Plot

Mickey Mouse gets "mouse-knapped." So Minnie hires the greatest detective alive, Basil of Baker Street, to help find Mickey. The film is like Roger Rabbit in the fact that it will feature at least one character from every full-length animated film to date. Most will be quick cameos like the broomsticks from Fantasia in the background in Roger Rabbit, but a few will play major roles in solving the mystery of who mouse-knapped Mickey?

Notes

December 17, 2002

Story Problems Stall The Search for Mickey Mouse

Bad news: the project is off according to Jim Hill. "At least for the foreseeable future. What's the problem with this project? Well, I'm told that the folks at Walt Disney Television Animation division just loved the concept behind this project: Mickey gets kidnapped, so Minnie hired the world's greatest detective, Basil of Baker Street, to help her track down the missing mouse. Minnie, Basil, Donald, and Goofy then travel the globe in their search for Mickey. And in the process, encounter every animated cartoon character that has ever appeared in a Disney film. Unfortunately, they were just never able to come up with a workable script for the film. The writers had to come up a semi-plausible storyline which emotionally engaged audience members that still allow a different set of classic Disney characters to come strolling on screen every two or three minutes. That sort of gimmick is cute for a while. But imagine a 90 minute long film that does nothing but that? Sounds kind of annoying, doesn't it? More of a stunt than a story. Given that "The Search for Mickey" was supposed to be the project that the Walt Disney Company would be using as the centerpiece of its year long celebration of Mickey's 75th birthday (which officially kicks off in January 2003), this proposed film's continuing script problems finally forced Disney to table the project. At least for now."

From February 26, 2002 Ain't It Cool News

The Mouse -- in spite of any setbacks the studio may have recently experienced with its traditionally animated fare -- still intends to be the top dog in Toontown. In an effort to nail home this point, Eisner then pulled out a piece of test animation for a project that will reportedly feature a 3D CGI Mickey Mouse [for 'Mickey's Philharmagic,' a new 3D movie attraction that will premiere at WDW's Magic Kingdom in the Fall of 2003]. Albeit brief, this CGI Mickey footage was still quite impressive. Disney had also recruited the very same performers who provide voices for the characters -- Wayne Allwine for Mickey, Russie Taylor for Minnie and Bill Farmer for Pluto -- to do the vocals for this test footage. Disney's Video Premiere department is currently prepping a direct-to-video feature that will be built around this computer animated version of Mickey. This particular project will supposedly be rolled out to retailers in late 2003 / early 2004 as part of the Walt Disney Company's worldwide celebration of Mickey Mouse's 75th birthday. Unless -- of course -- the film tests really well ... Then a theatrical release in February 2004 is not out of the question." Could that have anything to do with In Search of Mickey?