I never understood why Mickey Mouse was still famous. From the late ’20s to early ’40s he had a groundbreaking run, sure, but that was almost 100 years ago. As far as I could tell, all he’d done for the last 75 years is shake hands at theme parks and maybe appear in a few specials every now and again. The mouse is a freeloader, I’d tell anyone willing to listen, getting by on nothing more than marketing deals and the Magic Kingdom.
Apparently, I was a little harsh. Mickey has appeared in a bunch of cartoons on Disney Channel throughout the 2000s, but what caught my attention while perusing his Wikipedia page was a 2013-2019 run of shorts simply titled “Mickey Mouse.”
I watched a few, and they were pretty good. As someone who yearns for the days of early ‘00s Nickelodeon cartoons, I was thrilled to find them several levels above the standard-fare for 2010 children’s animation. Even more exciting? A sequel series, “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse,” launched on Disney Plus this past November.
I watched all 10 episodes (a second batch of 10 will be released this summer), and now I feel like a total idiot for questioning Mickey’s credentials as a 21st Century icon. These cartoons are capital-F Fantastic. Kids will love them, of course, but creator Paul Rudish’s mature sense of humor will appeal to adults just like old “Spongebob Squarepants” and “The Looney Tunes” cartoons.
The pathologically optimistic Mickey is joined by Minnie, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Goofy in a series of unrelated adventures that cleverly place these iconic characters in zany scenarios that let each of them shine. Some episodes feature modern, realistic settings, while others place our heroes in tried and true fantasy worlds, but each brings refreshing creativity to old premises.
In “The Brave Little Squire,” Mickey finds himself assisting Sir Mortimer in protecting Queen Minnie’s kingdom. Sir Mortimer, who Mickey Mouse aficionados will recognize from 1936’s “Mickey’s Rival,” is predictably a fraud who takes credit for all of Mickey’s heroics. You’ve seen this story before, but knowing the ending makes Mickey’s early enthusiasm for Mortimer cute and endearing. The dialogue is superb as well. Upon sighting a troublesome troll, a cowardly Sir Mortimer suavely tells his squire, “What we need is a distraction, that would be you, to get the troll’s attention. Then I’ll swoop in and smite him!”
Donald and Daisy star in the mid-season Finale, “Just the Four of Us,” where the pair desperately hide from yet another exhausting double-date with their relentlessly energetic mouse friends. Rudish and his team go all-in on this horror spoof that turns dark the second a defiant Donald tells Mickey, “We’re sick!” Daisy grabs him, her eyes widening, and says in a haunted tone, “They’ll be coming… coming to take care of us!” The eerie silhouettes of Mickey and Minnie appear at the front door as lightning crashes around them, and the Ducks break into a full panic.
All of Mickey’s iconic friends have moments to shine, but it’s the mouse himself who drives every episode forward. It’s hard to write for a character like Mickey. He’s an ageless icon of wonder and joy! There’s a clear limit to what boundaries his character can and can’t cross, but “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” consistently turns his limitations into strengths.
His optimism and good nature lead to countless misfortunes and creative gags. In “The Big Good Wolf,” for example, Mickey tries to reform the irreformable Big Bad Wolf. A dancing number at the seniors home goes horribly awry, but Mickey is too darn positive to recognize that he is being conned. The same goes for the aforementioned “Just the Two of Us,” where his inability to ignore a friend in need is shown from a friend who is very much not in need’s perspective.
I can’t recommend this series enough. Families will love the humor regardless of age, Disney fanatics will go crazy for cameos from other Disney universes (there are countless!), and animation adorers will get a kick out of the delightfully unpredictable visual storytelling. Each episode runs for a concise eight minutes, which makes for an incredibly bingeable viewing experience.
“The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” proves that Mickey isn’t just an icon from a bygone age who exists to put a friendly face on a corporate titan. Like Superman, Captain America, and Mario, he’s still got a lot of life in him. I discovered this series because I believed he’d been unjustly reaping the benefits of a legendary run over 80 years ago. Hand up, I was wrong. Mickey Mouse hasn’t lost his touch, and I can’t wait to revisit his wonderful world this summer when the second half of season 1 drops.
