Iger Reimagining Mickey Mouse?

EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
Maybe he will finally get married?

Seriously though,why?Mickey is already one of the most recognized and loved icons in the world.Why change him?
 
tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
stevediesel said:
Here is a NY Times article that is about older cartoons & toys being reimagining for todays kids. Includes a few quotes from Iger, “I love classic Mickey, but he needs to evolve to be relevant to new generations of kids.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/business/media/11cartoons.html?_r=1&loc
Interesting stuff.
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I agree that Mickey needs to make a stronger comeback; Disney has sugarcoated his personality so much he seems to do nothing but laugh a lot.

But Disney also needs to realize that the original cartoons are still popular on their own merits, and very few of them don't relate to today's kids. DVD sales alone prove the classics have proven resilient to decades of cultural changes. People still like their round, lovable, slightly mischievous Mouse who stole Minnie's kiss in "Plane Crazy" and nearly drowned himself in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Any new cartoons need to be made in the spirit of the originals; if the writers can't do it, Disney should just start airing the classics on TV again. (But Goofy's latest cartoon, "How to Hook Up a Home Theater," seems to indicate that some team of writers at Disney knows how to revive cartoons correctly.)

Warner Brothers' "Loonatics" represents exactly what modern decision makers get wrong when they try to update characters. Like Disney, Warner could simply re-release the original Looney Toons cartoons and be immensely successful. The animated shorts used to be on TV all the time; now it's difficult to find them except for overpriced DVD collections labeled "Adult Collectors Only." The crazy antics of Bugs and friends are just as funny today as before.

p.s. I think this thread is in the wrong forum. :wave:
 
RiversideBunny

RiversideBunny

New Member
I dont' think they are considering changing the basic nature of Mickey himself. It's more about his surroundings, activities, etc.

Exceprt from the article-

Mr. Iger talks about the need to balance “heritage and innovation.” For Mickey and other Disney characters, one method is to keep the core attributes of the characters the same, but to update the world in which they live. For instance, Disney is updating Toontown, the section of Disneyland that Mickey calls home. One plan features an old-fashioned trolley, but Mr. Iger is not sure that is a smart idea. Will modern children know what an old-fashioned trolley is?

:)
 
stevediesel

stevediesel

Member
Original Poster
He might just mean making some new cartoons or a CGI movie w/ a "modern" looking Mickey. I seem to remember every now & then in the 80's & 90's you would see a Breakdancer or Hip Hop Mickey on some merchandise like T-shirts or lunch boxes. I don't see Mickey in the parks wearing jean's & a polo shirt w/ the collar popped, instead of the tux, anytime soon.
 
EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
tirian said:
I agree that Mickey needs to make a stronger comeback; Disney has sugarcoated his personality so much he seems to do nothing but laugh a lot.

But Disney also needs to realize that the original cartoons are still popular on their own merits, and very few of them don't relate to today's kids. DVD sales alone prove the classics have proven resilient to decades of cultural changes. People still like their round, lovable, slightly mischievous Mouse who stole Minnie's kiss in "Plane Crazy" and nearly drowned himself in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Any new cartoons need to be made in the spirit of the originals; if the writers can't do it, Disney should just start airing the classics on TV again. (But Goofy's latest cartoon, "How to Hook Up a Home Theater," seems to indicate that some team of writers at Disney knows how to revive cartoons correctly.)

Warner Brothers' "Loonatics" represents exactly what modern decision makers get wrong when they try to update characters. Like Disney, Warner could simply re-release the original Looney Toons cartoons and be immensely successful. The animated shorts used to be on TV all the time; now it's difficult to find them except for overpriced DVD collections labeled "Adult Collectors Only." The crazy antics of Bugs and friends are just as funny today as before.

p.s. I think this thread is in the wrong forum. :wave:
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How so?Mickey does a lot these days.Fantsmic?

RiversideBunny said:
I dont' think they are considering changing the basic nature of Mickey himself. It's more about his surroundings, activities, etc.

Exceprt from the article-

Mr. Iger talks about the need to balance “heritage and innovation.” For Mickey and other Disney characters, one method is to keep the core attributes of the characters the same, but to update the world in which they live. For instance, Disney is updating Toontown, the section of Disneyland that Mickey calls home. One plan features an old-fashioned trolley, but Mr. Iger is not sure that is a smart idea. Will modern children know what an old-fashioned trolley is?

