Should Mickey & Friends Be More Like The Looney Tunes?

[The Peanut Gallery]

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Mickey & friends cartoons recently. Although I have a lot of affection for the classic characters, I've been re-watching a lot of their old cartoons & I'm really starting to see they were never really that funny. While they were creative & looked fantastic they always gravitated a bit too heavily into the cutesy territory for my liking. Occasionally you'd get a funny premise from a Donald or Goofy cartoon but anything involving Mickey was usually kind of bland & safe. And that's a real bummer because retro Mickey from the 20's to 30's had a lot more edge. He was a mischievous scamp who had a lot in common with a bratty child. He shirked responsibilities & liked to play pranks on his pals (Minnie included). This has made me realize that on the cartoon front just how great classic Looney Tunes was. I popped in a few of their old shorts & they are consistently hilarious even by today's standards. You can tell that the animators at Warner Bros. were trying to create art that stood the test of time & would make people laugh for years. Even the new Looney Tunes material is consistent. They've started creating a new set of shorts & they are legitimately fantastic. The comedy, timing, & wit is all spot on & you can see just how much creative freedom they've been given. Should Mickey & the gang try to emulate them more? I don't mean copying their specific style but maybe they can follow the lessons of Chuck Jones & Bob Clampett instead of Walt Disney sometimes? I feel that they deserve to have better material to work with. Mickey's become such a corporate symbol & maybe he should go back to his rebellious roots a bit more. I suppose Disney's been trying that a little with Paul Rudish's shorts but I really think they should explore even more with their characterizations. This would obviously be a monumental task for the entire company but I feel it would really pay off if they rubbed away some of Mickey's twee, syrupy nature. It'd be nice for Mickey to be treated as a character again instead of an icon.

Below I've attached an episode of the new Looney Tunes cartoons. It's well worth a watch. It proves that the gang over at Warner Bros. really knows how to make funny cartoons. Funny's always more interesting than cute.

 

[brb1006]

I'm going to need a soapbox for this one (and I rarely do that).

*steps on soapbox*

To be honest, while I enjoy Disney paying homage to the Mickey Mouse cartoons of the 1920s and 1930s as seen in the new Mickey Mouse shorts. I seriously wish Disney would someday create an animated Mickey Mouse series that takes cues from the Mickey comics by Floyd Gottfredson (and Bill Walsh, Bill Wright, Romano Scarpa, Casty, Carl Fallberg, and Paul Murry) or the Italian Mickey comics. Give Mickey Mouse "The Legend of The Three Caballeros" treatment.

Sure everybody is aware of the Carl Barks and Dona Rosa comics for the Donald Duck and Scrooge Mcduck Universe (Disney Duck Comic Universe). But I hardly hear anybody discuss the Mickey Mouse comics (which is still running!). Because while everybody's familiar with the squeaky clean/mascot status for Mickey Mouse. Comic Mickey has engaged in a lot more interesting situations which combines his 1920s/1930s mischievous and adventurous side with his current personality. Heck the Mickey comics is where The Phantom Bolt originated from and he's hardly used (which is why I'm hyped he's in the Ducktales reboot).

And that's only for Mickey Mouse, I want to talk about Minnie, Horace, Goofy, Clarabelle but I will start rambling.

For example, the comic "The Ice Princess" has Mickey accidentally go to a land where both buildings and residents are made of ice. An individual named Mrozek has a problem - he must make the princess fall in love with him, otherwise all the bachelors in the town will melt. Mickey decides to help him. And then the beautiful and cruel princess falls in love with Mickey.

Then there's the Italian Mickey Mouse comics. First up is Italian comic series "Mickey Mouse And The Sword Of Ice" (1982-1993), where Mickey and Goofy are summoned to another dimension, the world of Aargar which is a land of magic and monsters. They are assisted by the wise old mage Yor, his assistant Boz and the ranger Gunni Helm.

Last is the Italian comics "Wizard of Mickey" set in a medieval fantasy universe where Mickey Mouse, is The Apprentice to the local village mage Nereus, setting out on a quest to reclaim his village's Rain Diamagic, one of many magical crystals scattered across the world, from the clutches of Peg Leg Pete, leader of Team Black Phantom (consisting of himself and the Beagle Boys). Making things worse, Pete's master, the Phantom Blot has kidnapped Nereus and is searching the world for ways to increase his dark power.

