I know this game is waaaay old news and I got it in 2012 (it was released in 2010), but I started it in then and took a short, 8-year break. Just in the last week I completed the game and I’m glad I waited until now to do it, because now I can fully understand all of the stories, characters, and lands it portrays in the game. Epic Mickey was an attempt at re-branding Mickey back to his old ways of not being just a cheerful character.

The Plot

If you’ve never heard of the game Disney’s Epic Mickey, it’s about a fictional world called Wasteland created by sorcerer from Fantasia Yen Sid (Disney backwards), to house old forgotten about Disney characters. When Mickey stumbles upon it through his mirror (a nod to Alice Through the Looking Glass), he accidentally destroys it, Fantasia style. He goes through many adventures and enemies to attack by using paint and thinner. He is accompanied by a gremlin named Gus, and everyone’s favorite jealous former face of Disney, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, whom is trying to get Ortensia back from an evil shadow blot who took over the lands.

Our Old, Forgotten About Beloved Characters

The reason I love this game’s plot is because it isn’t merely a story about Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy whom we’ve seen many times before in movies, tv series, and merchandise. This game is based around those real Disney characters that we’ve placed at the back of our minds. Here are some of them that are featured:

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Oswald was a character created by Walt and Ub Iwerks and was the face of Disney for a few short years before he was stolen by Charles Mintz. This game is the first time we ever see Mickey and Oswald together, and the dynamic is quite humorous. Since Oswald was first stolen from Walt and then later dropped from Disney almost all together because of Mickey, he now lives in Wasteland, which is the forgotten about version of Disneyland. This land is themed after him, just as Disneyland is themed after Mickey. He is jealous that Mickey became the main face of the company and took over as Walt’s prized possession. He is hesitant to work with Mickey, but in the end they come together to save the land, Ortensia, and everyone else. One of the things he says in the game while looking at Mickey in the end is “now I really DO see why he liked you”, referring to Walt choosing Mickey to be his partner instead.

Ortensia the Cat

Ortensia was created to be Oswald’s love interest in 1927, appearing in shorts with him. She replaced his former love interest Fanny, who only appeared in a handful of shorts before her. She and Oswald have the same dynamic as Mickey and Minnie, and in the game they are separated when she is taken by the Shadow Blot, and Oswald is devastated by it. In the end, Mickey helps them reunite.

Mad Doctor

The Mad Doctor first appeared in Disney shorts in 1933, and always played the villain. He wasn’t featured in many projects after that and eventually ended up in Wasteland. He is one of the main antagonists of the game who tries to stop Mickey along the way but eventually ends up being defeated.

Horace Horsecollar

Horace was a character created by Walt and Ub Iwerks in 1929 who assumed the role of one of Mickey’s best friends before Goofy took over. He featured in many shorts in the beginning of the 1930s and then stopped after his last short in 1942. He is very similar to Goofy but very forgotten about, so they brought him back to help Mickey in the game. Just like Oswald, he was replaced.

Pete

Pete has been featured many times over the years of Disney and has had many different changes to his look. He was introduced in 1925 and has even made a comeback as recent as last year. He was the main villain of Mickey Mouse, originally portrayed as a dog but later turned into a cat for the cat and mouse dynamic. He was called Peg-Leg Pete, Pistol Pete, and Black Pete. He is shown in many different forms in the game, such as Pete Pan (dressed up like Peter Pan), just like he was in the shorts. He is still big bad Pete and gives off an angry vibe, but he too helps Mickey in the end. He works in City Hall in the game, wrangling up loose bunnies around Mean street! One of the main bosses to defeat is also Petetronic.

Clarabelle Cow

Clarabelle was also created in the late 1920s to be Minnie’s best friend, as well as Horace’s girlfriend (because apparently, everyone in the Disney universe needs a partner!). Clarabelle debuted in Steamboat Willie, appeared in many shorts after that and then ended with Horace in 1942. She appeared in a few works afterwards but not as significantly. She was treated as one of the main characters though during her time. In the game, she is also seen helping Mickey along the way, and Clarabelle is given her own home in Ostown.

Beppo and Champ

Beppo the Gorilla is a character that was in a short in 1930 called “The Gorilla Mystery” and “Mickey’s Mechanical Man”, in which he fights a robot named Champ that Mickey had created. They weren’t featured in anything after that, thus explains the lack of their appearances in the game as well. They are only shown briefly in a projector screen short where they are fighting, just like in Mickey’s Mechanical Man.

There are many other characters featured in the game such as animatronic versions of our favorites, including Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Captain Hook, and Tick-Tock Crocodile. More characters were added in later sequels and they contain a large portion of the Disney universe! Next week I’ll dive more into Cartoon Wasteland, and how it’s merely a dark version of today’s Disneyland! Stay tuned.