How much is that rabbit in the window? The one with the puffy black tail?
For Disney, the cost was one sportscaster: Al Michaels. That is what– or rather, who they traded to NBC Universal to obtain the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the cartoon character which Walt Disney came up with in the 1920s, before creating Mickey Mouse and striking it rich. And why?
Because as we know by now, the all but forgotten Oswald is an integral part of the plot to Junction Point’s Epic Mickey game.
The New York Times relates the story (via Kotaku) as they delve into Disney’s dealings to deliver a modern-day makeover to their mousy mascot.
“Keeping cartoon characters trapped in amber is one of the surest routes to irrelevancy,” the article notes. “While Mickey remains a superstar in many homes, particularly overseas, his static nature has resulted in a generation of Americans — the one that grew up with Nickelodeon and Pixar — that knows him, but may not love him. Domestic sales in particular have declined: of his $5 billion in merchandise sales in 2009, less than 20 percent will come from the United States.”
One might think Michaels would feel a little slighted, being traded away for an obscure cartoon rabbit. Fortunately, NBC was eager to have Michaels join their new NFL franchise and he was eager to go; the roadblock was a long-term contract with Disney’s sports network, ESPN, which is now apparently null and void.
Of relevance is that while Disney traded away one voice to get things moving along for Epic Mickey, they aren’t bringing in another for the mouse himself. Instead, speech will be delivered by text within word balloons, and as Variety’s The Cut Scene (via Joystiq, GoNintendo) tells it, that is a very deliberate move.
“I made the creative decision that characters wouldn’t talk in the Cartoon Wasteland,” Spector explained. “It was entirely a creative decision because [he begins speaking in a high-pitched Mickey voice] As soon as I start doing this, I’ve lost most of my potential audience. [resumes natural voice] If I’m trying to re-introduce this character to an audience, there are certain connotations with that voice that I’m going to have a hard time overcoming.”
Instead, Spector says he’s chosen to use the Wii’s system resources for other elements of the game.
One might consider the decision to move forward without a voice for Mickey to be apt, if not ironic. After all, it was only in May of this year that Wayne Allwine, who had provided the voice of Mickey Mouse for longer than anyone, passed away from diabetes complications. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was the last Disney product to feature his work, and has a dedication to his memory.
Incidentally, Disney has found a new voice for the time being in one Bret Iwan, though it does not appear he has any real credits to his name yet.
But while Mickey looks to be reborn, it seems very little needs to be done with his “brother,” Oswald.
“The most interesting thing about Oswald is how little you have to create,” said Spector. “If you watch the existing cartoons, he’s such a special character. In many ways, he’s a funnier, more cartoon-y, more modern guy than Mickey is.”
“If you watch those with a game designer’s eye, the Oswald game designs itself – what that character can and cant do and should and shouldn’t do – so we didn’t have to do much.”