Wizard Of Mickey even spawned trading cards and mobile phone games in Italy.

The Italian Mickey comics and anything by Floyd Gottfredson, Bill Walsh, Bill Wright, Romano Scarpa, Casty, Carl Fallberg, and Paul Murry both show that Mickey is still able to be interesting and engaging outside of teaching life lessons (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is the most guilty). It's a shame most of the Italian Mickey Mouse comics are untranslated since they have so much potential as an animated series. Heck, "The Legend of The Three Caballeros" was able to pull this off by creating it's own lore and giving some of the characters some depth. Even Tony Anselmo says that Donald's portrayal in "The Legend Of The Three Caballeros" is the best interpenetration of Donald Duck (as heard in a podcast).

The closest The Walt Disney Company got to showing Mickey's adventurous/mischievous side (outsides of homages and throwback to the classic Mickey shorts) was the 1995 short "Runaway Brain". Heck last time, Mickey was able to be interesting with every age group was "House Of Mouse" (which seriously deserves a revival).

It's a shame Disney's been really strict with Mickey Mouse when it comes to animated works. Yet, the Mickey Mouse comics are able to make Mickey more interesting instead of a happy go lucky guy. Seriously, if Disney does make a Mickey Mouse series based on any of the comics mentioned above. Then that make a perfect Disney+ Original series. Also I really wanted to give love to the Mickey comics since they're rarely discussed on this site or anywhere else.

And if you want a taste of the goodness of the Mickey comics. I highly recommend buying the "Mickey Mouse: The 90th Anniversary Collection" "featuring some of his most exciting adventures spanning from the 1930s to the present day".

It's available to purchased on Amazon.com if you're curious.

Sure people can either agree or disagree with me, but you might see where I'm coming from.

*steps off soapbox*

(whips sweat)

Man, I hadn't been this passionate with anything related to Mickey Mouse since I got all "Walt Disney Treasures" DVDs that were all Mickey Mouse related (from the Black and White era, to the era Color) 19 years ago.

 

[brb1006]

Artist Fabio Celoni and colorist Mirka Andolfo stand out as amazing examples when it comes to artwork for the Mickey comics. They create very detailed, beautiful artwork with deep, dramatic shadows and downright frightening subject matters. Seriously who expected a Mickey Mouse comic to give you a horrifically detailed depiction of Hell?

L'Inferno di Topolino (Mickey's Inferno)

Heck The Phantom Plot is very popular in Europe and considered to be Disney's "Doctor Doom"!

Sure The Phantom Blot has show up in both incarnations of DuckTales, Mickey Mouseworks/House Of Mouse, and Epic Mickey. But this character is seriously underutilized in animated works. Pete isn't Mickey's only arch nemesis you know Disney.

 

[champdisney]

First things first. I love the Fab 5. I love the Looney Tunes. Oh yeah!

Both of which are special in their own right. It was a back to square one situation for Walt Disney, after he lost Oswald and so this led to the creation of Mickey Mouse... and it was a humbling beginning.

Warner Bros. looked over at the success of Mickey, Donald and Goofy and decided to get their feet wet in the animation pond. They saw mega big bucks in their horizon and this led to the creation of the Looney Tunes... made off of greed.

The Warner Bros. Company went after Disney financially. Essentially, they were what The Walt Disney Company is today, at that time. Warner Bros. brought in some of the most creative and funniest talents in the world of animation. The Looney Tunes didn’t feel nor was it a rip-off of Disney’s animated originators. Mickey and the gang were quickly outshined by Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck!

Since then, it’s been a pretty cool rivalry. There have been times over the last several decades that the Fab 5 gets the upper hand, only for the Looney Tunes to dethrone them again. In the 90s Warner Bros partnered up with Steven Spielberg and created more Looney Tunes including Tiny Tunes and Animaniacs. Then came in Space Jam. Widely popular. I love that film to this day.

All of Warner Bros. success with the Looney Tunes left Disney shook up to the point that they didn’t try for many years. Mickey was regulated as a corporate symbol, a big deal at the Disney Parks but not so much on the screen. Years went by and Disney finally decided to put some effort into utilizing the Fab 5 into children programming with shows, Mouse Works and House of Mouse.

