Although Mickey Mouse has remained untouched for decades, the Walt Disney Company will unveil a rebranding of the universally known character when he appears in the video game Epic Mickey, due out next fall.
The formerly squeaky clean mouse will showcase his darker side – a cunning, yet heroic trickster!
“There├óΓé¼Γäós a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character, but at this point it├óΓé¼Γäós a risk they have to take,├óΓé¼┬¥ said Matt Britton, managing partner at New York brand consultant firm Mr. Youth.
Many think that the re-imaging is needed to entice younger generations.
In 2004, a group of interns dreamed up Epic Mickey, which is set in a ├óΓé¼┼ôcartoon wasteland.├óΓé¼┬¥ It is a place where all Disney’s unrecognizable and retired creatures live. For example, the main inhabitant is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (a character that predated Mickey) along with a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck while living in a ├óΓé¼┼ôtwisted, broken, dangerous├óΓé¼┬¥ version of It’s a Small World.
Yikes!
├óΓé¼┼ôI wanted him to be able to be naughty ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ when you├óΓé¼Γäóre playing as Mickey you can misbehave and even be a little selfish,├óΓé¼┬¥ said Warren Spector, the creative director of Disney-owned game developer Junction Point. ├óΓé¼┼ôMickey is never going to be evil or go around killing people.”
Well, he still looks pretty creepy!
Do you like the new and improved Mickey Mouse?!