Mickey Mouse (2018 film)

Mickey Mouse is an American traditionally animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and was released on November 18, 2015. The film is based on the Mickey Mouse character originally created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, and was announced by Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger at the 2013 D23 Expo. It was written and directed by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh (the creators of Phineas and Ferb), and executive produced by Burny Mattinson (who came up with the original idea, and also helped Povenmire and Marsh co-write the script) and John Lasseter, with original music being provided by Michael Giacchino. The film focuses on Mickey as he moves into a small town in California and befriends Donald Duck and Goofy, falls in love with Minnie Mouse, meets Minnie's friend Daisy Duck (who happens to own a diner named "Daisy's Diner"), and also makes enemies with the notorious criminal Peg Leg Pete. Most of the entire voice cast for Mickey and his friends (Bret Iwan as Mickey, Russi Taylor as Minnie, Tony Anselmo as Donald, and Bill Farmer as Goofy and Pluto) reprise their respective character roles, while Tress MacNielle has been replaced by Selena Gomez of Wizards of Waverly Place fame as the voice of Daisy. China Anne McClain, the star of the Disney Channel series A.N.T. Farm, sings her own rendition of Mickey Mouse March (the theme song to the original Mickey Mouse Club television series) for the film's end credits and soundtrack album. The film was a huge box office success, and was praised by critics, garnering a 95% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot
In the late 1920s, Mickey Mouse moves with his trusty dog Pluto to a new neighborhood in Southern California after being tired of life on a farm in rural Missouri. While making the big move, Mickey doesn't think he will fit in at first, but later makes friends with some new neighbors, Minnie Mouse (whom later becomes his girlfriend), her best friend Daisy Duck (a diner owner), Daisy's boyfriend Donald, and Donald's best friend, Goofy. While trying to get settled in his new home, Mickey also finds a job as a custodian at a local newspaper called The Daily Bee, who breaks a front-page story about a ruthless criminal, the notorious Peg Leg Pete, escaping from prison after being arrested for robbing a bank. Throughout the film, Mickey learns that no matter how many times you think things look bad, no matter what obstacles you may face, you will always have friends to support you along the way.

Cast
Bret Iwan as Mickey Mouse

Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse

Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck

Bill Farmer as Goofy/Pluto

Selena Gomez as Daisy Duck

Jim Cummings as Peg Leg Pete

Veteran voice actor Tom Kenny and Disney-Pixar's Chief Creatve Officer and executive producer, John Lasseter, also make brief voice cameos in the film as customers at Daisy's Diner. Actress Lindsay Lohan wanted a voice role in the film, but Pixar alumni Ed Catmull rejected her from having any involvement due to her past legal issues.

Critical
Mickey Mouse received universal critical acclaim. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 95% percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10, the consensus saying "Despite its sitcom-like execution, Mickey Mouse is charming, heartfelt, and is a great addition to Disney's animation legacy. With beautiful animation and a fantastic story, it is a welcome return to form for Walt Disney's lovable rodent that is sure to win new fans, as well as please longtime Disney traditionalists". Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film an A+, stating "In this strange, sad world where tweens only know the Disney brand for their bad kid-coms and teenybopper starlets rather than their great legacy in the animation industry, it's good to know there are people out there who need those who are new to the brand to be familiar with the mouse that started our love for all things Disney. They let Mickey Mouse do just that, and I think Walt Disney himself would be smiling in heaven if he ever saw this film". Film critic and animation fan Leonard Maltin stated "If there was a film that I think would help people feel good in tough times, make the world laugh, and of course let people know that there is still such a thing as "wholesome family entertainment", Mickey Mouse is definitely the answer. Dan and Swampy, who gave us the whimsical world of Phineas and Ferb, did a fantastic job of not only getting the character and his friends back to their 2D roots, but keeping him relevent to newer generations so he can win new fans". Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote in his column, "The film has the look and feel of a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon short. All the whimsy, all the fun, and all the humor and heart of those old cartoons Mickey was in from the 1920s to the 1950s returns in this feature film. Like The Muppets and Winnie the Pooh before it, it manages to bring back the character and the aspects that make the said character popular, rather than soullessly making the character "hip", cashing in on his/her name, and catering that character or franchise to the lowest common denominator (in the case of The Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks)". Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4, and concluded "Not only is this one of the greatest comebacks for an animated character in history, but it's also Disney's best hand-animated triumph since The Princess and the Frog! It never talks down to kids unlike most reboots of classics characters (Alvin and the Chipminks being the worst offender of this), and good gravy, hand-drawn animation! Something we rarely see in bringing back familiar cartoon franchises to current audiences!"

Awards
The film earned a Best Original Score (Michael Giacchino) and Best Animated Feature nomination at the 89th Academy Awards. It lost in both categories to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, and Blue Sky's The Story of Ferdinand, respectively.

Box office
The film was a massive box office success, grossing over $150,409,594 to land at #1 on opening weekend (the first hand-drawn animated offering from Disney to do so since 2009's The Princess and the Frog). The film ended up earning a total of $1,299,993,384 worldwide, making it the first traditionally-animated film to reach the $1 billion mark, and overtaking Disney's own The Lion King as the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time. The film's success also makes up for the colossal (critical & commercial) failure of the romantic comedy, Tux, a live-action/CGI hybrid based on a Japanese manga series that became the biggest box-office bomb in history and was universally panned by every film critic.

The film's budget was $30 million.

Sequel
Povenmire and Marsh hinted during the 2014 premiere of the Phineas and Ferb feature film that if Mickey Mouse was successful at the box office, a sequel would be developed by the same team who helped make the first film possible. On July 11, 2016, the sequel, simply titled Mickey Mouse 2, was confirmed by voice actor Bret Iwan at the San Diego Comic-Con International.