News Does Disney have a Mickey and Minnie problem?

THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

Well-Known Member
To all the new people....
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SuddenStorm

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
Mickey and Minnie got far more respect under Eisner's Disney than Iger's. The new shorts that bastardized their look is a huge sign that internally Disney doesn't now how to use the characters.

Seeing how Mickey was changed in the new iteration of Fantasmic! also demonstrates a shift in how the company views their most iconic character.

Very curious to see how Mickey is used in 30 years when Iger is long gone, and kids being born today will only know a Disney with Bart Simpson.
 
PiratesMansion

PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
SuddenStorm said:
Mickey and Minnie got far more respect under Eisner's Disney than Iger's. The new shorts that bastardized their look is a huge sign that internally Disney doesn't now how to use the characters.

Seeing how Mickey was changed in the new iteration of Fantasmic! also demonstrates a shift in how the company views their most iconic character.

Very curious to see how Mickey is used in 30 years when Iger is long gone, and kids being born today will only know a Disney with Bart Simpson.
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How does new Fantasmic demonstrate new Disney doesn't get Mickey?

Because he actively makes a choice and is tricked, as opposed to just disappearing and letting the villains take over the show? Because the "real" Mickey has always been infallible?

Is he not allowed to make mistakes the same way any other character in anything else ever would?

Because if that's so, do you also take issue with the Sorcerer's Apprentice?
 
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TsWade2

Well-Known Member
That article is clickbait. It's a bunch lies and nonsense. I'm not trying to be like a troll, but Disney will never get rid of Mickey Mouse and friends. Geez, these articles these days. :rolleyes:
 
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TsWade2

Well-Known Member
ProjectXBlog said:
they will kill off all of the fab 5 in a “day the music died”-esque plane crash. then they will be reborn as babies, except mickey, who will stay dead. you heard it here first, folks
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No they will not. You're trying to make fun of me. Back at High School I've been making fun of and told me Mickey Mouse is dead and it gets under my skin. So don't go there, please. Thank you.
 
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brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
SuddenStorm said:
Mickey and Minnie got far more respect under Eisner's Disney than Iger's. The new shorts that bastardized their look is a huge sign that internally Disney doesn't now how to use the characters.
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To counter your comment, here's The Visionary Soul's comment about the whole Mickey and Minnie situation from the article. It gives a positive look on the New Mickey and Minnie shorts. Like the new style or not, at least he's brought up a good point.
TheVisionarySoul said:
The article, as click-baity as it is, is not incorrect. Years ago Disney realized there was going to be a slump in Mickey and Minnie related merchandise because the only active Mickey-related show was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That show doesn’t appeal to an adult demographic at all. It’s actually pretty bad as far as kids shows go. (The hot dog song excepted) To give credit where it is due, Disney Consumer Products actually realized the problem before it happened. The writing was on the wall that unless they could appeal to an older and wider demographic quickly, there would be a huge issue with selling Mickey Merch in the future. The solution?

Consumer Products put the order in for an adult-targeted Mickey Mouse Cartoon Series. This series would target a demographic older than Clubhouse, or even House of Mouse’s MouseWorks Shorts. But Who would get to work on it? Would you believe some of the creators of Ren and Stimpy, along with the Brothers Chaps, best known for the internet cartoon series / website Homestar Runner and Strong Bad. Together, along with their own diverse teams of talent, came up with the concept for an international zany take on Mickey... but a problem was found later... the “official” voice of Mickey Mouse couldn’t emote well enough for a show like that. Bret Iwan just didn’t have the acting chops. The guy is a Wayne Allwine sound-alike, (the former voice of Mickey) and a mediocre one at best. He couldn’t give enough energy to Mickey for that series, and it seems like everyone knew it. They had to select someone else. Enter Silicon Valley’s token jerk, Russ Hanneman. Russ’s character on Silicon Valley is off the walls crazy... but Chris Diamantopoulos was perfect to play a zany version of Mickey. So he became the voice of Mickey for the series of shorts. He might not sound like Wayne’s Mickey, but he sure gave life to the new shorts in a way that Bret just couldn’t do at the time.

These shorts have breathed new life into the characters. And like the new character designs or not, they actually are pretty popular. The stories are crazy, they are filled with references to classic Disney films and theme park attractions, and most importantly to the company, they sell merchandise. As much as there is a slight slump in sales with fab-5 character merch right now, the situation would have been more dismal had they not done the new series. It’s only natural that they open the new ride based on the new shorts in the parks as part of this push as well. I believe this slump in the merchandise sales will turn over quickly because Consumer Products caught it in time. And when you combine it with Ducktales, it makes everything even more successful.
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TsWade2

Well-Known Member
ProjectXBlog said:
i am indeed joking, but i can also see a scenario where we weather a resurgence of the ‘80s/‘90s trend of “baby” everything thanks to lil yoda and baby mister peanut. the “disney babies” line hasn’t had a big push since the mid-90s if i’m not mistaken.
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And again I apologize. I guess I'm not good of taking jokes.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
TsWade2 said:
That article is clickbait. It's a bunch lies and nonsense. I'm not trying to be like a troll, but Disney will never get rid of Mickey Mouse and friends. Geez, these articles these days. :rolleyes:
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I didn’t even consider the article...old Chappie said there was a decline in Mickey Minnie merchandise sales recently...its a fresh topic from the bald donkey’s mouth
 
C

cmwade77

Well-Known Member
The problems are:
  • The new animation style is UGLY
  • They aren't coming up with very interesting merch with Mickey and Minnie, especially that is park specific. Just changing Disneyland to Disney World doesn't make it a new product, have unique designs. And use the old style animation.
  • Disney just is too focused on IPs and not the classic characters, which could be a major downfall for them.
 
smooch

smooch

Well-Known Member
I'll just give my two cents and personal experience: I'm 20 and have gone to the parks with my family since I could remember. I always associated Mickey Mouse with Disney because I went to Disneyland. I never watched Mickey cartoons as a child, but I did watch all the classic Disney Vault movies, so I knew the princesses, Pinocchio, etc. From going to Disneyland and seeing Mickey everywhere, even though I knew he was from old cartoons, I always associated him more as a "mascot" for Disneyland rather than a cartoon character. As I got older and more into Disney and theme parks, I went back and watched old Disney cartoons and tried to get a better background of Mickey and the Fab Five. Beyond what is already out there, they had never done much to push new Mickey content or Fab Five content, they all just remained as mascots for Disney from old cartoons that most people never went back and watched. I haven't watched the new Mickey cartoons because the animation style is just off putting to me. Disney now just focuses on Pixar for characters for the most part. They still use old Disney characters from Disney movies, but as far as developing new characters and content, it is a mix of Pixar and Disney from what I noticed. I think Disney does need to redo the Mickey Mouse style and try to push more Mickey Mouse content out and to consumers. I can't imagine even kids born in ten years going to Disneyland and seeing anyone else as the mascot of the park except Mickey, but I definitely think they'll be in a similar situation I was in when I was little and ONLY knowing him from Disneyland as a type of mascot. That is all purely anecdotal though, I could be completely off the mark, this is just my personal experience and my own thoughts based on these experiences, feel free to tell me in what ways I'm right or wrong because I genuinely wanna know other people's perspectives. I know that will vary a lot with age, though.
 

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