes to one scene in "The Three Little Pigs", where the music is provided [[DiageticSwitch diagetically]] by the brick-builder pig on his piano. The way he does it to mock the Wolf's attempts to get in borders on parody.
* A lot of cartoons tend to use the same staccato strings (often called "Mysterioso Pizzicato") when a character tiptoes.
* Carl Stalling's work for Warner Brothers (which included many of the classic shorts) deserves some kind of special award. Particularly notable in that the music makes no attempt at coherence on a purely musical level: it's just a disjointed series of glissandos, pizzicatos, runs, and stingers designed to match the action.
** Not to mention: before that he composed the music for most of the early Mickey Mouse shorts (although not the ''very'' first), making Carl Stalling some sort of meta trope codifier.
* Every episode of most cartoons with any sort of budget. For example, ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'', you name it.
* Common in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', so much so that in one episode, {{T|heKidWithTheRemoteControl}}immy wished for all noise to be removed from the world. The Mickey Mousing was used as a sort of thematic replacement for all other sounds.
** Also frequent in its SpiritualSuccessor, WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom.
* Subverted/parodied twice in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. In "The Story on Page One", Peter provides his own Mickey Mousing while sneaking around. In one of the segments in "Family Guy Viewer Request Episode #1", he asks a genie for his own personal soundtrack, and the music does this (being light and breezy when he's skipping, turning into a {{Sexophone}} when he and Lois are about to get intimate).
** Stewie also gets a job following fat guys around with a tuba, playing in time with their steps.
* Also parodied in ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', when Kronk provides his own theme music.
* Done a lot in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. They played with this in one scene of the episode "Brother, Can You Spare An Ed?", where Edd provided MickeyMousing on his pedal-steel guitar until Eddy told him to knock it off.
* The classic opening sequence for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' was composed entirely of the serious version of this. Done so well that you don't realize that the jet engine of the Batmobile turning on is actually a cymbal roll.
** You also didn't notice that it didn't actually ''name the show''. It was just that awesome.
* The BBC/EBU series ''TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'' did this extensively. Not only did it play for every single animal in the show, but every animal had its own particular variation, from the whistle-tune of Whistler to the high-end xylophone of the rodents.
* {{Pixar}}'s dialogue-free short ''{{P|ixarShorts}}resto'', that screened just before ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'' in theaters, uses Mickey Mousing extensively, among other classic animation comedy tropes.
* This is sort of the point of Disney's ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}'' and ''Fantasia 2000'', though it was actually [[InvertedTrope done in reverse]], with animation produced based on existing music.
** Likewise Disney's version of ''PeterAndTheWolf'' in ''Disney/MakeMineMusic''.
** As were two episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' and ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' which had Tom and Characters/BugsBunny, respectively, playing Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody. The two are suspiciously similar, right down to Bugs having to contend with an annoying mouse living in his piano. Oh, and there's a ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' episode based on the Barber of Seville overture. Let's just say that WB and MGM's animation departments did a lot of it in general.
* The "Hungarian Dances" are some of the most popular pieces used, especially in Looney Tunes: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh11A41klL4]]
* In the long-buried Disney film ''Film/SongOfTheSouth,'' Mickey Mousing is rampant. However, special mention goes to Br'er Bear, whose inability to keep up with the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Leitmotif is a sign that he is TheDitz of the story.
* ''RubyGloom'' uses this up to a point, but it is particularly notable for the character Doom Kitty, whose every movement and action is punctuated by an appropriate violin chord. It's adorable.
* An episode of ''TheSchnookumsAndMeatFunnyCartoonShow'' had the eponymous duo gaining super muscles, with their ever step being punctuated with an "AH" sound.
* Used all the time in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', mixed seamlessly with some {{Leitmotif}}s and music reflecting the mood or tone of a moment or action instead of the physical action.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* Music/MarilynManson's music video for his song "Antichrist Superstar" (which is just a video of a live performance), manages to have a living being falling straight into the UncannyValley by moving like a badly controlled puppet, as he jerks harshly to the guitar. It's somewhat unnerving.
