BRING BACK MICKEY MOUSE!
Really, that sums it all up.
Disney has always been a company of greatness, even when the world didn't recognize it yet. Technologically and creatively advanced, the Disney company has wowed children and adults alike for almost 100 years. Walt Disney once famously said, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." Mickey Mouse was not the first of Walt's beloved characters (see Alice, Oswald and Mortimer), but he will always be the iconic one. Mickey Mouse is Disney, and Disney is Mickey Mouse.
As my previous posts have shown, I have been a fan of a wide variety of Disney projects over the years. From Welcome to Pooh Corner and Dumbo's Circus to Mousterpiece Theatre and Flash Forward to Kim Possible and TaleSpin, I have enjoyed things all along the spectrum of works known collectively as Disney. From the day the Disney Channel first aired, there was hardly a day that went by where I didn't watch something, even if it was only a few shorts minutes of DTV. But then the new millenium hit.
Over the pasts ten years, it has seemed to me (and not only me) that the Disney company has done just what Walt warned against. They have forgotten the Mouse that started it all. Gone are the classic cartoons of Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald and Daisy. Gone are the modern cartoons of more recent characters, like DuckTales, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New School, and TaleSpin. In their place are Phineas and Ferb, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Hannah Montana.
Each of those shows, in and of itself, does not flow against the current. Again, there were many original series that I truly enjoyed. But those earlier shows were intermixed with a good selection of programming related to Disney origins.
I believe the Disney company would do well to bring back some of the classics. Not all day, everyday, but something as simple as a block of time one of two nights a week. Bring back Vault Disney, bring back midnight showings of Zorro and The Ballad of Davy Crockett, bring back replays of the Walt Disney anthology series.
Bug, my 3-year-old cousin, is only just now learning who Mickey Mouse is. THIS IS A PROBLEM! I knew who Mickey Mouse was shortly after leaving the womb. By 3, I was obsessed. Now, not every child will become a Disneyphile. But all, atleast is the US, should know who/what Disney is.
I want the Disney company to continue to flourish and grow, but they can't truly move forward without continuing to acknowledge their heritage.
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