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Monday, June 25, 2018

Unrealized Dreams Week: Mickey Mondays


Walt Disney always had a soft spot for his greatest creation- Mickey Mouse. Many people who knew Mr. Disney personally have stated that Mickey’s boundless energy and positivity was definitely inherited from Walt himself. When Donald Duck began to steal Mickey’s thunder, Walt sought to find larger scale projects that he could use to reignite the mouse’s career. Various proposals came and went and even continued long after Walt passed away. After the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Walt Disney Company sought out projects that could further expose its classic characters to younger audiences in new projects. One such project was Swabbies.


Swabbies was supposed to feature Mickey, Donald and Goofy joining the Navy. An odd choice, considering that this was supposed to appeal to younger children. Our heroes go to basic training, working under an exasperated Pete. Along the way, they meet their female counterparts- Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle. The film was supposed to end with a tense stand-off with the Beagle Boys, who would be portraying vaguely Russian characters. 

Production began in the late 1980’s with the film targeting a 1989 release. The film would not use the more advanced animation, so it was seen as being something that could get a fairly quick release. For various reasons it fell by the wayside and never got completed despite being fully recorded and storyboarded. The film’s production got so far along that it could probably still get an eventual release.