Argubly the most iconic character in the history of animation, Mickey Mouse is set to return to the small screen in the coming weeks with a brand new series of Mickey Mouse shorts.
Set to air in the US at the end of the month, and in the UK next month, the series will feature a very healthy nineteen brand new shorts, simultaneously contemporary whilst paying homage to the art direction and storytelling of Walt Disney and his team from the 1920s and ’30s.
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.
With just ten days to go before the new series starts to air across the Atlantic, the first three clips have debuted from ‘Croissant de Triomphe’, giving us a look at Mickey, Minnie, and co. living up the Parisian life.
In the States, the new Mickey Mouse shorts will begin rolling out on Friday, June 28th, on the Disney Channel, Disney.com, and other platforms. Here in the UK, the series will start airing on the Disney Channel on Friday, 12th July, and will continue throughout the month. And in tandem with the new shorts, Disney are set to launch a new online game, ‘Mickey Delivery Dash’, on their site today.
London, 18 June, 2013, Mickey Mouse, a new short-form series of 2D comedy cartoons featuring Disney’s number one star, will make its television debut Friday, 12th July on Disney Channel with brand new shorts continuing to premiere throughout the month of July.
With the slapstick feel of classic Mickey Mouse and contemporary direction and pacing, 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 modern 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.
Among the cartoon premieres are; No Service, in which 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, Friday, 12th July; Yodelberg, where 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, Saturday, 13th July; New York Weenie, where the hot dog Mickey buys for his beloved and very hungry Minnie ends up taking him on a energetic chase through New York’s Central Park, Friday, 19th July; Croissant de Triomphe, in which Mickey must deliver croissants to Minnie’s cafe, battling street traffic and other Parisian obstacles along the way, Friday, 26th July.
Geared towards children age 6-14 and families, and produced in 2D animation, the design esthetic for the Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts reaches back to Mickey’s roots 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. For those true eagle-eyed Disney fans, the production team has also included the occasional homage to other icons from the storied Disney heritage.
Emmy Award-winning artist and director Paul Rudish (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Dexter’s Laboratory) is the executive producer and director. Aaron Springer (SpongeBob SquarePants, Gravity Falls) and Clay Morrow (Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls) are directors, and Joseph Holt (Sym-Bionic Titan) is the art director. The series is produced under the supervision of senior vice presidents Eric Coleman and Lisa Salamone at Disney Television Animation.
