Disney's Epic Mickey

[Lens of Truth]

It looks to me like, as well as taking inspiration from early Mickey shorts, they're devling into other great Disney design, like thew work of Mary Blair. She did the concepts for 'It's a Small World' (which one of the levels is clearly based on), Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and others:

 

 

 

The levels and backgrounds in this look incredibly stylised to me - quite a feat in the 3D realm. They even remind me a little of some of the brilliant, otherworldly layouts in Looney Tunes like 'What's Opera Doc?'

[Dante]

It looks to me like, as well as taking inspiration from early Mickey shorts, they're devling into other great Disney design, like thew work of Mary Blair. She did the concepts for 'It's a Small World' (which one of the levels is clearly based on), Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and others:

 

The scans only show the It's a Small World areas and the 2D part gears.

[Lens of Truth]

The scans only show the It's a Small World areas and the 2D part gears.

 

Yeah, I didn't mean there would be areas based on Alice or Peter Pan, just that Mary Blair also worked on them. She had a very distinctive style and I'm chuffed to see it make its way into a game

[Ashley]

That is what i am saying. Spector wanted to use Oswald but couldn't until Bod Iger CEO went to NBC/Universal to get the rights for Oswald.

 

Having not read the article yet but I can't see it working like that. I can't see someone from out of the company having that much say so surely its more of a case "work didn't start until they had Oswald back"?

 

Hmm reading this again I think we are both saying the same thing (Spector wanted it, and then it all fell into place) although your initial statement did seem to suggest Disney acquired it for Spector....to me :p

 

Anyway yay mickey.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Ashley

[Paj!]

Mary Blair's stuff is stuff is great. Got a little book with a lot of her Disney work in.

[Jonnas]

I'm pumped Hail the return of Classic Mickey!

[Paj!]

Is there a release date/approx. time for this?

 

I feel like I want to play my Wii more, but I have no real "story"/adventure games outside of Spiderman Web Of Shadows. I was excited about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, but apparently the Wii version is shit?

 

This is the only other game I'm interested in atm.

[darksnowman]

Is there a release date/approx. time for this?

 

You're gonna have to keep yourself occupied for about a year until you will be able to get your mitts on Epic Mickey.

[Dante]

From NeoGaf:

 

 

I know some people when they see the screens inly care about the graphics but have you seen the little details in the screens?

-The Zeppelin that Petes uses as the first boss has the balloon as a dragon (IIRC, doesnt that dragon appear in the ride?), but look better to the riding vehicle. ITS STEAMBOAT WILLIE!

-Pete seems to be going to dress as the rides. For example in this stage he is dressed as the dutch girls from It's a Small World.

-Some of the screens seem smaller that what the really show, as they are zoom up to Mickey. Other show rather a big part of the scenery, theres a very good one that represent well the Its a Small World concept arts.

-The only screen that is not part of the Its a Small World ride (apart from the Clock cleaners mickey short) is the Oswald castle. Here we can see that nearly all the castle has fell to pieces, bt in some artworks the castle is complete. Does it mean that at some part of the game the castle will be build agauin, or that we visit it in another time when it was new? The non destruction castle in the concepts art seems to match the final showdon (or one of them) between Oswald and Mickey.

 

Originally Posted by Spike:[Can you honestly tell me that there is no chance that as the game progresses, and Mickey gets closer to the Phantom Blot's Stronghold, that the game won't capture that spirit?

 

The screens are most likely from the tutorial level. If they are, this level may be the closest level to the outside/real world. Like a shadow, the closer to the light source, the shadow is subdued. But the farther you get from the light source, the shadows are stronger and more powerful.

 

Spector is a Mickey fan. He will deliver. And that Disney VP saying that the game won't be pushed out the door until it's ready is a good sign that they are taking this very seriously.]

 

 

It is indeed the "tutorial level" or first level. Its based in Its a Small World and matches the concept arts shown in the same magazine about Its a Small World, and as the magazine has said, we havent seen still the behind the ride of Its a Small World.

In the real ride we know that to make the scenery they use 2D panels. Here is the same thing, and as the ride, the scope of things seem also little.

 

Im with you in the theory, Mickey will start to ink the more he goes near Phantom Blot's last stage, maybe even Oswald and the rest of the characters as if the world is going down the sewer.

 

Originally Posted by ShockingAlberto:[Well, there's two things I'm sure of

 

1) Disney isn't going to let their big jump in to gaming development with what they consider a AAA game in the works since 2006 or so look like shovelware at release.

 

2) Warren Spector isn't going to work on what he considers his "dream game" after years talking about it play anything short of great.]

 

 

This also.

