Mickey Mouse is making a comeback and in a big way. Disney’s mascot introduced himself to a new generation of kids in the Epic Mickey games and now he’s returning to his original medium in cartoon shorts. Nineteen brand-new cartoon shorts are releasing this summer and they will feature 2D animation that are reminiscent of the art direction and storytelling of Walt and his animators in the 1920s and 1930s. Each contemporary ‘toon finds Mickey in a different setting including Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice and the Alps, facing a silly situation, a quick complication and an escalation of physical and visual gags. The Mouse will interact with his friends Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.
This exciting new Walt Disney Television Animation project is headed by executive producer and director Paul Rudish, the talented animator behind Dexter’s Laboratory and The Power Puff Girls. The shorts will roll out beginning June 28 on Disney Channel, Disney.com, and the company’s Watch Disney Channel app.
“By bringing Mickey’s comedic adventures to life with vitality, humor, inventiveness and charm, the entire Disney Television Animation team of artists, animators and directors have worked to capture the essence of what Walt Disney himself created 85 years ago,” said Disney Channels Worldwide President and Chief Creative Officer Gary Marsh in a statement.
A preview installment called “Croissant de Triomphe” is already up at Disney.com. The three-and-a-half minute ‘toon invites Mickey to Paris as he attempts to deliver a fresh batch of croissants to Minnie’s cafe. The short features fun, fast-paced action sequences, humor for all ages, an unexpected homage to a Disney classic, and obviously the animation style is beautiful and nostalgic. Watch it here.
A while back I reported on a new Wii title called Epic Mickey. After playing the expansive demo at E3 I am so happy to report back that Epic Mickey is everything I hoped it would be. In fact, it was my favorite game of the show! The visuals, the controls, the characters, and the environments all blend together to make an exciting Disney experience with our good pal Mickey Mouse at the helm.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what type of game Epic Mickey really is. It takes cues from platformers, role-playing games, and third-person shooters, even. It meshes 2D and 3D gaming to produce stunning color and black/white visuals that stem from classic Disney history. The first part of the demo took us to Wasteland, a place where old, washed up, and forgotten Disney characters hang out. Characters like the pirates Smee from Peter Pan and Scurvy Pat are there to give you tasks to perform. In a beautiful cut scene that features 2D paper animation, Smee is crying because all of the pirates are being turned into robot monsters. It is up to Mickey to save the pirates from their demise. At the Wasteland I was instructed by Tiki Sam (he looks sort of like Goofy) to find three masks that are hidden throughout the area. There is a lot of trading and bartering that goes on between all these different characters; one decision leads to another and this all eventually lands Mickey in the appropriate situation to help stop the machine from destroying the pirates. Your decisions to either help or ignore the characters around you will affect the outcome of the game.
The game is split into three different areas: quests, transitions, and actions. Wasteland is a quest area; it’s a place where interact with other characters to complete certain tasks. Transition areas take place in-between quest and action areas and they usually contain special items and collectibles that will help Mickey elsewhere in the game. The transition area I jumped into was a movie reel and it transported me to a 2.5D sidescroller based on Mickey’s first appearance in 1928’s Steamboat Willy black-and-white cartoon. There are about 40 of these sidescrolling adventures in the game; they are all based on classic Disney cartoons. Playing through Steamboat Willy was a ton of fun. I am really looking forward to discovering all the other transition areas in the game. There’s nothing like classic Disney lore.
At the end of the Steamboat Willy level I jumped into another movie reel that brought me to a new area in the game called Skull Island. This is an action area where Mickey will run into enemies to defeat and conquer and it’s the place where I’ll find a way to stop the machine from turning the pirates into robots. My first mission is to find three anchors to save Smee’s ship from sinking into the ocean. There’s no better time to talk about controls then right now. In the game Mickey wields a magic paintbrush. Paint is used to create objects in the environment. If you stumble upon an area and you’re stuck, more than likely a spray of paint will reveal a bridge that connects the gap to crossover. Paint thinner is used to destroy objects around you. It can also be a helpful tool to find hidden objects that reside inside rocks or trees. Throughout the game there are clues guised under dark silhouette shapes; if you keep your eyes open for these subtle hints you can use your brush to uncover what’s there. When it comes to enemy interaction you have one of two options. You can use paint thinner to erase them or paint to strategically turn them into friendlies who will fight for you. Mickey can also collect objects called “sketches”. In the demo I picked up a TV sketch; at one point during the Skull Island sequence the TV sketch was used to distract an enemy. Mickey literally places a TV in front of an enemy and while he was distracted by a scene from the original Steamboat Willy cartoon I picked up a missing anchor piece. Humorous, fun, and effective.
At its core, Epic Mickey is a true-to-form roleplaying game where your decisions will effect the way other in-game characters perceive you. If you use paint thinner to erase elements from the environment around you more than you use paint to create, characters will take notice. In this case, they will be less friendly and willing to help you solve missions. In fact, a little green sprite named Terp follows you around and lets you know what type of “play style” you’re currently engaged in (too much thinner or paint or a mix of both). And since your decisions alter the game, you can literally play through it numerous way and every time will play out differently. With intuitive controls, an engaging story with fun and challenging missions, and spectacular visuals, expect Epic Mickey to take over your living room when it release this holiday season exclusivel for Wii. The game truly is a sight to behold. And and if you’re a fan of Walt Disney creations you will certainly not be disappointed.
Mickey Mouse is set to take gamers on a whole new adventure with ‘Epic Mickey,’ a Nintendo Wii exclusive. Little to no information has been released regarding the game. Warren Spector’s Point Junction Studios is heading the project, and the upcoming cover of Game Informerreveals a very artistic, dark, and mature shade of the Mouse. Look forward to additional information being spilt about Epic Mickey in the November issue of said magazine. The last greatest Mickey Mouse video game I played was “Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse” on Sega Genesis (1994). This was a classic side-scroller that featured different versions of Mickey as you progressed through the game (from Steamboat Willy (1928) (my favorite) to The Prince and the Pauper (1990)). I have high hopes for the new Mickey tale; the motion controls of the Wii and today’s enhanced graphics should do him some justice. He’s due for another artistic and well developed game, wouldn’t you say?
