DVDizzy Forum

Why is it that lately, it seems that Disney themselves doesn't care about Mickey and the Gang anymore?

Strange that, back in the 90s, Disney was all for Mickey: they had Goof Troop, Runaway Brain, A Goofy Movie, Ducktales/Quack Pack, House of Mouse (early 2000s I know but it still fits with the timeline).

But then suddenly they just stopped caring. Mickey and Friends, aside from videogames and the 2013 shorts, these years Disney has used as mascot icons/product placements and baby shows. Why is that? It seems unfair that these characters with so much potential get thrown away and treated like if they were just images with no history and so.

I guess nowadays the "true" Disney characters are the Princesses, in that Disney uses their image but doesn't relegate them to the embarassing situation of the Gang. You don't see people going around saying Ariel or Belle "have no personality and are just used for marketability".

No offense; but I don't know how you can say that they don't care about Mickey and the gang. Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse has been going strong on Disney Junior for a few years now, introducing kids to those characters at a very early age. Then last year they had new Mickey Mouse shorts on the Disney Channel, which seem to have done well. And Mickey starred in a very well-received short running in front of "Frozen," not to mention the hit that was the first "Epic Mickey" game a few years ago. It may not be a "House of Mouse" or "Duck Tales" or "Goof Troop." But then again, where would they really run those shows these days? It's not like the run that much animation on Disney Channel. But to me, they've shown they definitely want to keep Mickey and his friends in the public conscious of today's youth. And maybe if they feel they have a good vehicle for any of those characters in a half hour format, maybe we’ll see it on the Disney Channel or Disney XD.

Yeah this seems like a strange time to post this. We had plenty of this conversation a year ago, but since then there's been an entire series of new Mickey shorts, a new theatrical short, two apps (Where's my Mickey and the Mickey video thing), a newly restored console game Castle of Illusion... all within a year. That's a LOT. They put the spotlight on Mickey this year in a big way.

thedisneyspirit wrote: Strange that, back in the 90s, Disney was all for Mickey: they had Goof Troop, Runaway Brain, A Goofy Movie, Ducktales/Quack Pack, House of Mouse (early 2000s I know but it still fits with the timeline).

I don't know about being all for Mickey then. I grew up in the 80's and 90's, and the only time I remember seeing Mickey Mouse on TV during that time, were the shorts "Pluto's Christmas Tree" and "Pluto's Party" that aired on The Wonderful World of Disney. Even then, as I'm sure you can tell by the name of the shorts, Mickey was not seen much. It was always one of those shorts airing with a bunch of Donald Duck and nephews shorts. It really wasn't until "House of Mouse" when Mickey was seen a lot more on TV. So it always seems that way with Mickey, which was a shame. Well, until 2013, with the new shorts and "Get a Horse".

I know there's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but I don't really count that, since it's for preschoolers, and I have no desire to watch it. But hey, it does introduce Disney to a new generation.

Mickey Mouse and friends is back on Disney Channel already.

I don't think the powers that be at Disney know what to do with Mickey and Co., so while they do still use them today, it's not going to be like the past. Iger is very much focused on new things and not so much old.

milojthatch wrote:I don't think the powers that be at Disney know what to do with Mickey and Co., so while they do still use them today, it's not going to be like the past. Iger is very much focused on new things and not so much old.

As most of the previous have said, there is absolutely no truth to that at all!

Iger is very much focused on new things and not so much old.

If you really think that, think again. He cares about old and new equally! And leave him alone!

Well he has made a comeback with the games, Kingdom Hearts series, the new theatrical short and the new shorts.

Why Disney doesn't care enough about Mickey to give him the same quality animation as before is what I'd like to know.

Well, this is familiar. It's like my rant thread are coming back.

TsWade2 wrote:Well, this is familiar. It's like my rant thread are coming back.

Tell me about it.

I think thanks to his 85th birthday, Disney has really brought back Mickey. Just look at the Paul Rudish and Get A Horse (which got an Oscar nomination). Granted, I don't care much for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse either, but imthewalrus79 makes a good point; the show is introducing Mickey to a younger generation and thus allowing them to explore more about Mickey and friends. But the Rudish shorts and Get A Horse, definitely a great comeback for Mickey since Mickey Mouse Works. Oh! And let's not forget about the proposed Stooge film with Mickey and Roger Rabbit, shall we?

