Honestly? We really don’t have a thread for discussing Mickey Mouse and Classic Disney Cartoons? Well, I’m starting one then.
Mickey Mouse was really the first cartoon character I really remember knowing anything about . I think the first Mickey Mouse cartoon I remember seeing was Runaway Brain, which is in my opinion, one of the most awesome modern Disney Animated Shorts ever made! It scared me to death, but I loved every bit of it! As far as Classic Toons go, I have to say I still have strong feelings for Steamboat Willie as well as Lonesome Ghosts.
My favorite design of Mickey is the Pie Eyed Mickey from the early 1940s.
Ah, good old Mickey Mouse. When I think of Mickey Mouse however, I don’t really think of the cartoons he was in. I think of him more as a logo and a mascot for Disney.
Most Mickey & friends cartoon’s I’ve never enjoyed. I don’t know. I love Disney’s shorts like The Old Mill and 3 Little Pigs. But the Mickey cartoons always, bored me. Sure, watching The Band Concert and Steamboat Willie are fun to watch from a historical perspective. But Mickey hasn’t been my cup of tea.
I think it’s because Mickey is too darn optimistic. Optimism is great of course, but his happy giggly self annoys me! Mickey was defintely a product of his time. He was optimistic self was created during the depression, and worked well in that time.
My problem with Mickey is that he never made me laugh. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and even the earlier Felix the Cat always make me laugh, smile, and enjoy myself. Mickey kind of is just there for me. I see him more as a logo.
I’m sorry Mickey fans! I hope you don’t think I’m trolling, I just posted my response to the topic. Mickey just doesn’t cut it for me. But I admit. I do love his short Plane Crazy. Besides that, I could live without his cartoons. Give me a Warner Brothers cartoon or an MGM film instead!
I see your point ellie-jessie-eve, and I certainly do agree that the modern Mickey Mouse has been somewhat flanderized into the overly enthusiastic, too happy character he’s often thought of today. But he wasn’t always like this, in a few of his early cartoons he was just as a karmic trickser as that “Wascally Wabbit”. You mentioned Plane Crazy, which is certainly a good example, I also really loved him in shorts like The Opry House, Mickey’s Magic Act, and Sorcerer’s Apprentice are also prime examples of his not- too- optimistic, trickster personality.
Besides, a little optimism never hurts. I do agree that when I was younger I may have thought that his personality was too “kiddie” but looking back, I draw a lot of comparisons to Mickey’s personality to that of someone like WALL•E. They’re both good natured and become incredibly endearing through this.
See, I personally grew up on Disney cartoons, so they mean alot to me. I appreciate them alot more now since I am able to see what kind of work was put into making these little cartoons.
I’ve never really been a fan of WB cartoons, (Sorry you guys… ). But I have watched several Looney Toones cartoons, and, like I said, they just didn’t have the same effect on me as the Disney ones did. My mom appreciates WB cartoons more than I do because she grew up on them… so they have more meaning for her.
Growing up on it definitely makes a difference, I think. I used to be totally obsessed with Mickey when I was like, 4 or 5 years old, so, you know, that helped with my appreciation for the cartoons and such.
Oh, and also - we (as in my siblings and I) used to watch those Disney Sing-A-Longs all the time when we were kids and I absolutely loved them!
And I agree about the whole optimism thing - I think the world needs more optimistic people, in my opinion. But the thing I find with Mickey is that he has several different personalities that come through in different situations. I like that. It keeps you guessing about the character. And yes - I guess you could say that he’s very much like WALL-E.
People may dislike Mickey’s current “blank state” personality…but I kind of like it.
I usually hate characters that have no real defining traits, so the writers can do whatever they want with them (Finn from Glee, or Cho Chang from Harry Potter) and its not “out of character.” Yet, for some reason, I love Mickey because of this.
Want him to be innocent and sweet? Watch House of Mouse. Want him to be mischievous? Watch old cartoons or Runaway Brain (Or Epic Mickey, when it comes out). Want him to be a bada** Yoda/Jesus figure? Play Kingdom Hearts.
