"Morris the Midget Moose" is a 1950 Classic Disney Short directed by Jack Hannah.
A midget moose named Morris struggles with the difficulties caused by his unusual size.
Examples:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Or moose in this case.
- Morris is the smallest moose in the forest and the problems caused by his size make him the laughing stock of the other moose.
- Likewise, Balsam is laughed at because he has the smallest pair of antlers.
- Big Bad: Thunderclap!
- Big Shadow, Little Creature: Morris is introduced as a large shadow, but has he approaches, it becomes clear that he's actually shorter than the other moose.
- Butt-Monkey: Poor Morris is the butt of jokes to the other moose because his size. He’s too small to jump over a log and reach so high for leaves from trees. Morris is even no match for Thunderclap. Things start getting better for Morris once he befriends Balsam, who in turn is also made fun of for his small antlers.
- Disney Death: During the battle with Thunderclap, Balsam falls off a cliff and is heard crashing. Then Thunderclap tosses Morris down the same cliff as well. Morris and Balsam somehow survive and climb back up the cliff.
- The Dividual: Morris is a small moose with normal-sized antlers. Balsam is a full sized moose with small antlers. Together, they basically make up one whole moose.
- Framing Device: Morris' story is presented as a parable about cooperation by the Bootle Beetle to two youngsters.
- Handy Helper: Morris is a tiny moose with normal-sized antlers. He meets up with Balsam, a normal-sized moose with tiny antlers, and the two combine themselves to make one complete moose.
- Narrator: The story is being told by the Bootle Beetle, a recurring character on Donald Duck cartoons at the time, to two younger beetles who are fighting over a berry.
- Recycled Animation: The fight between Morris/Balsam and Thunderclap includes reworked animation from the Mickey Mouse cartoon "Moose Hunters", specifically the scene with the background shaking from the impacts of the fighters.
- Recycled Soundtrack: the title theme would go on to become the theme of the Cartoon Classics series.
- The Rival: Thunderclap is the moose to defeat for claiming leadership of the herd.
- Shoulder Teammate: Morris stands on top of Balsam's shoulders so that Morris gets to experience life at a full-grown moose's height.
