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I’d better get this out of the way first: When I first decided to write this blog (months ago at this point. Hey, things got busy), the entire Internet was hanging on every Epic Mickey reveal that came its way. Then, the screenshots were released, and the “MOAR LIKE EPIC FAIL” jokes began. I’m still optimistic (especially after listening to this commentary from Warren Spector, which happens to mention that “the art style is still being honed,” and watching that awesome press conference NihonTiger linked to) that when the game is released next Fall, it will look great. Besides, I doubt that the game has suddenly become “less dark” than the concept art. Spector has said that most of what we’ve seen so far comes from early in the game, and that later areas are more twisted.
But as you’ve probably gathered from the title, the purpose of this blog isn’t for me to be an apologist for a game I haven’t played. I’m just going to tell you why I think that Epic Mickey may be the most important game released this year. No, really.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit this (as I have before): I am a Disney fanboy. Like everyone else in the world, I grew up watching Disney’s movies, cartoons, and Sing-Along-Song videos (anyone else remember those?). In pre-school, I’d spend my free time drawing ghosts from the Haunted Mansion. My family eventually moved to a town about half an hour from Walt Disney World, got Annual Passes, and spent many a Saturday roaming the parks. As I got older, instead of growing out of it like a normal teenage boy, I grew to love Disney more and more. I now own a dozen or more books about the history of the company (particularly the theme parks), four biographies of Walt Disney, and got stock for my 21st birthday. My dream job would be Imagineering.
What does my obsession mean? Two things. First, I am probably pre-disposed to be very interested in this game. Second, I am just as apt to look at it with a critical eye.
Ready for an animation history lesson? Then here we go.
When the first concept art was leaked, I reacted with equal parts “This is awesome!” and “Why are they turning the Country Bears into horrible robot-scorpion-beasts?”
“There was blooooooood on the saddle….”
I honestly wasn’t sure what to think. But as time went on, and more and more images were released, I began to come around. This, I thought, had the chance to be something really unique, and I was surprised and delighted that Disney would take such a risk with its most iconic characters. Little did I know how much of a risk they’d be taking.
Risk #1: Reintroducing the Rabbit
When details of the game’s plot began to leak, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first cartoon star, was slated to be the game’s primary antagonist. To most people, Oswald is a forgotten character, a mere footnote in the Mickey Mouse story. But for a brief period of time in the late 1920s, Oswald was one of the biggest cartoon stars in the world. His gag-a-second adventures influenced everything from Disney’s later cartoons to the Looney Tunes (many of Oswald’s animators went on to work for Warner Bros. and other studios). But due to a technicality in Walt’s deal with Universal (Oswald’s distributor), and his unwillingness to compromise over budget issues, Universal took complete control of the character, and to add insult to injury, secretly hired away all but one of Walt’s animators, Ub Iwerks. Bitterly ending his relationship with Universal, Walt vowed that from then on, he would retain control of all of his characters. He and Ub secretly collaborated on a new character, who would quickly eclipse Oswald: Mickey Mouse. Though Universal continued to use Oswald through the 1950s, he never matched his early popularity, or that of his successor.
The only time a Disney artist drew Oswald after 1928… Walt seems to be giving Universal a metaphorical middle finger. And look how angry Oswald looks. Warren Spector has called this picture the essence of Epic Mickey.
Say what you will about the Walt Disney Company, but for a multinational media conglomerate, they generally have a lot of respect for their history. The Disney archives are extensive. Almost anything relating to Walt’s life or the company’s history can be found within. As you can imagine, it was a constant source of annoyance that Walt’s very first character belonged to Universal. So in 2006, when NBC (owned by Universal) wanted ABC NFL commentator Al Michaels to join their Sunday night team, Disney struck a deal: in addition to various sports-related concessions, they wanted Oswald back. NBC agreed to the terms. Al Michaels moved to NBC, and Oswald was once again a Disney character. This raised an interesting question: how would Disney reintroduce the character? Other than a DVD release, Disney didn’t do much with its newly-acquired rabbit star, reportedly wanting to “make a big splash” with his return.
Risk #2: Reinventing the Mouse
In addition to reintroducing Oswald to the world, Spector has stated that his other main goal with Epic Mickey is “making Mickey cool again.” This is no simple feat. At one point, Mickey Mouse was Hollywood’s biggest star (seriously), and is still possibly the most recognized character in the world (who doesn’t recognize the three-circle outline as Mickey’s head?). However, in many ways, his personality has decayed over the years. In the first decades of his existence, Mickey was adventurous, mischievous, and sometimes downright nasty. As time went on, his personality was split up among other characters (for example, his temper went to Donald Duck), and he became the straight mouse to a larger cast of characters. By the end of the century, Mickey wasn’t so much a character as an icon, little-used outside of theme parks and merchandise. Although there were attempts to revitalize the character (for example, the comparatively edgy 1995 cartoon Runaway Brain), for the most part, Disney was unwilling to tamper with its most iconic character.