Love Mickey I was never so sure why Plane Crazy wasn’t a big success - I think Steamboat Willie is better, but it’s still a perfectly entertaining cartoon!
Same here. I don’t like characters with hardly any personality, but Mickey is definitely an exception. Like Rac_Rules said, they leave it that way on purpose so they can do alot with the character and still keep it in-character.
I love Steamboat Willie! I think the old cartoons are the best. We have this huge DVD with a whole slough of old, old Disney cartoons on it… and they are so fun to watch.
But just think - Walt Disney himself helped inspire Pixar to be what it is… and it all started with a man, a dream, …and a mouse! .
Hmmmm…somehow I never really thought of Mickey as “not having a personality” as just being an extremely versatile character. I think his characterization (being good natured, optimism, love for adventure) has relatively stayed the same throughout all of his incarnations, it’s just that he’s such a widely used character and has been placed in various environments.
I think my favorite versions of him were from the 1920-40s (with the exception of Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Runaway Brain), Kingdom Hearts and Epic Mickey. I love him much more as a courageous mischief maker who just doesn’t know when to stop messing with things.
I have to admit, even though I love classic Disney, my favorite Mickeys are currently King Mickey and him in Runaway Brain.
The first because, well, at the point when that video game was made, most people saw Mickey as just his “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” persona (barfs Seriously, I hate that show. I went to the Disney website a couple years ago and read the character descriptions they gave them…and, among other things, they listed Mickey as Minnie’s “crush.” Uh, what? They’ve been together since 1928 and have even been MARRIED at points!) and when he got onscreen and started kicking Heartless butt, redeeming people from “the dark side” and bringing Sora back to life, while still being adorable and loveable, people went “DANG! MICKEY GOT AWESOME!” Bada** Longcoat, indeed. As TVTropes said, “Yeah, that on the top [of the cover design] is Mickey Mouse. But you’d better stop laughing now.”
Runaway Brain because, well, that has to be my favorite Disney short (except for maybe Sorcerers Apprentice) and he acts just like a real bumbling, sometimes inattentive boyfriend who still manages to be awesome.
I love King Mickey too, just because he’s a complete TookALevelInBadas, as he’s still good natured but can turn into a highly competent fighter at the turn of a dime.
But moreover, I’m more excited to see him return back to his Disney Era roots in Epic Mickey. He’s much more like he was back in the Golden Age of Animation and I absolutely love that he’s got his classic white face back.
While we’re on the subject of modern toons, does anyone remember Mickey Mouse Works?
It’s just too bad that Mickey Mouse is only going be restrained to Mickey’s Playhouse instead of new animated shorts. I love the classic and agree that House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Works were a relatively good comeback for the character, but I would also love to see more new Mickey Cartoons, now that John Lasseter is running animation at Disney. 1
I think my favorite modern day Mickey Mouse incarnation (sides Runaway Brain, House of Mouse and Mouse Works) would have to be Mickey’s Christmas Carol. The characterization was great and stayed true to the originals.
I like Mickey, he may not be my favorite character - I prefer Donald and Goofy - but he still is one of the best cartoon character on this planet. His optimistic and cheerful demeanor is really nice which puts me in a good mood
My favorites would be, in no particular order, Steamboat Willie, Runaway Brain (even though I’ve only seen it on Youtube - they removed this cartoon from the German DVD of Walt Disney Treasure - Mickey Mouse In Living Color 2), The Prince And The Pauper, Mickey’s Christmas Carol and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I also like House of Mouse
As far as I know, these were the first two Mickey Mouse cartoons to be produced. Some things seemed different about him in these shorts, like his personality and design. In Plane Crazy, he acted like a real jerk towards Minnie, especially at the end. And in The Gallopin’ Gaucho, he drank beer, smoked, and wasn’t afraid to go after Minnie when she was kidnapped by Pete who’s three times the size of him. Despite this, it’s very interesting and enjoyable to see how he began in his earliest films.
). But I have watched several 
I was never so sure why Plane Crazy wasn’t a big success - I think Steamboat Willie is better, but it’s still a perfectly entertaining cartoon!
I don’t like characters with hardly any personality, but Mickey is definitely an exception. Like