Will Epic Mickey induce the rebirth of an icon?

A little while ago, Mickey Mouse sat down with his bosses and had a long due conversation. As he was no longer content with his only role as Disney’s emblem, he asked to get back into action. A new video game coming this fall will give him that opportunity. The video game is called Epic Mickey and is being developed by Disney’s Junction Point Studios.

Mickey Mouse to star in "Epic Mickey"

The video game features Mickey Mouse sporting his old-school looks of the 1930s. Players will guide Mickey through a world called Cartoon Wasteland in which retired cartoon characters enjoy a peaceful retirement. Among those characters lives Oswald the rabbit, Disney’s first cartoon star and predecessor to Mickey Mouse.

Players will have the opportunity to let Mickey perform good or evil actions throughout the game. The choice of actions will have an effect on the path of the game, and players will have to deal with the consequences of their decisions as the game progresses.

Wait…Good old Mickey Mouse behaving badly? Now that’s quite unusual. Is your mom going to be ok with that?

Disney is about to give Mickey a major personality makeover, and a lot of marketing experts are watching. After all, it’s not every year that you see the world’s biggest entertainment company re-engineer its flagship character. One can imagine that the decision has not been taken lightly by Disney executives. If Mickey ain’t broke, why fix him?

Some marketers suggest that Disney is about to pull a “New Coke” stunt. They don’t realize that, rather than introducing a “New Mickey”, Disney is actually letting Mickey return to his true roots.

Mickey in "Gallopin' Gaucho" (1928)

Most modern parents don’t know this, but Mickey used to be quite a troublemaker in the 1930s. As the New York Times puts it, he was “The Bart Simpson of his day”. For example, in the 1928 cartoon “Gallopin’ Gaucho”, Mickey was an outlaw who lived by his own rules and enjoyed the taste of beer and cigars.

Parents in the 1930s took notice of Mickey’s mischievous behaviour and the bad influence he exerted on their children. Wanting to keep parents happy, Disney quickly adapted Mickey’s personality to their preference and recasted him into a more affable character. It was necessary for Mickey to become politically correct because he was no longer just a cartoon character: he had become a brand.

Mickey then left the spotlight to Donald Duck, who went on to star in many more cartoons released in the 1940s and 1950s. While grumpy Donald stayed true to his original nature, Mickey softened and eventually became a suburban yuppie of the 1980s…and ended up stuck there. Mickey’s original edgy personality gave way to a bland, less exciting character.

"Mickey's Good Deed" (1932)

At its root, Mickey was a product of his era. He was a child of the Great Depression. You couldn’t be a wimp in those days if you wanted to survive. Discrepancies between the rich and the poor were quite high. Released in 1932, “Mickey’s good deed” is a good illustration of that context. In the cartoon, Mickey tries to earn a living by playing double bass outside on a cold snowy day. In order to help a poor widow and her children, Mickey finds the courage to sell Pluto to a rich man whose son is a spoiled brat.

The adversity faced by Walt Disney also played a large part in designing Mickey’s personality. When he was a child the Disney family had to move often because of economic hardships, and as a young adult he worked as an ambulance driver during World War One. Most importantly, early in his career as a producer, Walt Disney got royally screwed by his business associates, considering that the rights to his flagship character at the time, Oswald the lucky rabbit, had been taken away from him. Knocked down but not out, Disney gave birth to Mickey Mouse soon after, with the help of long-time partner Ub Iwerks. These unlucky events shaped Walt Disney’s “fighter” personality for years to come, and that trait was reflected in Mickey’s character. From then on, Mickey would be the little guy who stands tall in face of adversity.

In my opinion, a return to Mickey’s original character was long overdue, and the timing couldn’t be more appropriate. Our collective social mood is greatly affected by the current economic slowdown. Average citizens have not faced this much adversity since the great depression. The carefree suburban yuppie is becoming an endangered species. Most of us will relate to this Mickey redux who has flaws and qualities along with a strong determination to fight obstacles. Just like in the days of the great depression, a combative Mickey is a better fit for our current socio-economic conditions.

At first glance, the reorientation of Mickey’s character looks risky from a marketing perspective. Mothers all over the world are accustomed to his inoffensive stance. How will they react to this new, unpredictable Mickey Mouse? I believe that, on the contrary, not making this change would be a bigger risk for Disney and the beloved Mickey Mouse. I’m no marketing expert myself, but I fully agree with Seth Godin (the marketing guru) when he says that in our day and age, a product needs to be remarkable in order to survive. “Just good enough” doesn’t cut it anymore. Accordingly, the best way to revive Mickey Mouse is to bring back his original, edgy personality.

I’ve always had a personal preference for the Mickey Mouse of the 1930-40s, for both its personality and graphic design. So I’m glad the Disney company is making this move. The revamped Mickey will be closer to Walt Disney’s original vision. I’m sure it will give Mickey Mouse a boost in popularity among all generations.