* The album ''Suspended Animation'' by Fantomas could be described as "children's metal" and was written after Mike Patton realized that you can tell what's going on in a cartoon that's playing in another room simply by listening to the music.
* One very memorable piece of {{Demoscene}} music is an [=S3M=] file titled [[http://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=34654 "Catch that goblin!!"]] by Skaven of the Future Crew. It's a perfect example of MickeyMousing, even though there isn't any video footage to go with it. The piece sounds very cartoony, with the composer's selection of instruments and sound effects. It really does sound like it could have been taken from a cartoon, but it's actually all mixed in realtime by the computer.
** Taken to its logical conclusion, naturally, by [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/212829 this Flash animation]] set to it.
* The {{Demoscene}} in general takes MickeyMousing very seriously. Watch some of the better demos, and you can see that the team responsible went to a lot of effort to synchronise the graphics to the music. When you consider that some of the routines used could be either very slow or fast, depending on the computer running the demo, the synchronisation is even more impressive.
* One of the most common examples of mickey mousing are found in music players themselves where there's usually a set of bars which expand on every beat.
** Technically, that's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourier_transform Fourier Transform]] of the last fraction of a second of audio data, with the bar lengths corresponding to intensity of sound frequencies present in the audio.
* Happens almost unnervingly well in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJi-si5FRY&feature=related this]] Website/YouTube video. [[spoiler: Who knew ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' synchronised so well with Yackety Sax?]]
* And similarly, there's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGOlevcqxIc this]] scene from ''NoCountryForOldMen'', set to the theme from ''TheLifeAquatic''.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmoAA9eob1I This]] advertisement [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on the idea, by combining it with SorryILeftTheBGMOn.
* A stand-up routine by Bill Bailey explains how scoring childrens cartoons is a low point for a session xylophone player.
--> "''What's the mouse doing now, going up a hill? Right," * deedlydeedlydeedlydeedlydeedlydeedly ding!* "Oh, now it's coming back down," * doodlydoodlydoodlydoodlydoodlydoodly dum!* * sighs* ''
* Happens a lot in trailers for films with lots of action sequences, normally with bits from lots of different scenes. For example, a trailer for ScottPilgrim vs. The World has cuts from a few of the 'boss battles' to the beat of 'Invaders Must Die' by Prodigy.
** ScottPilgrim also Mickey Mouses the Universal Studios fanfare with Lucas Lee cricking his neck and skateboarding on set. It's more funny than it sounds.
* Used in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSnLne4qDn8 this]] {{Goblins}} review.
* Andrew Hussie of Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} {{invert|edTrope}}s this trope often. [[AwesomeMusic/{{Homestuck}} The music from the artists]] is composed ahead of time, then Andrew picks one piece and animates the Flash sequences to its beats and any {{Leitmotif}}s present. This is taken to its logical extreme in the Descend sequence, which matches ''every single leitmotif in the song'' with an appropriate piece of action.
** Creates a [[MoodWhiplash rather hilarious]] scene when [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment the flash inexplicably cuts]] from the Jack's rampage [[TastesLikeDiabetes the Squiddles]]. This was only included because that leitmotif already existed in the song.
** Best seen when Karkat facepalms in time. (Remember the "give out bunnies like it's Christmas while in a lab" event?)
* Done in the music video (but not the album version) for Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Fat." Lampshaded at one point when Al realizes it and starts doing random motions just to hear what sounds get made.
* Progressive metal guitarist Ron Jarzombek and his band, Blotted Science wrote music for previously existing movie scenes, following every movement. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkn-YjYmCA It's mind-bogglingly complex and precise.]]
* The 2012 logo for Creator/{{Universal}} has a glare on the company name that beams in time with the final notes in the fanfare.
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