Credit: DisneyMickey Mouse is an icon, pure and simple. Out of all characters in known fiction, Mickey is perhaps one of the most recognizable figures in modern culture. He’s become so familiar that any time three circles are together, all we can really think about is Mickey Mouse.
That all being said, he’s not always been the beacon of optimism and magic he is today. In fact, Mickey has had a bit of a mischievous and even malicious side in the past. Given his long and decorated career, that’s not exactly something the Walt Disney Company has advertised… until now.
Mickey Mouse Goes Manic in New Cartoon
Paul Rudish truly breathed new life into Disney’s master mouse with his Mickey Mouse and The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse cartoons. While some fans might be divided on his return to the hand-drawn style and familiar formulas of his early, Rudish clearly demonstrates an understanding of Mickey’s classic work. That same spirit is clearly felt in the upcoming Steamboat Silly as well, but is getting this much back to basics really such a good idea?
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Any armchair animation historian knows that Mickey wasn’t always so wide-eyed and innocent, especially during his early days before cartoons went to color. Like many of his animated peers at the time, Mickey drank, smoked, and even wore blackface. While it’s unlikely he’ll ever go to those extremes again, his ink-well variant in the new cartoon is clearly that same agent of chaos.
Naturally, Mickey has grown up quite a bit since the 1930s, 90+ years will do that to anyone, but it’s remarkable that Disney is tapping into this side of their most famous character. In retrospect, there’s probably no better way to demonstrate just how far Mickey has come in his near-century long career than by having the wild and crazy original share space with his tamer counterpart.
Will Mickey go wild in the new cartoon? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!