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Clarabelle Cow

GENUS PEDIGREE: Anthropomorphized cow
KNOWN ALIASES: Carolyn (or Caroline) Cow
KNOWN RELATIVES: Sarabelle Cow (sister); Durham Cow (grandfather); Miss Bovina (aunt); Itsy-Betsy (niece); Bertie, Boniface (cousins).
KNOWN PETS: Cat named Kitty.
CITIZENSHIP: Mouseton, USA
KNOWN CONFIDANTS: Mickey Mouse; Minnie Mouse; Daisy Duck; Clara Cluck; Horace Horsecollar; Goofy; Dora Duck; Penny, Patty, T.J., Heather & Lilly (from "Minnie 'n Me").
KNOWN RIVALS: Bad Pete; Sylvester Shyster; Donald Duck.
PARAPHERNALIA: Cow bell
1st PRINT APPEARANCE: "Mickey Mouse" daily in "Mickey Mouse in Death Valley" (Apr. 1, 1930).
1st FILM APPEARANCE: "Alice on the Farm" (1926 -unnamed cow); "Plane Crazy" (1928 -named Carolyn); "The Shindig" (1930 -named Clarabelle).
VOICE ACTOR: unknown (early shorts); Elvia Allman ("Prince and the Pauper" -Nov. 16, 1990).
SIGNATURE: Incessant gossiping
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS: In her youth Clarabelle was one of Minnie Mouse's constant companions. See also the picture of Minnie and her friends from Minnie 'n Me. A cow with all the hallmarks of Clarabelle, including her enormous multi-studded utter, appeared in a pre-Mickey Mouse Disney film called "Alice on the Farm" (from Disney's "Alice Comedies" series) was perhaps Clarabelle's earliest appearance in film. Her role involved an early Ub Iwerks gag where Julius the Cat tries to get milk. A gag that would be repeated in several times in Clarabelle's earliest Mickey Mouse cartoons, when she was known as Carolyn Cow. Both Clarabelle and Horace Horsecollar had an uncanny ability to change from somewhat normal farmyard animals into anthropomorphized beings as necessary. Apparently Clarabelle was given a skirt originally to give a modicum of modestly to the rubbery bovine, serving to hide her enormous appendage. Clarabelle and Horace have been engaged since 1931. Clarabelle also has a young cousin, Bertie the Jinx, a niece, Itsy-Betsy, and a socialite aunt named Miss Bovina, who have appeared in several issues of "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories." For a brief time, during the late 1960s, Clarabelle began dating Goofy, perhaps in an attempt to give Goofy a girlfriend. During this time Horace's whereabouts are unknown. Toward the end of this time Clarabelle's status with Goofy was challenged by another gal named Glory-Bee, and Clarabelle seems to have returned to her former paramour, Horace.
HISTORICAL FACTS:

Thanks to the efforts of comic book writer David Gerstein the following is a fairly exhaustive list of Clarabelle's film appearances:
1928 PLANE CRAZY (farm cow)
1929 THE PLOW BOY (farm cow)
1929 MICKEY'S CHOO-CHOO (farm cow)
1930 THE BARNYARD CONCERT (playing flute, completely naked)
1930 THE SHINDIG (1st time named; first naked, then puts on dress over udder)
1931 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (dance sequence with Horace)
1931 BLUE RHYTHM (in band)
1931 THE BARNYARD BROADCAST (performer in radio orchestra)
1931 THE BEACH PARTY (swimmer in lengthy sequence)
1932 BARNYARD OLYMPICS (blowing party whistle to alert dazed Mickey)
1932 MICKEY'S REVUE (dancer in ballet along with identical cows)
1932 THE WHOOPEE PARTY (goosed by Goofy's party whistle, and gets revenge)
1932 TOUCHDOWN MICKEY (cheering in repeated crowd scene)
1933 MICKEY'S MELLERDRAMMER (acting as Eliza in "Uncle Tom's Cabin")
1933 YE OLDEN DAYS (as Minnie's lady-in-waiting)
1933 MICKEY'S GALA PREMIERE (guest at premiere, leaving limousine w/ Horace)
1934 CAMPING OUT (on vacation with MM, Minnie and Horace)
1934 ORPHANS' BENEFIT (ballet dancer)
1935 THE BAND CONCERT (flute-player)
1935 MICKEY'S FIRE BRIGADE (rescued in climax)
1936 MICKEY'S POLO TEAM (kisses Clark Gable in crowd)
1938 MICKEY'S AMATEURS (pianist)
1938 THE FOX HUNT (cameo appearance in hunting troupe)
1941 ORPHANS' BENEFIT (remake of 1934 version)
1942 MICKEY'S BIRTHDAY PARTY (in dance sequence)
1942 SYMPHONY HOUR (orchestra member)
1983 MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL (cameo appearance)
1988 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (cameo appearance)
1990 THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER (cameo appearance)

2004 THE THREE MUSKETEERS (Pete's lieutenant)

LITTLE KNOWN SECRETS: unknown
WORKING THEORIES: none
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