[Dante]

An In Depth Look at the Art and Animation

Disney Epic Mickey is months away from release, but the work involved in its creation began years ago. Anyone who has perused the November 2009 issue of Game Informer understands the project’s dramatic scope and ambition. However, we can only fit so much information in the magazine. In our first Inside the Game online feature, we follow the art and animation development from concept to implementation to get a better sense of how Mickey and his world came to life. Don’t miss your first-ever chance to see early animation tests of Mickey and his friends in action.

 

animation videos are on the pages.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2009 by Dante
Automerged Doublepost

[flameboy]

Well all the concept art looks awesome...think Mickey's look is classic enough and is brilliant.

 

Nice quote from gameinformer:

 

Caption: Even a small section or level takes many steps to emerge into gameplay. In Epic Mickey, special 2D side-scrolling levels interconnect the larger 3D areas. Every one of these 2D images is based on an old Disney cartoon classic. This area was based on Clock Cleaners, a 1937 cartoon starring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Using scenes from the original as inspiration, the team creates a colored concept art piece to illustrate the idea of the level. Designers work together with the artists to shape the level, and indicate the motions of the many cogs, gears, and platforms in the scene. With those directions in hand, the team can implement a three-dimensional, functional version. Finally, Mickey can jump into action and the level can begin being tested and modified.

[Dante]

This topic sure has died after the GI scans were shown.

[Ashley]

Well before there was mystery and now I'd imagine a lot of people come in, check it out and leave because there's not much to say (beside stock things such as "ooh looks nice/rubbish").

 

Honestly Dante, you're worse than The Sun sometimes

[Fused King]

So let me get this straight, it's going to be more like 'Kirby: Crystal Shards'?

So it's not going all Muramasa or Wario Land: The Shake Dimension on our ass, because I would've rather something like that instead of 3d stuff.

Still, gameplay footage might convince me.

[Jonnas]

I love it. I hope we see more references to classic shorts (like the "Magician Mickey" one).

[Ashley]

While we're at it, lets post The Sorcerer's Apprentice

 

 

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't referenced.

[Deathborn]

I hope we see more references to classic shorts (like the "Magician Mickey" one).

 

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't referenced.

 

You should look a little closer to the Game Informer scans.

[Ashley]

The fact he's holding a broom?

 

I expect a full on level. Nothing is more menacing than cleaning!

[Jonnas]

Heh, I was talking about a short where Mickey is an on-stage magician, and Donald tries to spoil the show (basically, the short that inspired "World of Illusion")

 

The "Fantasia" short Ashley posted is most certainly in. I can't imagine them forgetting one of Mickey's most memorable appearances.

And like Ashley, I wouldn't be surprised with an entire level based on the concept.

[stuwii]

Wii cannot do the art justice, but then I think of Super Mario Galaxy......

[Dante]

An Interview With Warren Spector

 

Upon our visit to Junction Point to learn about Epic Mickey, we had the opportunity to sit down for an extended conversation with Warren Spector. We tapped his expertise on Disney and Mickey Mouse, asked him all about his new game, found out what he thinks it will take to revitalize the character of Mickey Mouse, why he chose the Wii, and even what other Disney dream project he’d like to tackle. If you’ve been following our coverage of the game, you’ll recognize some of his words from other articles. To get the full scoop, read ahead for our complete interview.

 

GI: What do you think the significance of the Mickey Mouse character is in relation to film history and animation history?

 

Warren Spector: Mickey is critical to both animation history and film history. He was absolutely and demonstrably the most recognizable and popular film star in the world for about three or four years in the early ‘30s. He was huge at the box office. It’s not an overstatement to say that he gave hope to an entire generation of people living through the Depression. He was a little ray of sunshine. He seems kind of sweet and innocent, and his films don’t seem as anarchic and crazy and maybe relevant as today’s films do, but at the time it was exactly what the country needed, what the world needed. So he was there to provide it.

 

Just in terms of animation, he also represents a push for quality and for characterization and for story over gags – that was entirely new to cartoons. No one had ever really done that before. It’s actually not that completely accurate to say that he was the first sound cartoon character, but he’s the one that got in peoples’ heads first, and that means he’s the most important star of the talking pictures. You can argue that in 1928 when Steamboat Willie came out as the first sound synched cartoon that people were really aware of, Al Jolson was making the Singing Fool, which was a crummy old silent film style – and I mean, I love Al Jolson, and I love that movie, and there are probably five fans out there that are going to be offended now, but – he showed that sound film could be an art form in the same way that silent films were. Huge, hugely important.

 

GI: What made those early Disney cartoons stand apart from the crowd? Animation was growing big at that point in general. What made Disney’s stuff work and take on that status that you’re talking about?

