Real estate tycoon Donald Trump has promised to “make America great again” if elected president in November, by restoring the nation to its former glory. Perhaps some of his supporters would like Trump to turn the clock back to 1955, a relatively innocent time when Walt Disney introduced his second venture into television, The Mickey Mouse Club, to widespread success. If so, the GOP nominee could scarcely choose a better campaign theme song than Jimmie Dodd’s unforgettable “Mickey Mouse March.” As a public service, Robert Lund and Spaff.com have released “The Donald Trump Club March,” complete with an animated video directed by Devo Spice.
The sprightly “Mickey Mouse” melody hasn’t changed since 1955. The lyrics, however, are another story. Now, instead of praising a cartoon rodent, they extol the virtues of the Republican candidate and reality TV star: “Narcissistic, jingoistic demagoguery / D-O-N-A-L-D / T-R-U-M-P.” In the video, posted by The Funny Music Project, the rousing chorus is performed by an army of helmet-wearing construction workers and wide-eyed babies.
It is instructive to compare the parody to the original animated Mickey Mouse Club intro. While not exactly a shot-for-shot recreation, “The Donald Trump Club March” takes a lot of visual cues directly from Disney. That jolly army marching directly toward the audience, for instance, was originally composed of anthropomorphic bears. The Mickey Mouse Club’s intro also shows the scowling Big Bad Wolf being tied up and dragged behind the procession. The same thing happens in the parody, except here it’s a group of bewildered immigrants being deported. Above all, each video presents its title character as an icon ready to be worshiped. Notice how both Mickey Mouse and Trump are depicted as disembodied, floating heads. That’s branding.