Mickey Mouse Meet Joy Division

A new Disney t-shirt has got people talking, an amalgamation of post-punk Joy Division’s album cover for ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and Mickey Mouse. The original pulses now form the instantly familiar Mickey Mouse outline. Black and white and moody, this t-shirt takes Mickey Mouse to a whole new dimension.

Irony? There’s lots of it, considering that Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hanged himself at the age of 23 and Joy Division’s music deals with depression, isolation and disappointment in an honest and powerful way. Joy Division is loved by both the punk crowd and the alternative music scene, and the lyrics have spoken to generations of people. It’s quite incredible that Disney would want to be associated with Joy Division but there you go, design is design and great design sells.

Disney describe the t-shirt as follows:

“Inspired by the iconic sleeve of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album, this Waves Mickey Mouse Tee incorporates Mickey’s image within the graphic of the pulse of a star. That’s appropriate given few stars have made bigger waves than Mickey!”

If that statement is true then Disney have missed the point, or have dismissed the point and waved something else in front of the consumer. The original ‘Unknown Pleasures’ album cover design is credited to Peter Saville and Chris Mathan, who must be laughing at the new Walt Disney interpretation. Or maybe they had a hand in it themselves, which would appease fans.

But what do you think? Would you buy one?

Source: Los Angeles Times