"Mickey Mouse Club March", titled "Mickey Mouse March" in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, is a musical theme arranged by Yoko Shimomura that first appears in Kingdom Hearts. The piece is an instrumental version of the original "Mickey Mouse March" from the Mickey Mouse Club, originally written by Jimmie Dodd.
Now referred to as "Mickey Mouse March", the theme primarily serves as the field theme for Disney Town, but also plays during cutscenes. It is also heard while playing the Toon Board in the Command Board mini-game.
"Mickey Mouse Club March" is approximately one minute and two seconds long in Kingdom Hearts. For the HD remake of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the piece is one minute and three seconds long. In Kingdom Hearts II, the track is slightly extended to one minute and fifteen seconds. In Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, the piece is extended further to two minutes and seven seconds. For Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, the "Mickey Mouse March" is two minutes and seven seconds long.
The tempo remains consistent between all games: 132 beats per minute, except Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. For Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, the tempo is increased to 140 beats per minute. Likewise, all games share a similar instrumentation except Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. The standard instrumentation includes: piccolo, flute, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trombone, tuba, snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbal, triangle, tambourine, orchestral bells, xylophone, marimba, and timpani. For Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, more percussive instruments are added: such as a whistle, temple blocks, wood blocks, and vibraslap. Also new to this version is the banjo.
In musical terms, a march is a style of music that has a strong, consistent rhythm, and was originally written to be played while marching. Historically, military bands performed marches. However, since then, marches have become standard in the wind ensemble and marching band repertoire. Typical to the march style is a brief introduction passage that generally features the percussion section- namely the snare drum, bass drum, and crash cymbals. Also customary to the march style is the preference of using the higher-pitched piccolo over its flute relative. However, in the HD remake versions, the flute is also used, playing a minor, accompaniment part in the background. The melody that is traded off between the different instruments is based off of the actual lyrics to the original Mickey Mouse March from the Mickey Mouse Club. What truly distinguishes the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep arrangement is the slightly faster tempo (which is not customary to traditional marches), the increased use of auxiliary percussion, and the banjo. This reflects the difference in tone required to separate the formal Disney Castle from the livelier Disney Town and Dream Festival.
