Mickey Mouse returns in 19 new shorts
Disney are bringing back Mickey Mouse in a series of 19 new cartoon shorts. The iconic mouse who first appeared in 1928 in the black and white short “Steamboat Willie” has only been seen in 3 films since 1980. The new shorts will begin showing up on June 28th 2013 on the Disney Channel.
With the slapstick feel of classic Mickey Mouse, the series of cartoon shorts presents Mickey in a broad range of humorous situations that showcase his pluck and rascality, along with his long-beloved charm and good heartedness. Each cartoon short finds Mickey in a different contemporary setting including Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice, and the Alps, facing a silly situation, a quick complication, and an escalation of physical and visual gags. The stories also feature genuine heartfelt and heroic moments as Mickey explores and experiences life with his comical partners: Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.
The executive producer and director for the new Walt Disney Television Animation project is Emmy® Award-winning artist and director Paul Rudish (Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls). The shorts, geared towards kids and families, also include a few surprises from the production team for Disney fans of all ages.
Produced in 2D animation, the design esthetic for the Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts reaches back almost 80 years and borrows reverentially from the bold style of his 1930s design, but not before adding a few contemporary touches. Designs for other characters have a similar approach, favoring a “rubber-hose” cartoon style for more exaggerated animation. Background designs closely reflect the graphic design sense of 1950s and 1960s Disney cartoons. And for those true eagle-eyed Disney fans, the production team has also included the occasional homage to other icons from the storied Disney heritage.
You can see the first of the new shorts “Croissant de Triomphe” below…
Other shorts in series include:
“Yodelberg”
Mickey longs to visit Minnie atop her mountaintop chalet but quickly realizes that the threat of avalanche has made the trek up the mountain more challenging than usual.
“No Service”
Mickey and Donald try to buy lunch from a beachside snack shack but are unceremoniously turned down because of the classic “No shirt, no shoes, no service” admonition (of course, Mickey doesn’t wear a shirt and Donald doesn’t wear shoes!).
