Brandchannel | Disney To Rebrand Mickey Mouse

Posted by Stephanie Startz on November 5, 2009 05:56 PM

No more Mr. Nice Guy Mouse.

Far away in a secret lair (corporate park, rather), Mickey Mouse is undergoing a massive regeneration. Feared to be seen as a corporate overlord rather than an adorable, fun-loving cartoon brand, Disney has ventured into the cryo-chamber (say "Hi" to Walt for me) and begun to enliven the Mouse for a new generation of children and consumers.

The new Mickey will be slowly unveiled, first in the video game Epic Mickey for the Nintendo Wii, due out next year. As the New York Times describes it, the game will "show the character's darker side." Our new Mickey is multifaceted, and can be at times "cantankerous and cunning, as well as heroic, as he traverses a forbidding wasteland."

But executives at Disney are treading carefully, afraid to tinker with their $5 billion cash mouse. The industry agrees: "There’s a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character,” said Matt Britton, managing partner of brand consultancy Mr. Youth.

Not to worry: "Mickey is never going to be evil or go around killing people,” according to game developer Warren Spector.

Mickey's popularity in the United States has begun to wane. He's been crowded out of children's hearts by growing competition from Nickelodeon, Pixar and Dreamworks characters and personalities. Executives consider the rebrand of Mickey's personality necessary to remain relevant in the marketplace.

The recent success of the dark children's tale Where The Wild Things Are may provide a roadmap for Disney, proving that multiple generations can embrace a timeless tale that at times, gets a little scary, but remains good.

Do you think Disney should keep their hands off of Mickey, or does future success depend on todays intervention? Tell us in the comments.

Hiya Stephanie (And all the other peeps making comments about Mickey's supposed 'rebranding' of goold ol Mickey),

You guys don't seem to have the full story about this upcoming game project. The NYT article is blatantly under-researched and a poor excuse for journalism (trueslant.com/.../mainstream-media-blatantly-misrepresents-%e2%80%98cantankerous%e2%80%99-mickey-mouse/), and definitely shouldn't be used as a basis for this piece on Mickey's 'rebranding'. The NYT article has twisted the announcement of Epic Mickey to mean that Mickey's character is going to get a whole lot darker and edgier. It's not.

For starters to give some perspective on this issue, I'll quote a section from a first look at Epic Mickey by IGN - "It's that classic 1920's character that makes a return in Epic Mickey, and Junction Point's first task was to ensure it could authentically replicate the mouse's distinctive stretchy movements and capture Mickey's early essence. The team went as far as recreating key scenes from those early cartoons with Mickey's in-game model and the results, as presented by Spector at the London launch event, are impressively close to the original. It means that Epic Mickey's mouse is thoroughly authentic and his character remains at the heart of the game, even as Junction Point rips the rug out with its "whimsically twisted Disney game world".

Epic Mickey is NOT a departure from Mickey and he's not being rebranded - Mickey is being taken back to his roots and in this particular game, all the modelling and character basis comes from Mickey's original incarnation.

Another crucial point that was missed (or more likely glossed over) by the journalist is this - Mickey's look will change through the game depending on how You, the player, plays it. And apart from the dark, edgy look (known in the game as a 'Scrapper') that's been published everywhere by now, there are another two looks which mainstream press has not covered, the Neutral look, and the Hero look - where Mickey looks bright and erm... heroic.

I guess Miro's and Augie Ray's comments are a good indication about the low level of understanding of this project other than what's been published in the mainstream press.

I'll leave with a closing quote from the developer - “We want to honour Disney’s creative legacy; there’s 80 years of creativity here; we all know it, we all love it, we all grew up with it. But if we’re going to bring Mickey to an audience that hasn’t really thought about him as a hero for many years we can’t just give people Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and When You Wish upon a Star. We need to come up with something that’s maybe a little more relevant and a little more appealing to a modern audience. We have to give people a new twist on things – take things that are completely familiar to you, we all know them and all love them, and give them a little bit of a dark edge and a difference. We give you the pleasure of familiarity, and then we yank the rug from underneath you.” - Warren Spector

Lance Winslow says:

Hey, I wonder if Mickey will soon get a Chinese Girlfriend Miney Mouse, since Disney has won Chinese approval for a theme park, I believe outside of Shanghai?

November 6, 2009 04:56 AM # Reply

Nic Jones says:

In the UK and EU Mickey is seen differently
He isn't so sacred and I think this will do the brand image a lot of good.
And yes, the Far East, in my opinion, will love it

November 6, 2009 05:08 AM # Reply

miro says:

if they drift from the core essence of Mickey (which I see is largely as a guide in life teachings to the young at heart) then it will be a sad day and any commercial success will be short lived.
cheers
Miro

November 6, 2009 05:31 AM # Reply

If you ask "what is the core essence of Mickey" to people around the World, you will get different answers, which is the problem Disney face. A good example is his voice, which generally is liked in Nth America, but which is considered "childish" on this side of the pond and this restricts the brand.

By doing this Disney have an opportunity to keep the parts of his essence and magic that is multi-national and also establish a world recognised branding image. It's a big task, but one that I believe is needed.
If they get it right, I don't think it will be short lived
If they get it wrong...!

November 6, 2009 06:28 AM # Reply

Augie Ray says:

Mickey's personality has always been pretty fluid. This isn't to say there isn't risk, but keeping the Mouse relevant is not a new concept. Mickey started as a character with some dark habits back in Steamboat Willie. He actually became a bit more sanitized as his reach and influence grew with consumers; in fact, his personality became so locked in place (one might say milquetoast) that Walt himself felt the need for a character with more flexibility (which is where Donald Duck came from). In the 70s Mickey took up disco; in the 80s he became a skateboarding, shades-wearing dude. So, keeping him relevant is important and certainly not groundbreaking.

That said, as a Disney fan I hate to see words like "dark" associated with Mickey's rebranding. If there's one thing Mickey should not be, it's dark. It should be remembered that Mickey's place is to introduce young kids to the brand while representing the innocence of childhood and the positive American spirit for adults. Mickey's place is not to be all things to all people, and if Disney makes the mistake of attempting this, then the Mouse will nothing to no one.

November 6, 2009 10:34 AM # Reply

Sandile Xolo says:

Change is difficult but in any competitive environment it is necessary. Mickey has to evolve in order to stay ahead in the game. The trick is really in keeping the balance between current target and future targets. Small changes overtime would be the best route to go in order not to alienate current target market while keeping Mickey relevant. This requires a bit of forethought and braveness to initiate measured step changes while it may seem that there is no need for change. The other route of course is the one that most companies follow “why fix it if it’s not broken?” and we know the consequences, your competitors move in and take over by the time you initiate a change you have to do an overhaul that put your brand at great risk.

November 9, 2009 02:46 AM # Reply

Johnathan Sia says:

November 12, 2009 08:42 PM # Reply

colin seeger says:

Johnathan S' post added perspective: till then, I had visions of Mickey By Committee. Mickey is meant to be resourceful and more like McGiver than Casper Milquetoast. At least that's how I remember him from my comics on the late '50s. Then he got very saccharin and too-good-to-be-true, leaving Donald to be the dirty rat (sic). So long as he doen't stoop to "whatever it takes to win is OK so long as you win" the re-make might work. He has to stay true to his core values.

CS

November 21, 2009 04:40 AM # Reply