Disney announced Wednesday their famed Mickey Mouse is returning to his original post. A series of 19 animated shorts are being developed for various Disney channels, Disney.com included, with the first debuting on June 28. Disney posted up a preview, entitled , "Croissant de Triomphe," wherin "Mickey must deliver croissants to Minnie's cafe, battling street traffic and other Parisian obstacles along the way," according to the release. You can catch it over on Disney's website. The press release explains the details:
"Since his creation in 1928, Mickey Mouse has continued to be a timeless favorite, a character that embodies joy, innocence and impishness. While the direction and pacing of the new "Mickey Mouse" cartoon shorts are fresh and contemporary, they are at the same time homage to the art direction and storytelling of Walt and his animators in the 1920s and '30s."
The art style is definitely an upgrade from the old-time "Steamboat Willie" look of things, but Mickey remains as slapstick as ever, if a little less mischevious. He just wants to get Minnie those croissants. The most striking about the preview episode, however, are the references to Disney's massive vault of properties. From the obscure to the painfully obvious, it's fun to see the artists tap into all sorts of Disney's history, starting with the mouse. Future shorts will show various members of the gang - Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofey, Donald and Daisy should all make an appearance at some point or another, according to the release.
Emmy Award-winning artist and director Paul Rudish of "Dexter's Laboratory" and "The Powerpuff Girls" is serving as executive producer and director for the series.
For gamers, these shorts come in the wake of a couple recent Mickey-centric games. Junction Point's "Epic Mickey: The Power of Two" and DreamRift's "Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion" were both critical failures, the latter, while a charming call back to the cult SNES title "Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse," was fatally short. Disney shut down Junction Point, headed up by Warren Spector, soon after his game's release. The entertainment powerhouse is taking their gaming platform in an all new, NFC-happy direction with Disney's "Infinity."