subdirectory_arrow_right Férias Frustradas do Pica-Pau (Game)
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Despite popular belief, Epic Mickey is not the first video game to include the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The actual first game to feature him was Férias Frustradas do Pica-Pau (also known as "Woody Woodpecker's Frustrated Vacations"), where Oswald (based on his "Oswald Rabbit" iteration owned by Universal at the time) was one of Woody's friends that had been kidnapped by Buzz Buzzard.
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According to Warren Spector. He considers Epic Mickey (and Deus Ex) as the high point of his career for bringing back the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and getting fan mail regarding his work on Epic Mickey from fans:
It should be noted that Ortensia was not technically an original creation for Epic Mickey, as she already existed in the Oswald cartoons under the name Sadie. However, Ortensia would become the character's official name in the Disney Parks and merchandise following the game's release.
"I suspect no one at Disney realizes that we made Ortensia up for our game. I'm sure people at Disney think Ortensia is a part of Disney's history. We made her up. So the fact that Oswald is back, and the fact that Ortensia is now a part of Disney's history, is because of a video game. That's very cool.
I got more fan mail about Epic Mickey than any game I've ever worked on. It was more heartfelt fan mail than any game I've ever worked on. We touched people in a way that games just never touch people.
Screw Metacritic. Screw the gamers who didn't like our camera. Screw everybody. I am really proud of that game, and I am really proud of the team that made it, and nothing is going to ever sway me from feeling like that was one of the high points of my career."
I got more fan mail about Epic Mickey than any game I've ever worked on. It was more heartfelt fan mail than any game I've ever worked on. We touched people in a way that games just never touch people.
Screw Metacritic. Screw the gamers who didn't like our camera. Screw everybody. I am really proud of that game, and I am really proud of the team that made it, and nothing is going to ever sway me from feeling like that was one of the high points of my career."
It should be noted that Ortensia was not technically an original creation for Epic Mickey, as she already existed in the Oswald cartoons under the name Sadie. However, Ortensia would become the character's official name in the Disney Parks and merchandise following the game's release.
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While Walt Disney created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the cartoons featuring him, Universal distributed them and owned the rights to the character. In 2006, in order to acquire the rights to use Oswald, Disney made a deal that included trading the services of sportscaster Al Michaels to Universal to get Oswald back.
There is some debate over the legitimacy of this deal, as there are no records of Oswald's debut cartoon - "Trolley Troubles" - having its copyright renewed by Universal when it should have in 1955, meaning that Oswald could have been a public domain character as far back as the 50s and it was likely just the trademark that was traded. This is something Disney would still end up utilizing as Oswald has made appearances in merchandising, commercials, and parks that would require trademark ownership, but would not likely inherently be required for a video game project. Oswald is unquestionably confirmed to be a public domain character as of 2023 following the 95-year anniversary of "Trolley Troubles".
There is some debate over the legitimacy of this deal, as there are no records of Oswald's debut cartoon - "Trolley Troubles" - having its copyright renewed by Universal when it should have in 1955, meaning that Oswald could have been a public domain character as far back as the 50s and it was likely just the trademark that was traded. This is something Disney would still end up utilizing as Oswald has made appearances in merchandising, commercials, and parks that would require trademark ownership, but would not likely inherently be required for a video game project. Oswald is unquestionably confirmed to be a public domain character as of 2023 following the 95-year anniversary of "Trolley Troubles".
Article on the trade:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2324417
Forum post questioning the trade:
https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/exposed-disneys-repurchase-of-oswald-the-rabbit-a-sham.4792291/
http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2324417
Forum post questioning the trade:
https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/exposed-disneys-repurchase-of-oswald-the-rabbit-a-sham.4792291/
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In 2024, an extended pitch trailer for this version of the game using some of the same animation footage was posted online by Thomas Heimann, another former employee of The Animation Farm. The pitch for this version of the game proposed a 2008 release date and outlined possible gameplay mechanics, an early version of the story, and early character designs for Mickey, the Phantom Blot, and the Blotlings. A model sheet for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with character designs dating back to his initial usage in the 1920s-30s was also teased during the trailer, but he does not appear in it.
Early animation snippet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hVrTVt0d-o
Extended pitch trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkc2cPIeSx4
https://www.deviantart.com/thomasheimann/art/EpicMickey-Pitch-1012295768
Final game's title screen with emblem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkvCZYpFU6Y?t=258
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hVrTVt0d-o
Extended pitch trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkc2cPIeSx4
https://www.deviantart.com/thomasheimann/art/EpicMickey-Pitch-1012295768
Final game's title screen with emblem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkvCZYpFU6Y?t=258
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Within the game files are unfinished videos for two unused sketches: the balloon and the fireworks. It’s likely the fireworks sketch became the fireworks mechanic in Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
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According to Warren Spector, there were originally three different designs for Mickey, with his appearance changing based on whether the player made heroic or mischievous choices. The designs were based off different eras of Mickey Mouse cartoons. Hero Mickey was based on his old movie posters, Wasterlander was based on 1930s vintage Mickey, and Scrapper was inspired by the early black and white Mickey cartoons (along with the 1995 Mickey Mouse short 'Runaway Brain').
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Mickey was originally to have released his own paint from his hands. As he did this, the paint from his body would vanish, revealing his outline. The idea was later scrapped, and Mickey was given a paintbrush instead.
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