Then, it got to the point where both Warner Bros. and Disney didn’t know what to do with their characters. Warner Bros. knew that the Looney Tunes needed to stay fresh and relevant... you know to keep that cash flow coming in. Hence, is the reason why they gave us The Looney Tunes Show on Cartoon Network. Didn’t last long. I tried getting into it and couldn’t.

Disney wished for Mickey to go back to his roots, just as you are @The Peanut Gallery. They wanted Mickey to be the rowdy, adventurous and the heroic mouse that Walt introduced the world to, but instead of creating a show to fill in that need, they made Epic Mickey! A Nintendo Wii game (actually there’s two) that wasn’t all that well received. They tried again with the 2013 launch of the NEW! Mickey Mouse Shorts. A drastic change of appearance of the Fab 5 but still enjoyable and funny. There’s glimmers of the old school Mickey mixed in with everything else he’s done in between, fast forwarding to today. You know this, new shorts are still coming out to this day.

I think it’s about time Disney gives us a full-length theatrical Mickey Mouse film, a Disney+ revival to the House of Mouse, a physical House of Mouse restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with all the in-show elements... and lastly a huge crossover event between the Fab 5 and the Looney Tunes. ‘Cause Who Framed Roger Rabbit? made it happen first and I want more... even if it’s been up to 30 years!

 

[brb1006]

First things first. I love the Fab 5. I love the Looney Tunes. Oh yeah!

Both of which are special in their own right. It was a back to square one situation for Walt Disney, after he lost Oswald and so this led to the creation of Mickey Mouse... and it was a humbling beginning.

Warner Bros. looked over at the success of Mickey, Donald and Goofy and decided to get their feet wet in the animation pond. They saw mega big bucks in their horizon and this led to the creation of the Looney Tunes... made off of greed.

The Warner Bros. Company went after Disney financially. Essentially, they were what The Walt Disney Company is today, at that time. Warner Bros. brought in some of the most creative and funniest talents in the world of animation. The Looney Tunes didn’t feel nor was it a rip-off of Disney’s animated originators. Mickey and the gang were quickly outshined by Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck!

Since then, it’s been a pretty cool rivalry. There have been times over the last several decades that the Fab 5 gets the upper hand, only for the Looney Tunes to dethrone them again. In the 90s Warner Bros partnered up with Steven Spielberg and created more Looney Tunes including Tiny Tunes and Animaniacs. Then came in Space Jam. Widely popular. I love that film to this day.

All of Warner Bros. success with the Looney Tunes left Disney shook up to the point that they didn’t try for many years. Mickey was regulated as a corporate symbol, a big deal at the Disney Parks but not so much on the screen. Years went by and Disney finally decided to put some effort into utilizing the Fab 5 into children programming with shows, Mouse Works and House of Mouse.

Then, it got to the point where both Warner Bros. and Disney didn’t know what to do with their characters. Warner Bros. knew that the Looney Tunes needed to stay fresh and relevant... you know to keep that cash flow coming in. Hence, is the reason why they gave us The Looney Tunes Show on Cartoon Network. Didn’t last long. I tried getting into it and couldn’t.

Disney wished for Mickey to go back to his roots, just as you are @The Peanut Gallery. They wanted Mickey to be the rowdy, adventurous and the heroic mouse that Walt introduced the world to, but instead of creating a show to fill in that need, they made Epic Mickey! A Nintendo Wii game (actually there’s two) that wasn’t all that well received. They tried again with the 2013 launch of the NEW! Mickey Mouse Shorts. A drastic change of appearance of the Fab 5 but still enjoyable and funny. There’s glimmers of the old school Mickey mixed in with everything else he’s done in between, fast forwarding to today. You know this, new shorts are still coming out to this day.

I think it’s about time Disney gives us a full-length theatrical Mickey Mouse film, a Disney+ revival to the House of Mouse, a physical House of Mouse restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with all the in-show elements... and lastly a huge crossover event between the Fab 5 and the Looney Tunes. ‘Cause Who Framed Roger Rabbit? made it happen first and I want more... even if it’s been up to 30 years!

I remember Disney actually attempted on creating a special animated film called "The Search For Mickey Mouse" that was made at Disney Studios in Florida around 2002. The project involved Minnie, Basil, Donald, and Goofy searching for Mickey Mouse who went missing. The project was also going to feature "every Disney characters" and was planned to arrive in honor of Mickey's 75th Birthday.

