In Defense of Mickey Mouse’s New Look
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Mickey Mouse has a new look — and people are not happy about it.
Disney fan reactions ranged from calling new-look Mickey too “Cartoon Network-y” to downright “creepy.”
The controversial look caused a major uproar when Disney announced at the 2017 D23 Expo that a new Mickey attraction would be replacing the Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. But the new attraction won’t be featuring the classic-look Mickey from old school cartoons. Instead, it will be featuring “creepy” Mickey (and Minnie).
For a little context, I’m a big Disney fan. Like, I would name my children Mickey and Minnie if my S.O. would have it.
And as a collective group, us Disney fans are hesitant to changes because so much of our passion is rooted in nostalgia. So I get why so many people are unhappy with Mickey as of late because his look is leaps away from what most of us have grown up watching.
But something important to realize is that this isn’t the first, second, or even third time Mickey has had a new look, or even personality for that matter.
Let’s start from the beginning.
Plane Crazy was the first production featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse. He portrays a “mischievous, rogue” type of guy who builds his own plane, but ends up on a perilous flight that crash lands into a tree. He has a much more rodent-like appearance and isn’t quite the loveable boyfriend to Minnie yet.
Although produced after Plane Crazy, Steamboat Willie is widely seen as the debut of Mickey Mouse. Here he takes on the role similar to a deck hand who decides he wants to play captain while Pete, the real captain, is away. Mickey has authority-defiant, mischief-generating vibes going on in this short. But he’s still a jovial guy who just wants to have a good time.
By the 1930s, Mickey arrived in technicolor. Topping his gams with green shorts no less. Still decidedly pale (e.g. white as a ghost), Mickey’s nose begins to evolve to a less pointed shape, giving him a more human-like appearance rather than rodent.
In his most famous role, Mickey Mouse becomes a sorcerer for a day in Fantasia’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” He begins to have the classic look that Disney nostalgics associate with Mickey Mouse. A drastic difference from his earlier appearances, he now has expressive white eyes with darkened pupils and a flesh-like skin tone. He still maintains that curious, playful about the world personality. But now, his mischief starts to dull and being the sympathetic hero becomes his primary role.
Following this and through the 2000s, Mickey and Minnie Mouse didn’t evolve drastically. Proportions and personality roughly stayed the same, probably causing the rooted connection that we have to them today.
The most recent reimagining of Mickey Mouse was designed for a new series of shorts titled Mickey Mouse. His look harkens back to the earliest appearances of Mickey and Minnie donning a white skin color and darkened eyes. To boot, they’ve reintroduced more of his mischievous qualities in the series, while still maintaining some of his virtues.
So here’s my message to fellow Disney fans, let’s wait and see. Disney is not running away from the classic Mickey we love. Instead it’s embracing the evolution of Mickey Mouse from the very beginning. He’s still the lovable, funny, curious guy we want to represent Disney.
We should just be thankful Disney isn’t embracing old school in-park Mickey.
Hope this brings some magic to your day!
— Laurie