 

WS: The thing that I think set Disney apart more than anything else was his unwavering commitment to quality. He would not cheap out on anything. Animation at that point was this little backwater. No one cared about it. There were Felix the Cat cartoons, and some others. There were some cartoon characters who had some popularity back then, but they were really quickly thrown together, kind of haphazardly, slapdash things that nobody cared about. Disney really paid attention. He focused on quality.

 

He lost Oswald because he refused to compromise on budget. That was the fundamental issue. He wanted more money to make better cartoons, and his distributor wouldn’t give it to him. So they fired him, found somebody who would do it cheaper, and guess what? Nobody remembers Oswald after Disney stopped doing him. So unwavering commitment to quality, that’s number one.

 

Number two was he moved beyond just gag, gag, gag, which is what the earlier cartoon shorts were. It’s not that Disney skimped on the gags. I mean, he paid his animators by the gag. It’s not like he wasn’t thinking about that stuff, but he really brought a level of character and story to short cartoons that no one had ever seen.

 

GI: How do you see the character of Mickey Mouse having changed over the years? Were there particular eras that you identify in the character’s life?

 

WS: Yeah, there were definitely distinct periods in Mickey’s life. There’s a wonderful poster of all of the different major eras of Mickey. We’ve got it up on the wall, actually. I don’t know who owns the rights to that. It’s a great poster.

 

There’s that early phase where he was a rat. There’s just no two ways about it. He was a guy who smoked and drank and shot guns and skewered people with swords and threw Minnie Mouse out of a plane when she wouldn’t kiss him and abused farm animals. He was a badly behaved little guy. As he became more popular, I think Walt started saying, “Let’s make this guy more realistic. Oh, we don’t want to do things with this guy that the world isn’t going to like,” so they started taming him and taking different parts of his personality. I’m about to get really pretentious – he was like this fully individuated ego. Jung would have loved Mickey Mouse.

 

But at some point they fractured his personality. They took his mischievousness and his anger and need for revenge and gave it to Donald. At some point they took his naïve simplicity and gave it to Goofy. They took his loyalty and infinite affection and gave it to Pluto, of all things. They took his character and just shattered it, and all of a sudden he’s kind of a straight man for the gang. So there’s that middle period where they kind of lost some of what made him special. He stopped being Douglas Fairbanks the adventurer or even Charlie Chaplin the humor guy, and they turned him into just the straight guy.

 

GI: When was this period? When do you see this change first happening?

 

WS: I think you start to see it by the early ‘30s. By 1932, that was well under way. He was created in 1928, and he had a three or four year run of being this amazing character that I think even if kids watched that cartoon, if they could stand to watch something in black-and-white, I think they’d really get a kick out of it and be amazed at how badly behaved Mickey was.

 

But by the early ‘30s, though he was no less popular – I mean, he was absolutely beloved in ’32, ’33; that was his peak right there – but by that point he had kind of become the straight man. And then toward the end of the ‘30s, it looks to me from the outside that they were trying to bring back some of the adventurous spirit that he had. By the ‘40s, they were doing things like Brave Little Tailor and that kind of stuff. They tried to get it back, but they just couldn’t take any risks with the guy. He was so successful and so popular that taking any risks with him risked the entire future of the company. Who’d be crazy enough to do that? Wait, other than me. No one’s nutty enough to do that.

 

By the ‘40s, he was already kind of on the wane. If you look at it, Donald Duck was way more successful by the ‘40s. There were lots more Donald cartoons. By the ‘40s, Mickey was appearing as a secondary character in Pluto cartoons for the most part. Goofy and Donald were doing their solo thing. I think in 1952 they did “The Simple Life.” That was Mickey’s last cartoon for about 35 years. It was kind of over. He was an icon on a watch, on a t-shirt.

 

There have been attempts to bring him back. “Run-Away Brain” in 1995 – I loved that cartoon. I don’t understand why people at Disney don’t like it. I think it’s brilliant. It’s a fantastic cartoon. But other than that, there’s “The Three Musketeers.” I dunno. “The Christmas Carol.” Eh. They didn’t know what to do with him anymore. He’s kind of been laying fallow, which is a great opportunity for us.

 

Other pages of the interview can be found here.

[flameboy]

beat me to it dante but cracking interview.

[Dante]

Nps.

 

W Spector's Blog: Disney Favorites

So, a couple of things have happened recently that got me thinking I should post some stuff again. First, obviously, is the unveiling of Disney Epic Mickey. You can read all about it in the November issue of Game Informer magazine, and all over the GI website these days.

 

Frankly, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the response. I don’t know why, but I expected to get more grief about making a Mickey Mouse game. Nice to see that, for the most part, folks are open to the idea — even enthusiastic!

