Epic Mickey/Tropes


 * Adaptational Badass: The film's version of the Blot combains the power of the original videogame's Shadow Blot with the intelligence and cunning of the original Phantom Blot, making him more dangerous than in the game.
 * Author's Saving Throw:
 * Much like DuckTales (2017), the film restores the Phantom Blot's intelligence from the comics. Additionally, the Blot in the film is potrayed as cunning and having Trap Master qualities, something the DuckTales incarnation was criticized for lacking.
 * After years of animated Disney films with either Plot Twist Villains, Grey-and-Grey Morality, or No Villains a at all, this film presents the Blot as a more traditional Disney Villain.
 * Batman Gambit: The Blot implements one in the third act. He steals the last oart of the rocket, forcing Mickey and Oswald to return to Dark Beauty Castle for it, after which the Blot attempts to capture them and nearly regains his powers, only for Mickey to defeat him... just as the Blot planned. After watching Mickey being praised, Oswald is manipulated by the Blot into releasing him by appealing to his insecurities.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: In the spirit of the Disney Villains of old, the Blot is someone who is evil, loves being evil, is proud of being evil, takes every insult towards his villany as a compliment, and wants to be remembered for his evilness and villany.
 * Disney Villain Death: Averted
 * The Mad Doctor meets his demise after his plane explodes at the climax.
 * The Blot gets killed at the hands of the Thinner Guardians.
 * The Dreaded: Eliza Masa has this status among the Wasteland's evildoers. Which makes sense, seeing how all the villains she faced througth Gargoyles are far darker and more dangerous than the usual Disney Villains.
 * Family Unfriendly-Death: The Blot's death is framed as if he was gunned down by the mafia! And if it weren't because the Guardians dissolve, there would be a gunned-down corpse laying around.
 * Fridge Brilliance: The Blot's first words to Mickey at first appear to be him simply putting a façade before scaring him for the kicks. However, savy Disney fans will recognize the words as the lyrics for "The Mighty Hunters", a song originally written for The Jungle Book (1966) before being scrapped. And who was going to sing it? The Big Bad Dummviretee of Shere Khan and Buldeo (who was also discarded from the final film). This means that the Blot was both falsesly reassuring Mickey and revealing on his villany at the same time, by quoting a Villain Song!
 * It also works for the Blot's sadistic personality. Those who recognize the first lyrics already feel that there's something off about him and become wary at least, while those who don't fall into a false sense of security before the Blot reveals himself as a villain.
 * He Also Did: Mickey and the Blot's supervising animator is Dana Terrace. While this is her first film for the Mouse House, she has a history with Disney on TV, having worked as a storyboard artist and revitionist in Gravity Falls and as a director on the 2017 version of DuckTales (which also centered on classic Disney characters), before creating and executive-producing The Owl House. According to the filmmakers, her work on The Owl House would be the main reason she was hired as both Mickey and the Blot's supervising animator.
 * Medium Blending: Througth most of the film is made with hand-drawn animation, the scenes in the Cartoon World are produced with CGI.
 * Nightmare Fuel: You thougth Runaway Brain was creepy? That is a typical Mickey short compared to this!
 * The Blot is this in spades! A sociopathic and sadistic narcissist who wants to be seen as "The Greatest Villain In The History of Animation", he is more than willing to either kill or torture in any way imaginable not only those who stand in his way, but even innocent people just for the sake of it. He is undoubedly one of the most vile, heartless, disgusting, evil, and downright terrifying villains to have ever appeared in a Mickey Mouse production, and one who wouldn't look out of place in a horror film like Candyman.
 * And then there's his design, which animators admitted was directly based on the Grim Reaper. There's a reason his supervising animator was Dana Terrace.
 * At one point in the film, the Blot takes the Mad Doctor to the room where he has all the innocent people he turned to stone, while not-so-subtly threatening the Doctor that, if he dosen't find Mickey, he will personally tear him apart and put him somewhere in the room. The scene's tone and the way the Blot threatens the Doctor help sell the scene's creepiness.