Mickeyfan1990 wrote:I think thanks to his 85th birthday, Disney has really brought back Mickey. Just look at the Paul Rudish and Get A Horse (which got an Oscar nomination). Granted, I don't care much for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse either, but imthewalrus79 makes a good point; the show is introducing Mickey to a younger generation and thus allowing them to explore more about Mickey and friends. But the Rudish shorts and Get A Horse, definitely a great comeback for Mickey since Mickey Mouse Works. Oh! And let's not forget about the proposed Stooge film with Mickey and Roger, shall we?

In the case of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I just don't want Disney characters like Mickey and Winnie the Pooh to always be watered down for younger kids when they have more appeal than that.

disneyphilip wrote:

milojthatch wrote:I don't think the powers that be at Disney know what to do with Mickey and Co., so while they do still use them today, it's not going to be like the past. Iger is very much focused on new things and not so much old.

As most of the previous have said, there is absolutely no truth to that at all!

Iger is very much focused on new things and not so much old.

If you really think that, think again. He cares about old and new equally! And leave him alone!

Really? Have you ever picked up a newspaper? In the past, Bob Iger has said as much that he's focused more on new characters. I've had talks with current employees as well, as they have told me the company doesn't know what to do with Mickey. They want to use him, but they are super cautious about using him. That and Bob Iger is very much focused on Marvel and Star Wars.

If we are talking all old shows and movies and not just Mickey, then very much so Iger doesn't care. Ditto a number of his Executive who have been down right hostile when some of those older titles have been mentioned. Again, this comes from people I've talked with and reading comments from people who would know have made. Further, have you ever watched The Disney Channel? Kindly tell me where are the old stuff is? If Iger cares so much about the old stuff, why can't I find Darkwing Duck or The Swamp Fox on TV anymore? Why is it that I have to go to BYUtv to see old films like Pollyanna or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

But you can believe whatever makes you happy.

Super cautious about WHAT?! He's the blasted icon of Disney and people still love him all the time! The amount of cowardliness Disney seems to have to just be themselves these days is just plain absurd. In fact I'm still waiting for something to come out of that "Mickey Mouse feature film" idea, cause that was a good idea to me.

The thing is, Disney is a business and so they're always going to focus more on characters who are popular at the time. If one of Disney's lesser known movies like The Black Cauldron or The Great Mouse Detective suddenly became massively popular, then the stores would overflowing with merchandise related to them. Every company tries to meet the demand of its consumers.

That said, I don't think that Mickey's popularity ever REALLY faded. Yes, it has its ups and downs, but he is one of the most consistently popular cartoon characters ever made. Even if he may not always have a massive TV or movie presence, the character is so iconic that you literally see his image everywhere.

And every couple of years there's always some kind of TV show or appearance - and he definitely takes a central role in the parks. I don't think that Disney doesn't care about him, I think that they just own so many different characters that Mickey doesn't ALWAYS get to be in the spotlight.

candydog wrote:The thing is, Disney is a business and so they're always going to focus more on characters who are popular at the time. If one of Disney's lesser known movies like The Black Cauldron or The Great Mouse Detective suddenly became massively popular, then the stores would overflowing with merchandise related to them. Every company tries to meet the demand of its consumers.

Well just putting those older movies out on DVD and Blu-Ray is what matters to me, even if I do wish that some of them got more special treatment when they're re-released. As for merchandise, it's understandable not to always have it for older movies, but that's why you go to places like eBay and buy older 80's/90's Disney merchandise.

And yes, I'm sure that Disney cares more about cashing in off of all those CGI characters of theirs now than they care about Mickey.

Mickey needs respect and who thinks Iger needs to be kicked out and have someone else in charge?

HarryCanyon wrote:Mickey needs respect and who thinks Iger needs to be kicked out and have someone else in charge?

*raises hand*

HarryCanyon wrote:Mickey needs respect and who thinks Iger needs to be kicked out and have someone else in charge?

Oh yes! Let's teach him a lesson!