Disney's 'Epic Mickey' Goes Back to Mischievous Side of Iconic Mascot
Due in late 2010, the in-game Mickey will be a far cry from the character many people are used to. Instead of the happy-go-lucky mascot, this Mickey will be more akin to the one Walt Disney introduced in the 1920s -- mischievous, and not afraid to get in a fight.
"One of our creative problems [at Disney Interactive] was Mickey Mouse," says Graham Hopper, president of Disney Interactive Studios. "He was one of the most popular characters in the world, but he had never reached his full potential in video games."
'Epic Mickey' will blend several gaming genres to create an alternate cartoon world that lets the player decide what kind of hero Mickey will be -- one that helps everyone around him or a scrapper who's more interested in solving his own problems. The game puts The Mouse in an alternate cartoon world -- a wasteland of sorts -- where he can use a paintbrush to draw and erase (or, if you'd prefer, create and destroy) scenery. Chief among the inhabitants is Oswald the Rabbit, Walt Disney's first cartoon creation -- a forgotten forerunner of Mickey.
To escape, Mickey will need to defeat an enemy known as the Phantom Blot and earn the trust of his older brother, who resents the love Walt showed Mickey. Along the way, he'll encounter forgotten friends and enemies, and steampunk versions of his usual friends, such as Donald Duck.
Famed game designer Warren Spector is on task to give Mickey a makeover. "I want to remind Mickey that he's a hero -- and to be a hero, we need to give him purpose," says Spector. "We need to throw him up against problems worthy of a hero, not just trying to give Pluto a bath..." While there's a deliberate effort to free Mickey from his current position as a politically correct icon, make no mistake: There is no Evil Mickey. No matter how you play, The Mouse will still be the good guy. He just might be one who's more of a loner than a savior.
"It's not enough to recall how Mickey is today," says Spector "We want to take him someplace new."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Dave said 8:50AM on 11-02-2009
Anything for a buck
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Betty Heath said 9:21AM on 11-02-2009
OH NO! Not another Disney makeover!!! They've already ruined Tinker Bell by making her look like Peter Pan!!!! Stop It!
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Monica said 11:24AM on 11-02-2009
Your right. I never realized that. I knew she had a new look.
batfly97 said 12:52PM on 11-02-2009
you are right........ they Must stop changing all the stuff we grew up with. do we want our kids to see bad and evil looks of cartoon artist or the way walt really made it.
kerry wenrich said 9:22AM on 11-02-2009
LEAVE THAT MOUSE ALONE HE'S DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE THIS TYPE OF TREATMENT he's fine just as he is
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BARB SOSKI said 9:25AM on 11-02-2009
what is this world coming to. why does everything have to look so big and bad..? now they have Mickey looking like he joined the GOTHIC era??? what happened to just sweet and innocent..??? Everything always has to be so mean looking.. What happened to America people. Is this how we feel??? Give me the old mickey back and leave it alone......
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kerry wenrich said 9:33AM on 11-02-2009
leave the mouse as is he not ment to be an enemy he's ment to be a friend
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ninejacksons said 9:49AM on 11-02-2009
Digging the artwork. Looks like a legitimate Walt Disney acid trip.
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Philip said 12:41PM on 11-02-2009
Will you all stop overreacting?!
Jesus Christ, you're all acting like a bunch of big idiotic babies!
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DTNG said 10:05AM on 11-02-2009
@ BARB SOSKI: This is sort of like the old Mickey Mouse. The article says that this one will be akin (I guess it's a word for like) to the one Walt Disney made in the 1920's-- "not afraid to get in a fight & mischevious" (Morris 2009). So this is basically the Mouse that we haven't seen in almost 90 years. However, I see how this is very coincidental to this 21st cntry time period-- lots of goth people & people wearing black and they're bringing the 1920's Mickey back at this time.
I can't wait!! Nice to see a piece of history, though.
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alymariie said 10:11AM on 11-02-2009
Whatever happened to the good ol' fashioned Disney I grew up to? Recreating everything sometimes makes it worse! Sometimes the orignal and classics is much better! And seriously, the old characters are better for children these days, and people wonder why kids nowadays are the ways they are. And the true classics nowadays always has to be made into something it wasn't and turn it into something violent and completely different
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vgkflc said 10:29AM on 11-02-2009
MICKEY??? !!!!
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tangilct said 10:36AM on 11-02-2009
Seriously, it's not that big of a deal. It looks very cool and gives more depth to the actual story of the game (which is what makes a game more playable and critically successful, IMHO). Besides, it's not changing the Mouse, but putting him back to his roots. I use to love the older Mickey comics in which he battled the Phantom Blot (which was so scary to me when I was a little kid). Plus, they saw a re-emergence of Mickey as a cool hero figure thanks to Kingdom Hearts, where Mickey was still his happy-go-lucky self, but had his hand in some shady dealings and was kicking some major butt with duel keyblades.
The art looks amazing, and the story sounds pretty good. As a gamer, I might give it a chance.
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SeeLifeInCode said 10:44AM on 11-02-2009
THIS IS THE 'OLD' MICKEY MOUSE! Watch some of the original toons (like "The Barnyard Battle" or "The Chain Gang") and you'll see it. The modern Mickey Mouse is a politically-correct, saccharin-filled joke. Besides, they're only talking about Mickey being 'mischievous' NOT Evil. Please read the entire story before jumping to conclusions. Also, this is for a video game, not a new cartoon. Does anyone pitching a fit about this retro-makeover actually play games?
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Jm26Dram said 10:43AM on 11-02-2009
I hope this new version of Mickey Mouse smokes and curses and rebels against authority.
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Dana said 10:45AM on 11-02-2009
Are you kidding me? Mickey's going to be a scrapper? That's one game I won't purchase! Next thing you know, Disney will turn Minnie into an IV drug user and Donald will become Daisy's pimp! Leave the characters alone...you're ruining them!!!
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tangilct said 11:01AM on 11-02-2009
Do you normally purchase games? Tell me, was Minnie being an ineffective Queen that just sat at home worried about Mickey while her kingdom was being destroyed empowering or even interesting? Because classic Minnie and other "classic" version of Disney's characters (i.e. Daisy) were all in Kingdom Hearts's Disney Castle level, it was the most boring and frustrating level to play except for the brief part when Sora, Donald, and Goofy go back in time and meet up with Steamboat Willy Mickey.
Jon said 10:48AM on 11-02-2009
I hope his new version of Mickey Mouse smokes and curses and disrespects authority.
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kathy said 12:04PM on 11-02-2009
Leave Mickey Mouse alone for God sake
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kathy said 12:09PM on 11-02-2009
no i dont get it and i never will....Its my opinion adn that is it. I don't care what you think. everybody wants change and change will mess up everything....not only in this but from politics religion and whatever else.
Sorry you don't make me belive what you all people try to make me believe..
I believe like Monica, Dana,