 * The room itself is this. Even if you never played the game, the "statues"' appearances quickly spells the truth: Thise aren't statues. The Blot has an entire room basically filled with the corpses of the people he killed! And all to remember how he killed them!
 * His confrontation with Mickey at the Mean Street Cinema. The entire confrontation is like straight out of Candyman or Us. He uses the Cinema's darkness to disguise himself as he brutaly beats up Mickey physically and psychologically, before starting to sing an off-putting version of "It's A Small World" as he corners Mickey, shutting down every remaining light, and then... nothing, except a sense of dread that he's gonna pop up somewhere. And right on cue, his hand grabs Mickey's throat out of nowhere, and throws him violently out of the cinema, after which he keeps beating Mickey.
 * And if that wasn't enough, after kicking Mickey's ass, the Blot throws him onto the abysm below Mean Street, not before taunting him over how he's gonna kill everyone in Mean Street during his fall. And, hadn't Eliza, Ortensia, and Oswald showed, Mickey Mouse would've died while watching innocents die too.
 * Much like the game, the climax takes place inside his body. However, the film version is more based in Guardians lf the Galaxy Vol. 2, and it shows! The Blot easily (and literally) manipulates the enviroment to his favor, toying with Mickey and Oswald by having them fight their own enviroment nefore attempting to crush Mickey and strangling Oswald. And then he shows up in his body. The scene may look like Ego reforming in GotG Vol. 2, but feels like watching someone being banished from Hell for being too much of a demon!
 * And then, he utters this line: "How long did any of you really thougth you'd survive against me". It may have been taken from 2016's The Jungle Book, but here is far more terrifying.
 * There's also a TV spot that starts with the typical Mickey Mouse opening... before it suddenly glitches and we see the Blot, in all its terrifying glory, staring at you with one hell of a Slasher Smile. And then there are shots of him wrecking havoc and trying to kill Mickey and Oswald, before seemingly throwing Thinner right at the camera!
 * Think of the film from Minnie's point of view. She sees a gigantic monstrous creature kidnap her boyfriend to do who know what with/to him, and the he isn't seen after that for days. Is surprising she held out to hope and convinced everyone to try to help her bring him back. Anybody else would think he might as well be dead!
 * Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: A variation. While Mickey and Oswald do argue after seemingly defeating the Blot, isn't because he's angry at Mickey. Instead, he admits that, while he now considers him a friend, he's neverthless still jealous of him, all while exposing his insecurities. And while Mickey tries to argue, he dosen't get mad at Oswald either, understanding where his feelings come from. In the end, is not about the two getting mad at each other, but rather the two getting mad at themselves and unleashing that anger at the other.
 * Shout-Out: The way Eliza defeats the Mad Doctor is taken straight out of Stuart Little 2.
 * Take That!: Two towards Disney Animation's biggest rivals:
 * First, when Oswald sees the destruction the Blot caused, he utters the line "Of course, he realizes this means war!". Both Eliza and Ortensia agree it was "a terrible thing to say".
 * Later, as Eliza leaves her Atlantean vessel as it crashes with the Mad Doctor's ship, she says "Goodbye, looney toon", which sounds just like "Looney Tune", to not to mention many actually do think is written "Looney Toon".
 * Unexpected Character: Eliza Masa, Luz Noceda and King! Given how Disney barely features characters from animated series in a movie, the fact that this film features them at all is surprising. And that they have speaking roles and appear in more than one scene is a miracle. Eliza is an special case, seeing how she is one of the main characters in the movie and Gargoyles is not precisely among Disney's most promoted productions.
 * Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Epic Mickey is practically your average Mickey Mouse advebture made in a long format... unless the Blot is in scene, after which it becomes more of a dark adventure story thanks to him being a walking Nightmare Fuel.
 * Win Back the Crowd: After years of making enterily computer-animated films, the film was produced mainly througth hand-drawn animation, which was met positively by old Disney fans. However, the film still contains enterily computer-animated sequences, which helps appeal modern audiences.
 * The Woobie: As in the original videogame, Oswald. Aside from losing Ortensia (which is only avoided barely), he went througth the same crap he went throught in the game, his self-steem issues are further explored.