History YMMV / EpicMickey

*** After Walt lost him, Ozzie's life started to [[{{Understatement}} suck pretty bad.]]

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:The smaller Shadow Blot. His motives are just like Oswald's: he wants to be famous and loved by the people in real life. If you used paint, after [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbFNLV329E Mickey's climactic battle with it]], he gives Mickey a big hug, leading Gus to marvel: "''Huh''? He's actually kind of... ''sweet''."]]

** You'll FEEL like one if you end up knocking one of the sweet adorable Bunny Children, who also happen to be Oswald's FAMILY...into a thinner pool

* NauseaFuel: In the latter half of the game, [[spoiler: the Blot's Bloticles are destroyed by ''drenching their blisters with thinner'', with an overall effect like pus]].
** Also, the effects of using thinner on the Small World Clock Tower. [[spoiler: Once you make it break its arms, the streams of green fluid that gush out of small pipes in its arm look almost exactly like [[HighPressureBlood uncontrolled arterial bleeding]].]]

** To elaborate more-- first, he was abandoned by his own father over a dispute with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Charles Mintz]], and when Walter Lantz took over the cartoons, Walt ''openly approved'' of Lantz using Ozzie-even though Lantz would [[SeasonalRot eventually derail Oswald from his cartoony roots]] [[CharacterDerailment and turn him into a mediocre at best]] cutesy FunnyAnimal in an attempt to cash in on Disney (ironically). And it only got worse when his half-brother MickeyMouse usurped Oswald's original popularity, which, coupled with Lantz's derailment of the character, as well as the gradual rise of ScrewySquirrel characters over cute funny animals in the early 40's (including Universal's own new character, WoodyWoodpecker) sent Oswald to his grave in 1943, after limping by for the last several years. You would think that in the world for forgotten Disney characters he would have ''[[ThrowTheDogABone finally]]'' gotten [[EarnYourHappyEnding the happy ending he deserved]]-[[YankTheDogsChain but no]], [[ItGotWorse things got even]] '''[[BeyondTheImpossible WORSE]]''' [[ItGotWorse for him]]-said half-brother just ''happened'' to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally spill a jug of paint thinner onto Yen Sid's world]], which wound up ruining the whole place by turning it into a [[CrapsackWorld savage wasteland]], as well as unleashing the [[EldritchAbomination Shadow Blot]] upon the place, which would lead the entire world into even more mayhem and ruin, forcing Oswald and any remaining resistance underground. And by the time Mickey [[strike: arrives]] is dragged there by the Shadow Blot itself, Oswald has built robotic copies of Mickey's friends to accompany him ''just to keep himself from going'' '''completely insane'''. And on top of that, he becomes jealous and hateful of Mickey so as to be an active obstacle. '''MAN''', so much for him being a "[[FunnyAneurysmMoment lucky rabbit.]]"
** Seems like the game has it's own [[MetaGuy meta]] Wastelanders of its own. Matthew Stringer and Chris Takami as well as the 8 other interns from Disney Interactive Studios were the initial core creative group that really started the idea of Epic Mickey. But they rarely, if at all, get any credit for [[http://gawker.com/5397558/mickey-mouses-naughty-makeover-promises-to-be-disturbing their work]].