:)
Click to expand...


So what are they gonna do?Put him in a Starbucks?:lol:
 
djkidkaz

djkidkaz

Well-Known Member
I think he is just referring to the CGI stuff, similar to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuff on Disney Channel. Adults want old hand drawn animation that they grew up with and kids want CGI that they are growing up with.
 
EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
The CGI uses classic Mickey though...And that's for the kids.I think this pretains to his official image and everything.

And that's why I'm worried.:dazzle:
 
tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
djkidkaz said:
I think he is just referring to the CGI stuff, similar to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuff on Disney Channel. Adults want old hand drawn animation that they grew up with and kids want CGI that they are growing up with.
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Today's kids don't refuse to watch anything that isn't CGI. If that were the case, we wouldn't see hundreds of little Belles, Ariels, and Cinderellas walking around the parks.

The CGI/Hand-Drawn argument was dead as soon as Eisner left the WDC. Nearly everyone now accepts that both are forms of storytelling, not an end in themselves.
 
RiversideBunny

RiversideBunny

New Member
EPCOT Explorer said:
So what are they gonna do?Put him in a Starbucks?:lol:
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Mabye. Maybe show him in a Starbucks with a cell phone and a laptop.

You ever notice how you can sometimes tell how old a movie is by some of the llittle things in it?
Phones that use mechanical ringers, people having to 'find a phone', B&W TV's, guys wearing hats to work, women who just scream when the monster shows up instead of taking charge and punching him out, etc.

I think they just want to, where appropriate, show the characters in a more modern setting that kids today can relate to.
:king:
 
krankenstein

krankenstein

Well-Known Member
tirian said:
I hope not. MM Clubhouse is geared exclusively to preschoolers.
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I think MM Clubhouse is a lot of what Iger is referring to, it has beena huge success. As this group of preschoolers grows I expect Mickey to continue to change too with there tastes. I also think we can expect more shorts before movies, like the Goofy one before National Treasure.
 
EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
RiversideBunny said:
Mabye. Maybe show him in a Starbucks with a cell phone and a laptop.

You ever notice how you can sometimes tell how old a movie is by some of the llittle things in it?
Phones that use mechanical ringers, people having to 'find a phone', B&W TV's, guys wearing hats to work, women who just scream when the monster shows up instead of taking charge and punching him out, etc.

I think they just want to, where appropriate, show the characters in a more modern setting that kids today can relate to.
:king:
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If it's just that,I'm fine.I'm worried about Mickey walking into Minnie's house with a earing in his ear,pants below his waist and going:

"Hey,baby,wanna go out?"
Scary.:dazzle:
krankenstein said:
I think MM Clubhouse is a lot of what Iger is referring to, it has beena huge success. As this group of preschoolers grows I expect Mickey to continue to change too with there tastes. I also think we can expect more shorts before movies, like the Goofy one before National Treasure.
Click to expand...

Now THAT would be fine.Love the shorts BTW.
 
tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
krankenstein said:
I think MM Clubhouse is a lot of what Iger is referring to, it has been a huge success. As this group of preschoolers grows I expect Mickey to continue to change too with there tastes.
Click to expand...

Like I said before, I hope Disney does make new Mickey cartoons, as long as they're in the spirit of the originals. Remember the "Toon Works" (I think that was the name) show in the late 90s? It flopped because the cartoons simply weren't as good as the originals.

krankenstein said:
I also think we can expect more shorts before movies, like the Goofy one before National Treasure.
Click to expand...
Yes, we can. Disney has announced this. :)
 
1disneydood

1disneydood

Active Member
The CGI cartoons featuring Mickey are just bad. They look bad, are boring, and don't take much talent to create. If mickey goes totally CGI I'm done with him. He hasn't starred an anything good for years anyway.

And I'm tired of all the things that were good enough for me having to be reworked to apease the spoiled kids of today. So if little Billy dosen't know what a trolley is, should we omit the trolley or should we TEACH him what a trolley is? What's next, change the brooms from Fantasia into Swiffer sweepers? :shrug:

You know what, let's just get rid of history in schools. It's not very PC anyway. :brick:
 

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