The short is filled with callbacks that will amuse long-time Disneyland fans who remember the old Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland ride, which was replaced by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the late 1970s. Granted, that timing makes the target audience for this nostalgia trip the parents or even grandparents of the young kids toward whom Disney typically aims its Mickey cartoons. But it's still a typically Mickey slapstick adventure that anyone can enjoy.
Frontierland's Rainbow Cavern Mine Train opened one year after Disneyland, in 1956, and was revamped and expanded into Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland in 1960. In addition to the caverns, the ride included show scenes for Balancing Rocks and the multi-colored Devil's Paint Pots geysers, which also are referenced in the new Mickey Mouse short.
The old attraction was designed as a tie-in to Disney's True-Life Adventures short film series, so, yep, Disney was doing IP in its theme parks since the beginning. You are watching an online video referencing a theme park attraction that referenced an old short film series. It's the Media Circle of Life.
Disney's also referencing another classic Disneyland attraction on its Disney XD channel, with a new series of stop-motion promos that premiered today. The ghosts of the Haunted Mansion are co-starring with characters from the Disney XD series "Big Hero 6 The Series," "DuckTales," and "Star vs. The Forces of Evil" in three new shorts. Take a look:
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I think Disney has decided that they need to treat Mickey less like a Mascot and more like a character. Mickey can't be fun or entertaining if he can only behave in a limited way. Disney has struggled with this since the 30s, and it seems like they've finally figured out their mistake. There's no reason to make something new if the characters aren't allowed to be any different than they were 80 years ago. They have to balance preserving the characters and not making them an immatation, and allowing the characters to do new things and be in new situations so its fresh and not just a remake of what's been done before.
Poor Walt.
We must be glad that he is not around to see how his creation has been degraded.
I don't mind the new shorts, but I can also understand how they can be off putting to some audiences. Some of the character designs (specifically goofy) are a departure from the traditional. The shorts are certainly more wild & zany than what people might expect. It was meant to harken back to the time of the earliest shorts before Mickey was a corporate mascot & was more of a "rascal".
I will say some of these new shorts are better than others. The Venice & Tokyo based episodes, for me, are the best examples of striking the right tone. These 2 episodes are funny & creative without being too "weird" like many of the other episodes.
Those are the 2 episodes I would suggest for anyone who hasn't enjoyed the new shorts.
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