The New York Times has the details on how Disney is rebranding the venerable franchise (though with substantial nods towards Mickey's origins) with an eye towards freshening the Mouse up, and making a simultaneous bid into the video. No word on whether Donald Duck will be making a revamped return to Mathmagic Land
Or whether Minnie will get her trademark polka dots tailored into a snazzy suit or sheath instead of those flounces she's been rocking for decades, or anything like that. But while we're speculating, I want to take the opportunity to recommend Bill Peet: An Autobiography. Peet, a pioneering Disney animator and story, was also the author of astonishing and surreal children's books. His autobiography is fantastic: engaging and illuminating, especially about the key years at Disney. You'll never look at the credits sequence for a Disney classic the same way again after reading it (he was, for example, responsible for all the monsters in Snow White), and if you have young children, you'll find a treasure-trove of supremely odd picture books with great stories and ideas behind them. I bet Peet would have had some amazing ideas for Mickey's reboot. It's too bad he's not around to fight with Disney's successors like he fought with Walt, and to push the company's images boldly forward.