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Credit: DisneyIt appears that the love that many Disney fans once had for Mickey Mouse has been replaced by guests with Stitch, from the 2002 animated hit Lilo and Stitch, especially when it comes to the international theme parks.
When guests think of Disney, they may think of the movies that the company has created, some of their favorite characters, or the theme parks. Two of the most common symbols that have become synonymous with Disney, however, are the castle, as there is a castle at every Disney resort, from Cinderella Castle to Sleeping Beauty Castle, and everything in between, as well as the iconic and original character of Mickey Mouse.
While Oswald the Rabbit was Walt’s first creation, his second would be Mickey Mouse, the star of The Walt Disney Company.
Mickey Mouse, created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, made his debut on November 18, 1928, in the animated short film Steamboat Willie. This marked the beginning of an iconic character that quickly became the mascot for The Walt Disney Company and a symbol of entertainment worldwide. Initially designed to replace Walt Disney’s earlier character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey Mouse was introduced to the world as the first cartoon with synchronized sound.
Over the years, he appeared in numerous short films, comic strips, and became the central figure in Disney’s innovations in animation technology.
The introduction of characters like Minnie Mouse, Mickey’s girlfriend, and friends such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto expanded the ensemble known as the “Sensational Six.”
In the 1950s, The Mickey Mouse Club television show introduced Mickey to a new generation of fans. The character became synonymous with Disney theme parks, appearing prominently in Disneyland and other Disney parks worldwide. Mickey Mouse’s image has been extensively used in merchandise, solidifying his status as one of the most recognizable and enduring symbols in popular culture.
Mickey Mouse even celebrated his 95th anniversary in 2023, a testament to his enduring popularity and cultural impact. Beyond this milestone, Mickey continues to be a beloved character, featured in new animated shorts, theme park attractions, and various forms of media.
This past summer, we announced that Disney was officially retiring Mickey Mouse. As we shared, “Since 2020, Mickey Mouse has starred in the animated Disney+ series The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, which featured his fellow classic characters Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy Duck, and many more.
The series was a direct continuation of the Disney Channel (which may not be long for this world either) series Mickey Mouse, which was highly acclaimed for its return to classic Disney slapstick humor and won numerous Emmy and Annie Awards.
However, Disney has announced that the final episode of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse will air today, featuring the main Mouse himself teaming up with his black and white incarnation Steamboat Willie.”
While this was not the end of Mickey Mouse, it was the end of him within the context of this show.
Additionally, “The Copyright Term Extension Act, often referred to as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act,” has long shielded the Walt Disney Company’s control over its iconic character from certain high-profile creative works entering the public domain according to standard United States law.”
Mickey Mouse will officially enter the public domain in 2024. While Mickey Mouse may be heading towards “extinction” another Disney character has risen to prominence.
Lilo and Stitch was produced on an $80 million budget and promoted with a marketing campaign that played up its oddities, it was a box-office success, grossing over $273 million worldwide. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards, but lost to Spirited Away. At the Disney parks, we have seen a few attractions take on a Stitch theme, with Stitch’s Great Escape which now sits empty in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, as well as Tokyo Disneyland’s The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents “Aloha E Komo Mai!”. Of course, Stitch is also a popular meet-and-greet character worldwide.
Now, guests are also starting to notice that internationally, Stitch is more popular than Mickey Mouse himself when it comes to merchandise.
One guest took to Reddit to write, “Every store I go to they only sell Stitch. I had no idea he was popular/iconic in the Disney universe. Not even in Disneyland, even in Paris itself all the souvenir shops sell Stitch toys and figures. Last week I was the UK, and they sell Stitch everywhere as well, even more than Mickey and any other character.
What’s up with that? Stitch isn’t a new character or a mascot or anything, so I’m really confused.”
In the comment section of this post, many agreed with the guest, also noticing a massive influx of Stitch merchandise, especially at Disneyland Paris, a park which also offers Stitch Live!, a show.
One guest replied, basing the popularity as a timely result of the current adult generation, “You have got a generation that was the perfect age for Lilo and Stitch to be “their” Disney movie. Now they are adults and with kids of their own, so Stitch is a character they have nostalgia for and one they want to introduce to their kids. It’s like how 10 years ago with would have been Timon and Pumba. I remember the parks being full of merch for them, to the same level of Stitch today.”
Another replied, “It’s really weird isn’t it?! We were at DLP last week and there’s barely any Aladdin merch despite having an entire section and ride and everything. In fact, even most of the classic princesses had hardly any merchandise other than kids’ dresses or dolls. I wanted Lady and the Tramp, Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Jungle Book, Aladdin, Snow White, Hercules, Mulan or even more recent like Brave, Finding Nemo, Coco and Up etc etc and yet there was hardly anything because there’s a million tonnes of stitch stuff!! I also felt like the merch is really badly distributed, some stuff you would see in almost every store, other stuff you had to be lucky to find in the back of one specific store. I really wanted a shoulder pascal but they only sold it in one shop despite all of the others ones being available in at least 5/6 other shops”
One previous cast member chimed in, stating, “Stitch is just insanely popular. Back when I worked at the Disney Store, anything Stitch-related was the first things to sell out and come back in for deliveries.
I think it’s a mix of Stitch just being a cute character, but also an alien, so it markets for everyone regardless of your interests. Lilo and Stitch was also very popular film and remains to be popular until this day.
DLP, whilst not having any Stitch related in rides or lands, takes on this popularity and markets it. They also adapted the previews for Lilo and Stitch where Stitch “breaks” into different Disney films and took that and related it to their rides, which is why you’ll see PotC and ToT merch of Stitch.
He’s just a hugely popular character, always has been, and the film itself is also one of those great films with also a great message about it so it works.”
The Medium even wrote a piece highlighting the extreme popularity of Stitch, stating, “mischievous yet lovable anti-hero, his engaging backstory, and his embodiment of the ‘Ohana’ message. As such, it’s not surprising that fans young and old are drawn to this endearing character. Whether it’s seeing him pop up all over Disneyland Paris or watching a child dress up as him for Halloween, Stitch has indeed become a part of the Disney family, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be leaving anytime soon.”
Personally, after a recent visit to Disneyland Paris, I can confirm that Stitch is still highly popular within that theme park. Guests can walk into nearly any gift shop and find Stitch merchandise, and some shops, like the one in Discoveryland, nearly has only Stitch merchandise. Also, Tokyo Disney Resort recently released a Stitch line of merchandise, all of which sold out of its first drop nearly immediately.
So, while Mickey Mouse will always reign supreme at the original Disney character, Stitch is certainly gunning for the title of most popular, and at this point, is winning over our favorite mouse.
Have you ever noticed an influx of Stitch merchandise while traveling to international Disney parks?