More info can be found in this article by Jim Hill and Lost Media. The closest got to having every Disney character was House Of Mouse.

Bedhead Bernie made a video about this movie.

 

[brb1006]

Floyd Gottfredson was a skillful artist and an inspired man. It's agreed that he's been one of - if not the - biggest influences for the Mickey Mouse Comic Universe. Just as Carl Barks is considered master of the Ducks comic universe, Floyd Gottfredson is the maestro of Mickey and the Mice universe. Barks also said that Floyd's comics were a big influence on his Donald Duck comics. He seriously deserves more credit for his contributions to the Disney Comics and inspiration for the Scrooge/Donald comics and Ducktales.

While there are other great artists and illustrators for other Mickey Mouse comics. I seriously recommend checking out ones by Floyd Gottfredson since they range more on adventure and mystery.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Mickey & friends cartoons recently. Although I have a lot of affection for the classic characters, I've been re-watching a lot of their old cartoons & I'm really starting to see they were never really that funny. While they were creative & looked fantastic they always gravitated a bit too heavily into the cutesy territory for my liking. Occasionally you'd get a funny premise from a Donald or Goofy cartoon but anything involving Mickey was usually kind of bland & safe. And that's a real bummer because retro Mickey from the 20's to 30's had a lot more edge. He was a mischievous scamp who had a lot in common with a bratty child. He shirked responsibilities & liked to play pranks on his pals (Minnie included). This has made me realize that on the cartoon front just how great classic Looney Tunes was. I popped in a few of their old shorts & they are consistently hilarious even by today's standards. You can tell that the animators at Warner Bros. were trying to create art that stood the test of time & would make people laugh for years. Even the new Looney Tunes material is consistent. They've started creating a new set of shorts & they are legitimately fantastic. The comedy, timing, & wit is all spot on & you can see just how much creative freedom they've been given. Should Mickey & the gang try to emulate them more? I don't mean copying their specific style but maybe they can follow the lessons of Chuck Jones & Bob Clampett instead of Walt Disney sometimes? I feel that they deserve to have better material to work with. Mickey's become such a corporate symbol & maybe he should go back to his rebellious roots a bit more. I suppose Disney's been trying that a little with Paul Rudish's shorts but I really think they should explore even more with their characterizations. This would obviously be a monumental task for the entire company but I feel it would really pay off if they rubbed away some of Mickey's twee, syrupy nature. It'd be nice for Mickey to be treated as a character again instead of an icon.

Below I've attached an episode of the new Looney Tunes cartoons. It's well worth a watch. It proves that the gang over at Warner Bros. really knows how to make funny cartoons. Funny's always more interesting than cute.

I didn't laugh at a single moment from that new Looney Tunes short. Talk about bland. It has a lot of movement, but it lacks wit and personality, which the original Looney Tunes had in spades. The new Mickey shorts are much funnier. I've laughed out loud at a few of those (take a gander at "Potatoland" or better yet, the cartoon being shown at the new Mickey Shorts theater in WDW. Frickin' hilarious). I don't think the people behind those shorts need any lessons from anybody on how to revive an old character. They're doing great. As for the new Looney Tunes...why bother? They're not on a par with the old in any way, including the animation. I'd be more interested in a Roger-Rabbitesque reboot portraying the Looney Tunes' characters' behind-the-scenes lives. Something that weird LT sitcom attempted and failed at, primarily because it didn't treat Bugs and Daffy and the gang as cartoon stars with Hollywood careers. They were just a rabbit and a duck sharing a house in the suburbs. It was just bizarre for the most part. It had a lot of potential, especially given the Looneys' strong personalities, but didn't live up to it. Too bad.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Floyd Gottfredson was a skillful artist and an inspired man. It's agreed that he's been one of - if not the - biggest influences for the Mickey Mouse Comic Universe. Just as Carl Barks is considered master of the Ducks comic universe, Floyd Gottfredson is the maestro of Mickey and the Mice universe. Barks also said that Floyd's comics were a big influence on his Donald Duck comics.

While there are other great artists and illustrators for other Mickey Mouse comics. I seriously recommend checking out ones by Floyd Gottfredson since they range more on adventure and mystery.

