"Hard to Swallow" is the third episode of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.
Mickey has difficulty trying to get Pluto to swallow a flea pill.
Tropes:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The spinning dinner table is very obvious CGI.
- Fancy Dinner: The fleas make Pluto into one, complete with an apple in the dog's mouth.
- Furry Reminder: In Goofy's brief appearance, he has fleas on him, just like a regular dog.
- Medium Blending: During the flea invasion, the sky is composed of footage of live-action clouds.
- Mythology Gag:
- On the wall, there is a painting of the boat from Steamboat Willie.
- When Pluto first appears, the theme from his (pre-1947) cartoons plays in the background.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: Heard as the flea army starts to storm Mickey's house.
- Public Domain Soundtrack: The song Mickey and Pluto sing during karaoke is "Camptown Races".
- Shout-Out:
- The ending of the fleas climbing up Minnie's apartment is a nod to King Kong.
- The flea army approaching Mickey's house and launching giant ladders onto Pluto call to mind the Uruk-Hai and Orcish hoards from Lord of the Rings. The logo on their flags, on the other hand, resembles the Orks' logo from Warhammer 40,000.
- Synchronized Swarming: The army of fleas are very skilled at this, turning into things like a brick wall, a giant hand and an oven.
