Say this isn't so....p-p-p-please!!!!!

There's a rumor going around that Mickey Mouse is going to star in a full-length Disney movie. AND his co-star will be a rabbit.

But it's the WRONG rabbit:



This "news" is from Gary Wolf's website (he's the guy who wrote the book "Who Censored Roger Rabbit", which "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was based on. Having read the book, believe me, Disney plussed the heck out of it. The resultant movie isn't perfect, but it could have been so much worse). I visit his site from time to time because, well, I love Roger Rabbit.

But I was cold-cocked by the headline and blurb I found on the site today:

Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit to star in "The Stooge"!
(highlight the spoiler area below to read the text)
Extra, Extra! Stop the Presses! Breaking flash! This just in! There's big news tonight! Read all about it!

I've just been told by one of my hush-hush Hollywood sources that there's a new movie in the works starring big-time Toontown stars Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit.

If this is true...the HECK????? If Mickey's going to co-star in a movie with a rabbit, it should be THIS rabbit:




Besides, I remember seeing "The Stooge" (starring Martin and Lewis) on TV, and the Martin part (which is the role Mickey would take in this farce) wasn't a particularly sympathetic one. Of course Disney could change it, but basically, the Martin part was about a failing showman who's going nowhere until he uses a goofball sidekick (the Lewis role) he discovers during a performance. So....Mickey can't cut it without a goofy sidekick? Well, he's already played that part, only with the actual Goofy. How can such a role make him look good?

And while I like Roger and would love to see him return...WHAT ABOUT OSWALD!!!!! Does Disney actually believe nobody cares about him? Why, because Epic Mickey 2 failed? Whose fault was that? Sure as heck wasn't Oswald's!

This rumor better not be true. This better not be an actual film in development. If it is, I for one, a huge Mickey and Roger fan who really really wants them to return on the big screen...won't go to see this.

Oh, and here's the website reporting this "news": http://blog.garywolf.com/2013/02/mickey-mouse-and-roger-rabbit-to-star.html

P.S. That's a lousy drawing of Mickey.

Well I'm all for any new feature including my favorite mouse!

I saw there was a movie in development about Mickey, so I guess this is it

Heh heh....

Well as long as Roger is hand-drawn.....none of this CGI crap, okay?
I want REAL toons....

I would venture to guess that at least a majority of Disney fans really have no idea who Oswald is. Only the more hardcore fans are aware of him. I would also say that the video games didn't help Oswald's stock amongst fans. They were duds. The second one pretty much killed the studio that made it.

Edit:: let's also not get too bent out of shape about this until its confirmed somehow. That poster doesn't make me think "reliable". I mean, what is "new virtual reality" supposed to be?

Well, the first game actually sold decently, enough to spawn a sequel. But yeah, the follow-up has pretty much flopped, primarily because Junction Point didn't fix the issues with the first game, especially the wonky camera. IMO, if Junction can't construct a game with decent mechanics, then it deserved to get shut down. It had a chance to create an amazing game with established characters, and it couldn't quite pull it off, it seems.

Just the same, "Epic Mickey" is a fun game, with a great story, great music, great cut scenes. I think the game critics focused too much on its flaws, enough to persuade curious gamers to steer clear. Too bad.

As for the projected movie, I found additional info at Slash/Film.com. Gary Wolf has updated his commentary about the project. He says it's a real proposal:

The Stooge is a real development proposal for a Disney/Pixar movie. It has the same title as the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film and some of the same plot elements, but it’s not a remake. The storyline in this Stooge is quite different.
This movie, which will be all animated, has nothing to do with the sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They are totally different concepts and projects. It’s not a case of making one instead of the other. In an ideal, rabbit-centric world, Disney will make both.

The Stooge development producer Erik von Wodtke came up with the story and wrote the treatment. He showed it to me hoping that I would see how special it was and would be interested in coming in on the project. With that, he did succeed. I love the idea of a Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit musical buddy comedy. This is a co-star pairing made in cartoon heaven. Two iconic cartoon characters playing off one another in a story that has the heart and emotional soul of films like Wall-E and Toy Story. What Disney fan wouldn’t want to see that? Art director Doug A Sirois has been working on Stooge concept art. What I’ve seen so far is sensational. I will be involved in the project in a writing and creative capacity. Erik is currently talking to a number of top-flight screenwriters and directors. Watch my blog. I’ll keep fans posted on Stooge developments.

At first I thought this concept sounded fake,but I just saw this same article on another Hollywood site. So I guess it is legit. I am a huge Roger Rabbit fan and I've been waiting 25 years for a sequel so I hope that gets made. As for The Stooge, I think its a pretty interesting concept that could workout well if its done right.

Yeah, it might work okay. Might. It will depend, IMO, on how well Mickey is designed - he looks fairly awful in that poster - and how good he'll look, proportionately, with Roger. I've always thought it weird that in some toons, Mickey looks bigger than Donald. . Wish Disney would go with the retro look, but that likely won't happen. Still, the Mickey design used for "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" is really cute and that could be terrific in full animation, OR the design used in "Runaway Brain" would work too. I just hope the movie is done in at least SOME 2D. And dammit, I hope Oswald at least gets a cameo! It sucks that Disney is being so halfhearted about bringing him back!

Is this a Pixar movie? Because it said in that clip in that article that it was disney/pixar

I agree with going with a retro lokk for Mickey. I know nothing about The Stooge,but i would think it should take place in the 1950s,and Mickey should be drawn in 2D and look the way he did then. As for Mickey and Oswald,it would make more sense for Disney to do a movie about them two instead. I really liked the first Epic Mickey game,and I think that would have made a great movie.

I totally agree with you. Epic Mickey should have been a movie first, and a game after.

As to the timeline of this purported flick, maybe it'd make more sense for it to happen in the 1930's, and in fact could be the actual Roger Rabbit prequel - we'd find out how Roger became a cartoon star: because he was mentored by Mickey. That would actually be kind of interesting. I'd still rather have Oswald, though...

I like that idea,setting it in the 30s and have it kinda be a prequal. Even if this movie never happens, I'd be interested in reading that treatment for it.

It's such a shame that all of the legal battles effectively killed Roger Rabbit at a time when he still popular. Such a great character, so much potential....I've always been disappointed that Roger just kind of faded into obscurity.

With that said, I really hope Disney puts this movie into production! I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by this concept. Of course Roger is always funny, but I think it would also be amusing to see Mickey doing a Dean Martin shtick (Dino is the King of Cool after all). With any luck, this movie would be successful enough to get Roger's career back on track and make Disney consider building Roger Rabbit's Hollywood in DHS again.

The FIRST Epic Mickey was awesome and popular. The second one was fine, but doesn't completely blow you away like the first one did.

May have to pop in my "The Stooge" DVD and give it a watch .