Yeah, the Gottfredson comics are terrific. I had a compilation of them once entitled "Mickey in the Foreign Legion". Wish I still had it. What I really liked about those comics is, that in its early days, Horace and Clarabelle played big roles. They were like the Fred and Ethel Mertz to Mickey and Minnie's Ricky and Lucy. It's too bad things changed later on, where Horace was virtually discarded when Goofy came along. Goofy forced Mickey to abandon his playfulness and be more grown-up as counterbalance. The comics were never nearly as funny and endearing after that.

 

[brb1006]

Yeah, the Gottfredson comics are terrific. I had a compilation of them once entitled "Mickey in the Foreign Legion". Wish I still had it. What I really liked about those comics is, that in its early days, Horace and Clarabelle played big roles. They were like the Fred and Ethel Mertz to Mickey and Minnie's Ricky and Lucy. It's too bad things changed later on, where Horace was virtually discarded when Goofy came along. Goofy forced Mickey to abandon his playfulness and be more grown-up as counterbalance. The comics were never nearly as funny and endearing after that.

Sure we may not see eye to eye at times, but I will seriously agree with your statement about Horace and Clarabelle. For years both characters were hardly used but the Mickey Mouse Comics gave them more prominent roles. The last time both characters were featured was "The Prince And The Pauper" and didn't return to the limelight until "House Of Mouse" began.

Special mention goes to Horace Horsecollar, because unlike Clarabelle Cow who made occasional appearances and was more talkative. Horace Horsecollar barely did anything and became a background character. At one point in the 1990s, somebody at Disney proposed an animated series starring Horace called "Maximum Horsepower" based on Horace fading from the spotlight since 1939.

Here's the premise
"The premise justifies Horace Horsecollar's lack of appearances in cartoons after the 1930s. In 1939, Horace, jealous of Mickey Mouse's popularity compared to his own, had grown tired of playing minor roles in cartoon shorts. It does not help that Mickey had replaced Horace as supporting player with the likes of Donald Duck and Goofy. Then Horace learns that Mickey is going to appear in a segment of Fantasia, so he decides to go directly to Walt Disney's office to demand a role in that movie as well in hopes of moving becoming a bigger star. He doesn't get far, however, as he is suddenly spirited away by a race of aliens and sent to another galaxy. These aliens have chosen him as their new champion. Ever egotistical, Horace plays along, bluffing his way through dangerous intergalactic situations, all the while trying, but never really succeeding, in coming up with ways to return home."

While the project never got turned into a TV show (it was planned for the Disney Afternoon Block). There was a comic made in Italy that uses this idea.

Now that I think about it, Horace's only notable speaking role was "Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep" (by Bill Farmer).

 

[Robbiem]

I love the fab five’s original adventures but Old school looney tunes are my favourite shorts of all time. I think the closest disney came to them were the Roger Rabbit shorts. I’d love to see Roger revised in a chuck jones style show but I doubt this will ever happen.

 

[brb1006]

But seriously, I want to see Disney revisit Mickey's more adventurous side as seen in "Runaway Brain" in a future animated project. Wayne Allwine did a very good performance as Mickey during moments when he gets serious and angry. Especially when he rescues Minnie from Julius during the climax.


Also came across a behind the scenes video from Dateline Disney.


Disney these days doesn't like talking about this cartoon due to the darker and scarier subject matter. I was able to see this from one of the "National Treasures" DVDs. Hopefully this gets added to Disney+ in the future.

 

[Dead2009]

So you want Mickey Mouse running around like Bugs Bunny humiliating Pete and any one else every 5 minutes? Lol.

 

[brb1006]

I really hope Disney+ finally add "Runaway Brain" for more people to see this side of Mickey.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Don’t we already have the 2013 Mickey Mouse cartoons?

 

[brb1006]

Don’t we already have the 2013 Mickey Mouse cartoons?

Yeah, but the series is currently on hiatus after Russi Taylor's passing last Summer.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Because that’s the closest thing we have to Looney Tunes.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I don't think Disney needs to take a page from Looney Tunes- it is a different kind of humor. Although I do agree that it is nice to see Mickey with some personality again in the new shorts- he was definitely an icon for too long. But, can we talk about Looney Tunes?!? They really fell by the wayside and lost their momentum.