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[douche]

What the shit.

From the story: “There’s a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character, but at this point it’s a risk they have to take,” said Matt Britton, the managing partner of Mr. Youth, a New York brand consultant firm.

I've only known Mickey as a loveable gee-golly type character. Seeing evil eyes on the guy jolted me more than a little but I guess the times, they are a-changin'.

[ninja]

Here is the correct link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/business/media/05mickey.html?_r=1

[Core42]

They'll probably make Mickey gothic and emo. How sad to capitulate to subcultures in an effort to make money.

[Jimmy Johnson]

They'll probably make Mickey gothic and emo. How sad to capitulate to subcultures in an effort to make money.

Do You know what Capitulate means?

[Sanchez]

Even as a small child I fucking hated Mickey Mouse. He's one of the few cartoon characters that could actually use a bit of grit. Doing this to Bugs and Daffy was straight-up retarded but anything that wipes the twee smile off Mickey's face is fine by me.

Epic Mickey, designed for Nintendo’s Wii console, is set in a “cartoon wasteland” where Disney’s forgotten and retired creations live. The chief inhabitant is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character Walt Disney created in 1927 as a precursor to Mickey but ultimately abandoned in a dispute with Universal Studios. In the game, Oswald has become bitter and envious of Mickey’s popularity. The game also features a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck and a “twisted, broken, dangerous” version of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World.”

I really hate to admit it but this actually sounds pretty cool.

[dharma.writer]

They'll probably make Mickey gothic and emo. How sad to capitulate to subcultures in an effort to make money.

Because no big corporation has ever done that before...

[Chairman_Meow]

The sound of Mickey's laugh makes me want to punch a small child in the face, so I'm on board with this.

[Finlander]

Donald Duck comics are huge here in Finland (for some reason, we identify with an incredible angry, incomprehensible lunatic who seems to fail at everything he tries) and when they feature Mickey, they are pretty much completely hated, since he is a perfect individual and always seems to succeed at everything. He has basically no depth at all and is a pretty poor character.

[Mr. Molecule]

I'd heard about the "Epic Mickey" game, but didn't realize it was part of a larger rebranding. Actually, the game, or at least the concept art, looks pretty good. Here's the concept art; it's considerably darker and creepier and, well, more interesting than just the picture of "angry eyes" Mickey that went with the OP's article. You've got your one-armed robotic Goofy, your giant narwhal-boat thing carrying a ruined Epcot Center, your montrosity from my deepest nightmares wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, etc.

[chromigula]

your montrosity from my deepest nightmares wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, etc.

And no matter which way you run, the ears remain.

You can see some more screens at GameInformer's recent "Anatomy of a Screenshot" feature.

[Schroeder]

Epic Mickey, designed for Nintendo’s Wii console, is set in a “cartoon wasteland” where Disney’s forgotten and retired creations live. The chief inhabitant is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character Walt Disney created in 1927 as a precursor to Mickey but ultimately abandoned in a dispute with Universal Studios. In the game, Oswald has become bitter and envious of Mickey’s popularity. The game also features a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck and a “twisted, broken, dangerous” version of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World.”

That makes it sound almost like the Dark Tower, with Mickey as the weary hardcase Gunslinger. Of course, Disney would never be caught dead doing something that awesome.

[ZimZamson]

I thought the concept art was pretty amazing, but the execution of it seems like it has really limped across the line.

It kind of went from morbid, dark and epic into fairly generic pretty quick. Just looking at the concept art previously posted compared to the actual in-game screenshots kind of kills the enthusiasm pretty quick for me

http://kotaku.com/5391662/spector-tells-us-how-disney-epic-mickey-will-challenge-gamers

[Kein]

It's the same sad story all over. There were a lot of great characters in the eighties who desperately need some fashion changes, then companies get it into their head that makeovers are the avenue to sales. The sad part is? They're often right. The public will buy anything colorful.