 

As a result of all the press, I’ve been bombarded with emails asking me weirdly personal questions about my favorite Disney things — theme park rides, characters, comic book artists and writers. Figured I’d just post some answers here to settle things down a bit. (And if you’ve read my earlier posts about compulsive list making, you know I’ll take any opportunity to make a list of my N favorite things!) So here goes:

 

FAVORITE RIDES

 

If you’re expecting anything earth-shattering here, forget it. I love the traditional favorites:

» Disney Animation Academy: Come on, they can even teach ME to draw Disney characters. How cool is that?

» Fantasmic!: What a great show – exciting, romantic, technically amazing, and it’s as close as Mickey’s gotten to being a hero in years. Plus, the music just does it for me. Great, great score…

» Haunted Mansion: Grim Grinning Ghosts, the stretching room, changing paintings. I’m in.

» Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar: I love behind the scenes stuff. What can I say? I only wish this were bigger and even cooler.

» Indiana Jones Adventure: Best. Disney. Ride. Ever. I ride it every time I go to the parks.

» Mickey’s PhilharMagic: Great 3D and it’s genuinely funny.

» Pirates of the Caribbean: Do I have to say anything?

» Space Mountain: A mostly horizontal roller coaster? Count me in. I’m not wild about vertical g’s but horizontal g forces are great. And it’s in the dark. I love it.

 

COMIC BOOKS

 

I’m only talking Disney here, right? I’m a huge comic geek (about which I guess I’ll blog some other time), but as far as Disney artists go, here’s my list. Not many surprises here — well, it might seem odd that Paul Murry isn’t on the list, but I’ve just never really loved his stuff. And Romano Scarpa’s books are fine but, again, just never did it for me. Anyway, here are the guys who DID make my cut:

» Carl Barks: Best. Comic. Writer. Oh yeah, and Artist. Ever. End of discussion.

» Floyd Gottfredson: The Mickey guy for over 40 years. While the animation studio was reducing Mickey to straightman status, Gottfredson always treated him like the hero he should have been.

» Noel Van Horn: My favorite Disney artist and writer working today. If you can find a copy of his story, Shadows, you’ll know why I love this guy’s work so much. He takes Mickey places most artists wouldn’t dare. And while his art style is simple, it’s so damn expressive. Love it.

» William Van Horn: Like father like son, I guess. William is Noel’s dad and talent definitely has a genetic component! William Van Horn’s duck stories are over the top, action packed, slapstick at its best.

» Don Rosa: The heir apparent to Carl Barks and many people’s favorite Disney artist/writer. I like his stuff a lot, but find his art style almost TOO detailed and his reverence for the Barks canon a little too constraining. I admire Rosa’s work a lot, but reading it is a little too much work for me to flat-out love it.

» Carson Van Osten: I’ve had the incredible pleasure and honor to work with Carson and, man, can the guy draw! Holy cow. His personal take on Mickey Mouse was hugely important to the Disney Epic Mickey game. And he did a bunch of character design work for us that’s mind-blowing. His comics work from the 70s on ain’t bad either! (He tells great stories, too! And played bass in the band The Nazz! What a guy.)

 

CHARACTERS

 

Again, don’t expect a ton of surprises (other than that I’ve never been much of a Goofy fan… and I thought the introduction of Launchpad McQuack into the duck universe was unnecessary and kind of unfortunate).

» Scrooge McDuck: Filthy rich, adventurous, fearless, softy at heart (but don’t let on!). He swims in the coins in his money bin. Coolest character in the Disney family, easy.

» Mickey Mouse: Um. Hello? He’s the Mouse!

» Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: Funny, funny cartoons. Complete anarchy. Does completely impossible things, constantly.

» Donald Duck: I’ve never been able to understand a word Donald says (sorry Ducky Nash and the rest of the Donald voice artists…), but who cares? When he gets red in the face and explodes with anger, it’s great fun. (If you haven’t seen the cartoon Donald’s Crime, find it.)

» Ludwig Von Drake: I think I learned more from him than I did from many of my teachers! And that accent made me laugh every time when I was a kid.

» Stitch: Easily the best of the recent Disney characters. The writers and animators really let loose with him!

» The Aracuan Bird: The most trouble-makingest Disney character ever. As close as Disney ever got to creating something that would have fit right in in a Tex Avery cartoon.

» Chernabog: Scary, scary, scary!

» Maleficent: Scarier, scarier, scarier!

[Ashley]

Yes Stitch! It'd be nice if he somehow finds a way into the game (even if its not particularly inkeeping with the rest of it)

[Helmsly]

 

1up have the same screens but much larger here:

http://www.1up.com/do/slideshow?pager.offset=1&cId=3171765

 

Fall 2010 release: http://www.videogamer.com/news/epic_mickey_confirmed_for_fall_2010.html

Edited October 29, 2009 by Helmsly