Now, however, Disney has changed its tune, and is ready to give Mickey a makeover of sorts (more of a rebirth, really): instead of the clean-cut, goody-two-shoes Mickey Mouse we’ve seen for so long, Mickey will be returning to his roots as a mischievous (if not well-intentioned) rascal. It’s all part of a large-scale, cross-company reimagining of one of the most beloved characters in the entire world. And with what is Disney leading this project? Not a movie, TV show, or theme park ride, as Disney (a “traditional” entertainment company) is most known for, but with a video game. Epic Mickey will be the world’s first glimpse at the revitalized Mickey Mouse. It’s almost shocking, really. The reinvention of Mickey Mouse, a character beloved for more than 80 years, begins in a video game? I could barely believe it.
But Disney wouldn’t leave this monumental task in just anybody’s hands. Warren Spector, while mostly known for mature works such as Deus Ex, is a huge Disney fan. He grew up watching Disney films, dreamed of being an Imagineer, and received stock in the company as a graduation gift (the man is my new hero). In interviews, he has shown an expansive knowledge and respect for Disney’s history. His vision of Mickey’s future is rooted in the character’s mischievous past. While a change from the white-washed Mickey that exists now, in many ways it will be truer to his roots than ever before.
Not that it needed it, but I feel like the trust that Disney is putting in Spector and his team to reintroduce and reimagine not one, but two characters that are hugely important to the legacy of both the company and its revered founder is just another sign that video games are being viewed as a legitimate form of entertainment by media companies. If it were simply another Mickey Mouse game, one could argue that Disney saw an opportunity to make money and ran with it. Obviously, money is part of it. But to completely retool the character, using the medium of video games as a starting point? That’s a whole ‘nother story. The reinvention of Mickey Mouse, the most recognizable cartoon character in the world, is a huge deal, and at the forefront of this story is a video game. Sounds pretty important to me.
Contest:
7:30 PM on 01.08.2010
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I haven't really been following this game at all but I'll keep an eye on it once we get more information. I'm hoping that if Disney takes a Mickey Mouse game seriously, we will also start to see some amazing Marvel games as well.
Really though, I don't think this will go beyond a game. It could be great and spawn a sequel or a trilogy, but all in all this reinvention might be more harmful to Disney's soft image should it come under the scrutiny of popular culture child-protective eyes.
It does sound good, not just because he's become a bit 2-bit but also because Mickey is hardly in anything anymore... Films, TV, the only place where he has a pretty big role is the Kingdom Hearts series. What would happen to that though?
The newest game is rumored to actually star Mickey himself in a 'dark world' but similarities aside what would happen to that. They couldn't change his personality just like that could they?
If this is really true, it would be great, but it would like Nintendo suddenly making Mario a sea-horse. Whats going to happen to everything pre-estabilished and the public image?
First off, since I have no PS2, I've unfortunately missed out on Kingdom Hearts, so I can't really speak to how Mickey has been portrayed in that (I will say he looked like a complete badass in at least one trailer that I watched).
To everyone wondering how a personality change would sit with the public, I didn't mention this, but in the game, your actions will determine Mickey's personality and looks, from a purely good, upstanding "Heroic Mickey," to a "Scrapper Mickey," who is a little more reckless. For some details, check this out. And I doubt that they're suddenly going to turn Mickey as a whole into Bart Simpson. But I think over the next few years, what you'll see is a gradual reemergence of some of the less-than-perfect aspects of his personality, moving him away from the saintly "Master of Ceremonies" he's become in many ways.
@Evil Mirror Twin
I suppose I may have exaggerated. Maybe "significant" would have been a better word choice. What I mean is that Disney, a mega corporation with a long and proud history, is in essence tinkering with its most important "evergreen" character. Walt Disney himself once said, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." So Mickey's legacy and future are both very important to the company, and to pop culture in general. I find it extremely significant that A) Disney would even entertain the notion of "changing" Mickey, and B) That they would pick a game as the first place to experiment with this. Other games will come out this year that will do more to advance the medium as an art and as a unique way to tell stories (not that this game won't be well done in those regards), but as far as potential far-reaching effects on pop culture go, I think this game, if it's successful, will be one of the most significant, and will be seen as a major turning point for Disney and for Mickey.
Thanks for reading!
The point of choosing the videogame platform to herald a change in the Mickey brand is very interesting - it shows how far videogames have come as a respected medium to test the viability of the direction that they are taking their beloved mascot in (assuming that this is indeed a truth).