But in that process, the essence of the character is lost. Almost no one really likes Micky; he's too fucking nice. Donald is more sarcastic and pertinent, Goofy has better timing, but Micky is just supposed to be...Micky. Jesus, he's the master of ceremonies for cartoons. Eventually, all cartoons owe something to him, and giving him a makeover is exactly the type of thing that screams "disingenuous."

[snidepiper]

Do kids even know who Mickey Mouse is anymore?

Maybe they should use an evil Genie (from Aladin) or Sebastion (The little Mermaid).

[Maw]

But in that process, the essence of the character is lost. Almost no one really likes Micky; he's too fucking nice.

This is one of those things that just makes me feel weird even though it makes perfect business sense. Making Mickey Mouse edgy? I don't know, guys. Walt Disney himself would often rewrite scripts that made Mickey look vindictive or cruel.

Ah, well. I just hope to hell that his this doesn't start a 4chan meme.

[Ayahuasca]

I didn't even realize that Micky Mouse was still considered to be a happy goofball overseas. It's interesting to see how differently he developed in other places.

Here in Middle Europe, Micky Mouse has turned gritty for quite some time now.

In most comics you get here, Micky Mouse is some kind of Sherlock Holmes and is used as a contrast to the "funny" Donald Duck Comics. That can be seen especially well in the "Lustiges Taschenbuch"-series, which comes out monthly and is very popular. Micky Mouse and Donald Duck also rarely cross each other paths in those comics, almost like they would be in different Universes. And if they do, it's treated as if it would be a crossover.

[Emergency Exit]

I thought the concept art was pretty amazing, but the execution of it seems like it has really limped across the line.

It kind of went from morbid, dark and epic into fairly generic pretty quick...kills the enthusiasm pretty quick for me

Warren Spector actually addressed this:

He answers, "There are a couple aspects to that. I think I've mentioned before, that I'm a big believer in finding out where the line is by pushing past it. There are lines that are on every project; every project exists in a creative box. For most of my games, I create that box and the team has to sort of work within it. In this case, there's a creative box that I create, and there's the creative box that Disney overlays on that. I know where my lines are, but I don't know where Disney's are. I had a lot of stuff generated that was very specifically designed to be provocative and to cross that line. I know it's too far -- or is it? You tell me. So it forces a confrontation or a decision. Some of what you saw was beyond the line, and so I learned something from it. Some of it was early design ideas that are no longer relevant. Some of it is stuff that's still in the game, and I'm not saying what."

From here.

I've been pretty interested in the game since the concept art leaked. I'm just waiting to see how reactions are once it gets released. If everyone says it's "meh," I'll probably rent instead of buy, but obviously, I hope it'll be entertaining. I think the gameplay mechanics combined with the setting sound like fun.

Here's an interview with Warren Spector where he talks about making the game and his thoughts on Mickey in general.

[norumaru]

I'm sorry everyone, especially Mr. Miller, but I just couldn't help myself.

[College Binary]

I have to say, this sounds pretty awesome if it's a stand-alone game, like American McGee's Disney or something. If they're trying to "reboot" classic Disney the same way they did with Looney Tunes, though, that's pretty gay. And I rarely find occasion to describe something particularly using the pejorative "gay", but this seems to fit the bill. As a one-off experiment, though, fucking go for it.

It's really surprising to me, though, that Disney would do this. They always seem to have this extreme moral conviction to keep everything G-rated, and I thought that would especially apply to their most sacred classic characters. Times may have changed, but they did sue an alcohol advertising company recently that implied Snow White was honking the seven dwarves.

[Jisaw]

I've never really thought of Mickey as a stand-alone character, anyway. I can't think of any movies he's in that I actually saw growing up, his video games were always bland, and I can't remember him being in any popular cartoons at the time. He was just a boring mascot to me. And once at Disneyworld, I stomped on his foot and Aladdin came over and scolded me.

A reboot is definately worth a try.