And the Mystery Animal Is...

A few early Disney sound cartoons had characters back away from the camera to reveal themselves. Plane Crazy (1928) is one. Uncle Walt liked it so much, he repeated it in the opening of The Barn Dance (1929).

It’s a cow in both of them. Here’s the Barn Dance version.

Both shorts have "Ruben, Ruben" on the soundtrack.

Ub Iwerks gets the animation credit.

Mickey Mouse loses at the end. Minnie runs off with a cat. The early Terry cartoons had mice-loving cats, too. Someone will have to explain the interspecies fixation of the era.