The Inquisitr » Mickey Mouse

Think you’re the ultimate Mickey mouse fan? Think again…

Paul Short — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:52:31 +0000

If you think you’re the ultimate Mickey Mouse fan, think again. These ladies have you beat.

Epic Mickey: Mickey Mouse as you’ve never seen him before

Chris Greenhough — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:55:38 +0000

Want to see what Mickey, Goofy and the rest of the Disney crew look like in your kid’s worst nightmares?

Several conceptual drawings for a new Mickey Mouse game have been dug up by Internet detectives, many of which are decidedly creepy: imagine Disney meets Fallout 3. Think I’m kidding? Then scroll down to see Goofy in zombie form, flesh hanging from his rickety frame as he stumbles about, his eye sockets empty. Or how about Mickey himself, reimagined as some kind of hellish mechanical arachnid? Usually, this is the kind of fanart you’d see at the likes of deviantART, but these sketches appear to be for an actual, real game.

Rumors about a title called Epic Mickey (supposedly overlooked by Warren Spector, designer of the brilliant Deus Ex) first surfaced last year. This art would now appear to confirm the game’s existence. Further validation comes from the personal website of one Tony Pulham, an artist for Spector’s Junction Point studio, who lists the game on his resume as a “Wii Video Game.”

Also worth noting: leaked details have previously revealed that Mickey would go up against “a certain pesky plumber.” Mickey and Mario in the same game? A little bit of history right there, folks.

I’m just amazed Disney is willing to roll with this. You’ve come a long way since Castle of Illusion, mouse.

Check out more awesome concept art (in bigger sizes) here and here.

[NeoGAF and superannuation, via Joystiq]

Saudi Arabian cleric issues fatwa against Mickey Mouse

Duncan Riley — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:01:36 +0000

A Saudi Arabian cleric has issued a fatwa against Mickey Mouse, saying the much loved Disney character must die.

Sheikh Muhammad Munajid claimed that Mickey is “one of Satan’s soldiers” and that he makes everything he touches impure.

According to The Telegraph, The cleric, a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.

The cleric did admit though that Mickey Mouse did have a bright side, saying that “Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.”

On Which Side Will Intellectual Property Laws Fall?

Guest Poster — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:07:40 +0000

On the one side, we have the incessantly aggressive tactics of the RIAA, and the seemingly endless copyright extensions granted by U.S. lawmakers. On the other side, we have those defending Fair Use, like the EFF. The U.S. is obviously at a tipping point for intellectual property law. Which side will prevail?

Jeff Nolan at Venture Chronicles notes the inconsistencies; a judge refused to dismiss the case against Universal that claims the company issued an improper DMCA claim for a video of a toddler dancing to a Prince song at the same time that companies like DirecTV are adding DRM to lock programming down to a single box for viewing.

As more and more individuals start to fight back against some of the Draconian enforcement of intellectual property laws, however, Fair Use and public domain may win in the end. A small discovery noted nine years ago by a disgruntled former Disney employee may put an end to the endless copyright extensions driven by the Walt Disney Company’s protection of Mickey Mouse’s copyright. While only the older “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse would enter the public domain if the evidence shows that Disney’s ownership of the copyright is questionable, it would still be a symbolic victory for a country whose intellectual property laws are some of the most convoluted in the world.