On March 12, Disney announced it will release a series of new cartoons featuring the most of famous of the company’s characters, Mickey Mouse.
Disney’s series of 19, 2D cartoon shorts will begin showing June 28 on Disney Channel, Disney.Com and the WATCH Disney Channel app for mobile devices.
The Disney Post, which published the media statement, noted each Mickey Mouse cartoon centers on “ a silly situation, a quick complication and an escalation of physical and visual gags." Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto will join Mickey in his adventures.
As part of the announcement, Disney released an exclusive preview of the “Croissant de Triomphe” cartoon at Disney.com. D23 notes that other cartoons will feature such names such as “Yodelberg” and “No Service.”
Disney says the cartoons, aimed at kids and families, acknowledge its animation history. In addition to classic storytelling, the cartoons will evoke the look of earlier Disney shorts. They feature the exaggeration and “rubber-hose” animation from the 1920s and 1930s, with backgrounds nodding to 1950s and 1960s Disney cartoons. The shorts sometimes reference other bits of Disney history as a visual bonus for sharp-eyed fans.
Also expect the cartoons to play into Mickey’s good side, more classic hero than hipster, with the humor developing from the heart of each short's story.
Disney President and CEO Bob Iger discussed the new Mickey Mouse cartoons on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. Iger also emphasized the role of Disney history in offering new Mickey Mouse cartoons:
“Walt Disney created the original Mickey Mouse shorts starting in 1928. The first to be released was called ‘Steamboat Willie.' They depicted Mickey as an impish yet innocent character, kind of an Everyman of sorts, but someone that liked to have a lot of fun and someone that I think that just entertained people. Not just in the U.S., because he’s one of the most popular characters globally.
“We thought that over time Mickey might have lost some of those impish or innocent qualities, some of that vitality that people once saw in him. And so we decided to brig him back – not that he’s really, truly gone away – but hearkening back to what Walt did with a collection of new shorts that depict him in the ways that we thought people love the most.”
In keeping with Disney’s focus on keeping the character’s international appeal strong, the new Mickey Mouse cartoons put him in global settings. Mickey will appear in such places as Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice and the Alps.
In the media statement, Disney Channels Worldwide President and Chief Creative Officer Gary Marsh noted Disney Television Animation will be responsible for the look, feel and tone of the cartoon project:
"By bringing Mickey's comedic adventures to life with vitality, humor, inventiveness and charm, the entire Disney Television Animation team of artists, animators and directors have worked to capture the essence of what Walt Disney himself created 85 years ago."
Emmy Award-winning artist and director Paul Rudish (“Dexter’s Laboratory,” “The Powerpuff Girls”) will serve as the project's executive producer and director.
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