(IMAGE FROM CARTOON BREW)
The Walt Disney Company has announced the
return of Mickey Mouse. Mickey will
return to his roots with all new shorts that will air on Disney Channel and
Disney.com. The question is, where has
Mickey Mouse been? In the 1920’s and 1930’s short length cartoons featuring
Mickey Mouse would run before a feature film. Mickey Mouse and the shorts
became so popular that people would watch a feature film just because it had a
Mickey Mouse short. Mickey’s popularity
would take Disney to the next level and allow the company to focus on making
animated feature films. In the past
twenty years Disney’s main star has been in semi-retirement, appearing in a few
straight to video releases. What
happened to Mickey Mouse?
While Mickey Mouse is the face of Disney,
people do not know about Mickey’s character or personality. Has the mouse become so much of an iconic
mascot that he has lost all of his mojo? It is not a secret that Disney has put
all their faith in other franchises. Many new Pixar characters like, Buzz Lightyear,
Woody, Lightning McQueen and even their own Princesses have taken over the
Disney brand. Meanwhile Mickey and the gang just wave and take pictures with
children at the Disney Parks. Yes,
Mickey Mouse and friends are now on television with their Mickey Mouse Club television show. However, this program focuses on
education and not pure entertainment.
This is not the same mouse that Walt Disney created. Mickey Mouse is an example of the Walt Disney
Company nurturing their child and not allowing him to grow, instead he has
become a stale and boring “goody two shoes”.
For example in 2011, Disney Channel would edit out Mickey’s shotgun from
the 1938 short cartoon, Mickey’s
Parrott, and replace
it with a broom.
With Mickey’s return to 2-D animation and
his short film heritage, Disney will reintroduce their “Big Cheese” to fans old
and new. Premiering on June 28, 2013,
nineteen episodes of the self-titled Mickey
Mouse will air on
both Disney Channel and Disney.com. The
first of the new shorts can be viewed HERE. The company
describes the cartoon as Mickey’s return to slapstick humor putting Mickey and
friends in humorous situations. With a
bold new style and look Mickey Mouse is preparing to charm the world once
again. It is important for Disney to
reintroduce the characters that helped build their company and not allow them
to be famous because of the memories they created. Maybe one day Mickey will finally get his own
theatrical animated feature film. Seeing
Mickey Mouse back on television is a great starting point for Disney to remind
the world they will always embrace their heritage. It is important for the company
to remember, “It all started with a mouse.”
