Mickey Mouse makes his return to 2D animation next week with the debut of a new shortform series of comedy cartoons featuring homages to the past.
Mickey Mouse, which premieres on Disney Channel the weekend of June 28-30 (8:30 p.m. ET/PT), features the slapstick feel of classic Mickey Mouse as well as contemporary direction and pacing.
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Each cartoon short finds Mickey in a different modern setting -- including Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice and the Alps, where he faces a silly situation, a quick complication and an escalation of physical and visual gags. Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto also make appearances.
The shorts, which are geared toward kids age 6-14 and families, feature a design esthetic that goes back to Mickey's roots and borrows from the style of his 1930s design, while adding a few modern 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 '60s Disney cartoons. The production team has also included homages to other icons from Disney's history.
The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive clip from one of the shorts, titled "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. "No Service" debuts June 28.
Other shorts include "Yodelberg" (premiering June 29), in which 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"; "New York Weenie" (July 5), in which 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; "Tokyo Go" (July 12), which finds Mickey fighting Tokyo's crazy commuting crowds aboard the bullet train; and "Stayin' Cool" (July 19), in which Mickey, Donald and Goofy must find creative ways to keep cool on the hottest day of the year.
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The first cartoon short, "Croissant de Triomphe," in which Mickey must deliver croissants to Minnie's cafe, battling street traffic and other Parisian obstacles along the way, debuted in March on Disney.com.
After their TV premiere, episodes will be available on WATCH Disney Channel, Disney.com, the Mickey Video Player App and iTunes.
Emmy-winning artist and director Paul Rudish (Star Wars: Clone Wars) is the executive producer and director. Aaron Springer (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Clay Morrow (Dexter's Laboratory) are directors, and Joseph Holt (Sym-Bionic Titan) is the art director. The series is produced under the supervision of Disney Television Animation senior vps Eric Coleman and Lisa Salamone.
