Mickey Mouse Moving Back to Disney Forefront

I don’t think it’s going too far out on a limb to say that this is one of the most interesting marketing moves I’ve heard in a long time:

The Mouse House will reintroduce its famous mascot in “Epic Mickey,” a videogame due late next year that will revive several of the character’s key personality traits that have been dulled or forgotten since his introduction in the late 1920s.

Be honest now. When someone says “Disney,” what’s the first thing that pops into your head? In some regard or another, Mickey Mouse is likely to be associated with Disney. However, what does anyone really know about Mickey anymore?

If you’re like me, you simply think of Mickey Mouse as the squeaky voiced mouse with gloved hands and shorts with large buttons on them. I’m fairly sure that Mickey is supposed to be a pretty good guy, but I can’t exactly place him as a character in much more than Mickey’s Christmas Carol. What I, and most people, now see Mickey as is an iconic image of the Disney corporation, sans any real identifiable persona.

Disney has apparently noticed this and will be using video game marketing to bring Mickey back to the hearts of audiences as more than just the face of the company.

According to VP and Creative Director of Junction Point Studios, Warren Spector, the video game will aim to give a personality back to Mickey. “I want to remind Mickey that he’s a hero — and to be a hero, we need to give him purpose…I want him to be funny. I want him to struggle. I want to ‘age him up’ a little.” Ultimately though, the game’s goal is to let players decide what it is they find cool about Mickey.

Now, why do I find this such an interesting marketing strategy? Mickey Mouse is a character who has been around for over 80 years. Obviously, such a long span of time would result in an evolution of the character.

Well, with Mickey the evolution kind of went stagnant. The easiest way to bring back Mickey with a personality would be to make a new film, or series of shorts, with Mickey as the star.

However, while a movie would be easier, bringing him back to the forefront of Disney characters in the realm of video games will likely prove a more effective move than trying to release a movie with Mickey as the lead character.

Unlike a movie, a video game will provide audiences with an opportunity to interact with the character, rather than just watch him going through the actions.

In another interesting strategy, the new video game will also incorporate Mickey’s predecessor, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This character will be “something of an antagonist in “Epic Mickey.” He resents his brother’s success and the love Walt had for Mickey. The redemption of Oswald is one of the player’s chief goals in the game.”

Not a bad way to give some attention to not only the character that made Walt Disney a household name, but also the character that got his animation career rolling.

Currently “Epic Mickey” is the only project in the works to boost Mickey’s recognition as a personality, but Spector hopes that it will lead to interest in other projects expanding on Mickey’s role.

Eighty years, and Disney is finally ready for their most well-known character to be re-introduced to a new generation. I think Walt would be proud.