That sounds about right. Earlier cartoons, he could be even meaner. In The Band Concert, for example, he was actually kind of a jerk. The thing Disney will have to do is keep that balance of him being an "everyman" kind of character, one that anyone can identify with. He doesn't have to be a saint for that, but pushing him too far in the other direction could result in a Shadow the Hedgehog the Mouse type of character, which nobody wants.
As for Mickey being watered down, Disney has done that to all of the old classic characters over the years. Donald's gotten much less angry, Goofy's gotten less "goofy", etc. I liked what they did by bringing Goofy back to his roots with that "How to Hook Up Your Home Entertainment Center" short a while back, and was hoping for more shorts in that vein. Between things like that, Mickey's "rebirth", and the revival of Disney's animated features, I really think they're on the right track.
I was just going to say, great blog, and now I feel even more guilty about not putting this on the most wanted Wii 2010 list. I certainly want to know more about the game, but I'm just not totally sold on it yet, not like I am on NMH2, TvC:UAS, Super Meat Boy, Bit.Trip RUNNER, and The Grinder.
That could certainly change though. If the game lives up to its potential, it could be better than all five of them.
I loved that short. When Disney bought Pixar and put John Lasseter in charge of all animation, one of the things he wanted was to get Disney back to its roots. Beyond just going back to traditional animated features, that meant letting the animators cut their teeth on shorts, like they used to in the studio's initial early days (and like they still do at Pixar). I would love to see more pre-movie shorts in that vein.
@Holmes
Thanks. It looks like there are a lot of potentially great Wii games coming out this year. If only more people would pay attention... And obviously, I would love for this game to to live up to its potential. Between this and Arkham Asylum, it could send a message that licensed games can once again be solid, polished products.
This game in particular is hard to keep from false projections, because Disney, and the Mickey Mouse character are very beloved by a lot of the people here. And even though it's being reared by Warren Spector, we've seen in the past that an outstanding history doesn't lead to must-buy titles later (Molyneux, Bungie, even Wil Wright has had a few less than stellar title along the way).
All I ask is don't let your enthusiasm get in the way of rational judgment when more details are annouced.
Remember, next time, to turn off smart-quotes for Word. That's what causing all those question marks.
kjohnson1585 is speaking voodoo, don't you worry your pretty little head over it.
Man, I love this blog. I've only been waiting on it for three months now.
It'll be interesting to see if this game sells. If it does, other developers just might have the guts to reinvent their mascots and mainstays as well.
But I love the insight you've brought to the new game. I cannot wait to experience Epic Mickey!
Disney is reinventing Mickey with a videogame because they DON'T view videogames as a legitimate form of entertainment. It doesn't matter what Mickey does in a videogame; if the reimaging fails then they can pass it off as just a videogame and go back to the old Mickey. But if they reimagined Mickey in a movie, then Mickey could be tarnished forever. THAT is why they started with a game rather than a movie.
I just hope that Spector knows what he's getting himself into with all of the hype he's built up for Epic Mickey. I mean, if Spector isn't careful he could be the next Peter Molyneux.
I'm more interested in the game than ever.
@BalloonFighter
That's a really good comparison. I know at one point, surveys showed that Mario was actually more recognized worldwide than Mickey. It shocked a lot of people. I don't know if that's still so, but I would love to see Mickey in Smash Bros. or some other team-up with Mario. It would be the ultimate childhood dream of mine come true.
@Hcapt
That's an interesting perspective, and one that could be true. I hope it isn't, though. I think the money and hype they're putting behind it shows that they're taking it pretty seriously, though.
@Magnalon
The fact that you work for Disney fills me with great jealousy. I'm applying for the College Program; if all goes well, I'll be there for the summer and fall. And unless they've changed it recently, I've seen that attraction at Hollywood Studios. It was awesome.
Hopefully they do pull it off. Cause personally I am sick of seeing Mickey only in kingdom hearts.
Anyway, I'm glad to see there was at least one other person who didn't write off the game because of it's GRAPHICS. I'm really excited for this game to come out, and with this brush up on my Disney history I'm even more excited now.
I might also add that Disney could really care less on bringing "Mickey back." If what you say about Epic Mickey turn out to be true, it'd be the Majora's Mask of Disney. Majora's Mask is greatly loved by a very vocal minority, but when you think Zelda you don't think "OH the moon killing everyone, taking faces of dead people and grim atmosphere." You think green clothes, fun adventures, and Navi.
Re-tooling a character to make it darker and more interesting to a minority has happened before but it has never proven to be a long term effect. I bet similar things will occur with Epic Mickey, if anything. But I'd like to reiterate my point that your article never mentions how this is good for video games as opposed to being good for Disney.
That said it was well written, I don't deny your ability of presenting a point, I just think the one you brought up is on poor evidence and hopeful predictions with no base.