Yes, I will be attending the big launch party for “Epic Mickey” tomorrow morning at the Disney Store in Times Square. Since I wrote the Digicomics and the graphic novel adaptation, naturally I have a vested interest.
Major guests include game creator Warren Spector and–since Disney owns ABC–“Dancing With the Stars” Kyle Massey and…yes…Jennifer Grey. I assume “Good Morning America” will be there since it starts at 7 AM. Be sure to tune in.
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It is times like these that I miss living near the relatives in North Jersey. So would make the trip over to there in a heartbeat.
Are you bringing something for Ms. Grey to autograph (just in case)?
Wasn’t planning on it.
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PAD
See you there!
Peter is this a public event that anyone can attend? I’d love to photograph Ms. Grey, Mr. Massey and Mr. Spector for their Wikipedia articles, which could use improved photos. (Grey’s for example, is from 1988, and she isn’t even facing the camera.)
In Ireland ‘Mickey’ is slang for a manhood… needless to say I found the title of this post highly amusing!
Epic Mickey graphic novel? Did I miss this in my search to collect the PAD Bibliography?
It isn’t out yet. I haven’t seen it listed for pre-order anywhere either. (Hopefully it’s not only at Costco too…!)
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These reports from NYCC said the graphic novel could be bought digitally within the Epic Mickey iPhone app starting today, but it hasn’t happened yet. It also mentions other content being unlocked in the app in the weeks leading up to today, but that didn’t happen either.
Mickey as adventure hero.
I’m old enough to remember a time when Disney recoiled at such a thing. They went so far as to suppress the old Tad Osborne/Floyd Gottfriedson newspaper strips and a few of the old shorts, because that Mickey wasn’t in keeping with the character who was their corporate image. After all, you couldn’t have Mickey facing peril. The soccer moms might get upset.
Nice to see that if you live long enough, attitudes do change. I do wonder how much the prospect of new revenue streams had in Disney’s thinking, but that’s the cynic in me.
There was an article I read the other day talking with John Lasseter about the fact that Tangled was going to the last “princess” movie out of Disney for awhile.
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The article then pretty much confirmed that Disney is going for the one crowd that they’ve long ignored: young boys.
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And when you look at the purchase of Marvel, and a game like Epic Mickey, the strategy is already in full force.
Yeah, I read that article, too. And then I read the subsequent damage control that Disney issued:
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A headline in today’s LA Times erroneously reported that the Disney fairy tale is a thing of the past, but I feel it is important to set the record straight that they are alive and well at Disney and continue this week with Tangled, a contemporary retelling of a much loved story. We have a number of projects in development with new twists that audiences will be able to enjoy for many years to come. – Ed Catmull
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There’s always someone at Disney saying that something is the last of something. Feature animation was dead until “The Little Mermaid.” Then traditional cell animation was going to end with “Home on the Range.” Now classic fairy tale styles with princesses are finished.
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Sean Connery will tell you: Never say never. Especially when it comes to Disney.
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It’s something that Disney just doesn’t seem to have the knack for these days. They even had the Power Rangers franchise which they let go of after actually stating that they had no idea how to market it.
When I was a kid, it didn’t seem too hard. Just make a movie with a cool lead hero and really funny sidekicks and I was hooked. For example, Aladdin was a real favorite when I was younger.
My word, it has the Phantom Blot as the villain.
This may be the first game I ever bought, and for just that reason.
I’m wishing I owned a current gen console right now.
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Anyone else remember when Phantom Blot appeared on Ducktales? I almost plotzed.
Is the Epic Mickey graphic novel actually available anywhere in physical format? It was listed in Previews last year, and I preordered a copy at my local comics shop, but since then my store told me that Diamond cancelled all orders for the book, and it doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon.com either, except for an edition in French . . .