This weekend I had the chance to listen to the developers behind Epic Mickey at their NYCC panel. Entering the panel I was a bit puzzled by what was going on, but they were getting stuff checked out and ready before they start of the discussion. I was a bit shocked that they were starting it already. I must say for the time I spent at the panel it was very well put together with few technical difficulties here. As they started the panel up they showed the two trailers for Epic Mickey. I was impressed by the first one but the second one really blew my mind.
Then they went into explaining about this one character that was a Mickey Mouse looking rabbit that you see in the game. I was not sure myself who he was, but he really did look familiar. They explained that this is “Oswald the lucky rabbit”, a character that Walt Disney created back in 1920s for Universal studios. He was the original Mickey Mouse, or as they put it “Mickey Mouse’s big Brother”. I was a bit shocked that this rabbit was one of Disney’s first characters before he branched out. I mean I was familiar with this rabbit, but never knew who he was till this panel.
It was obvious that a lot of thought went into this panel, because I haven’t been to many where they go back to explain the outright full history of a character. This stuff is usually limited to very short and brief mentions, usually saved for oft ignored instruction manuals. I can tell Warren Spector is a huge Disney fan. He enjoyed every minute talking about Walt’s Disney success with Oswald until 1926 when he had to part ways with the character. This was something that I know any creator has a hard time doing. Parting with something they loved and put so much effort into can be heartbreaking. Charles Mintz may have won by taking some of Walt’s team, but in the end Disney won the battle. He lost Oswald and gained a Mouse that was become an icon.
Now you wonder why they brought a character that no one really knows too much about. Thankfully the story is fittingly simple: Oswald is jealous of his little brother’s success. As Mr. Spector stated Oswald is angry that his father, Walt, abandoned him and went off with his brother Mickey to success and fortune. This is one of the main aspects of the story which is why Oswald plays such a huge part in the game.
The game is unique in its own way as with any Disney video game. What makes it stand out more is that they seemingly picked something from every era of Walt Disney’s life through the years. You’ll see scenes that draw back from Steamboat Mickey to some with Steam punk Mickey and back again. It’s a game that we are, now, personally looking forward to and will be sure to let you know our impressions with the final product upon release.
