Mickey Mouse’s ‘edgy’ makeover

Disney has created a menacing new Mickey for the Wii generation—is it a bad idea to mess with the Mouse?

In a risky step, Walt Disney Co. has unveiled a nasty new version of Mickey Mouse, the iconic rodent who drives over $5 billion in annual merchandising. Though still adventurous, this “cantankerous and cunning” incarnation of the heretofore perky character—created for “Epic Mickey,” a Nintendo Wii video game—will even turn into a rat at one point. Though most commentators agree that the “bland” Mickey could use a refresh, does he have to become such a, well, rat? (Watch the sweet, old-school Mickey attend a picnic in a clip from 1930)

Disney has no choice—Mickey has no relevance: “There’s a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character," but it’s a risk [Disney executives] have to take, says branding expert Matt Britton, quoted in the New York Times, (which notes that “Epic Mickey” also features a “disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck” and a “twisted, broken, dangerous” version of the Disney ditty, “It’s a Small World").

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