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c1kcRcJYms This video.]] Cartoon mouse or not, if you can break iron shackles with ''sheer willpower,'' and then follow ''that'' up by scaring away the local EldritchAbomination '''with a paintbrush,''' you're probably a {{Badass}}.
** "[[ContinuityPorn The mysterious intruder was gone. I did not learn his identity...Well, not for a very long time.]]"
** Meta example: The concepts behind EpicMickey were created ''[[http://nerdacumen.com/what-they-probably-wont-tell-you-about-epic-mickey-at-e3/2010/06/15/#more-639 by a group of college interns]].'' You know, the people who usually get coffee and run errands for full-time employees? Yeah, they just [[ReBoot rebooted]] one of the most well-known franchises in media history. And, from the looks of things, they did one HELL of a good job.
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Hearing Warren's love and passion for the characters will put a smile on your face every time.
--->'''Warren Spector''': I just feel in this weird sort of way that I'm giving them their hearts back. Their hearts are going to appear in their chests again and they're going to pop back into the real world and people out here are going to love 'em.
** Seeing Mickey and Oswald eventually fix their relationship and work together. The scene when it happens doubles as a CrowningMomentOfFunny as well. They're about to shake hands, but then Oswald pulls his away.
--->'''Oswald''': Wait. Any more confessions?
--->'''Mickey''': No.
--->'''Oswald''': You didn't create the Mad Doctor?
--->'''Mickey''': No!
--->'''Oswald''': Kidnap anybody?
--->'''Mickey''': NO!
--->'''Oswald''': [[RunawayBrain Brain-]][[ShoutOut swapping?]]
--->'''Mickey''': SHAKE!
** [[spoiler:The painted Shadow Blot giving Mickey a nice, big hug after the boss battle.]]
--->'''[[spoiler:Gus]]''' Huh? He's actually kind of... ''sweet''.
** The good ending. [[spoiler:Yen Sid enchants Mickey's side of the mirror so he can see the Wasteland and Oswald again, feeling that one day they can fully see each other as brothers.]]
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: [[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/10/12/sketching-mickey-the-time-lapse-video.aspx This video]] features music from the upcoming game. It's a piece that doesn't know if it wants to be bouncy old school cartoon music, or something far more epic and sinister. Hell, at times it's bouncily sinister... [[NightmareFuel which is kind of worrying.]]
** The trailer music.
** The [[ContinuityPorn faithful-to-the-cartoon]] ''[[ClassicDisneyShorts Steamboat Willie]]'' level music, as heard [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fIW9pfHmpM here.]] It's an EarWorm, too.
** Here's an interview about the soundtrack. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUH7cf7fdgk]]
** [[spoiler: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5zWgV5TqsE The]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwer8SC-gvc&feature=related Currently Released]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNWvqbsNHfc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL Soundtrack Themes]]]]
* EarWorm: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2U3dQBjE8Q The released tune.]]
* FridgeBrilliance:
** Why is the Blot only staying in the Wasteland? It's due to a loophole: The requirement to be in the Wasteland is to be a forgotten character, nobody else knew about the Blot, and Mickey forgot he even ''did'' that, so, Yen Sid couldn't remove the Blot, and he wasn't forgotten himself, meaning ''he can't get in his own creation'', meaning that he can't get rid of the Blot because if the Blot isn't remembered, then he can't be destroyed, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Mickey being brought into the Wasteland was probably a bad idea for this reason]]; it means that the Blot will be destroyed because Mickey remembers his mistake, and is going to fix it.
** [[http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/2/29336-159693-MickeyandOswaldjpg-620x.jpg This image]], which features Mickey meeting Oswald, was drawn by Walt Disney decades before this game was released.
** A lot of people are asking why the SongOfTheSouth animals aren't going to be in the game. Then you remember Splash Mountain and the film's infamy and constant demand for a home release and you see why.
* FridgeHorror: Remember the dip from WhoFramedRogerRabbit? Remember that shoe melting in a big vat of it? This time you, the hero, will be wielding the dip...
** That's right, folks...honest-to-God VideoGameCrueltyPotential ''in a Disney game.''
** Also for artists, just imagine if you're WaltDisney playing this video game. All of the pre-development ideas or early concepts/ characters you've ever happened to forget are all alive in this world, each harboring a deep resentment against you for rejecting them.
** Oswald becomes even more sympathetic when you realize that Walt didn't ''have'' to abandon him--if he had just sucked it up and took the budget cut, Oswald might have been just fine (and certainly wouldn't have fallen into the DorkAge WalterLantz put him through in the 30's). Uncle Walt, we love you, man, but.....[[WhatTheHellHero what the Hell?!]]
* FridgeLogic: All Oswald wants is to be loved by audiences around the world, right? Well...[[EnsembleDarkhorse he]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming already is]].
** Yeah, but he doesn't ''know'' that.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Some of the early concept art.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2U3dQBjE8Q This released soundtrack]] which sounds like a twisted and [[MindScrew mind screwing]] version of the soundtracks Walt used in his older movies.
** Just look at [[http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/DuelistGoku/4630880_402x410.jpg THIS]] and tell me that's not nightmare inducing!!!
*** Oh god, that thing has the face of Tigger in its arm... TIGGER!
** And as if ''that'' wasn't enough for you, just Google FanArt for the game. Rest assured, [[http://attacksloth.deviantart.com/art/Why-Didn-t-Daddy-Love-Me-139521712?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Aattacksloth&qo=1 your]] [[http://www.nunoxei.com/rewindawesome/wp-content/uploads/Epic_Mickey___Brainless_Mickey_by_GBlastMan-540x776.jpg childhood]] '''[[http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/9451/1097817-1249353002411_super.jpg will]]''' [[http://attacksloth.deviantart.com/art/Why-Didn-t-Daddy-Love-Me-139521712?q=sort%3Atime+gallery%3Aattacksloth&qo=1 end]].
*** Holy crap. [[{{Understatement}} 'Disturbing']] [[http://azurawatson93.deviantart.com/art/Epic-Mickey-INKIFIED-Oswald-170139626 doesn't]] [[http://gregthecatofgordawn.deviantart.com/art/Epic-Mickey-is-now-Inky-132618555 even]] ''[[http://winter-freak.deviantart.com/art/Don-t-Forget-Oswald-139664655 begin]]'' [[http://nekoama.deviantart.com/art/It-s-Oswald-Time-139594923 to]] [[http://xxboogiepopxx.deviantart.com/art/LOST-and-FOUND-140300347 cover]] [[http://sso02v.deviantart.com/art/I-m-So-Cold-139477110 it.]]
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WtL4B-V0J4 The opening sequence.]] If watching ''Mickey Mouse'' essentially being ''dragged to hell'' by an '''EldritchAbomination''' isn't this trope incarnate, I really, really don't want to know what is.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK7k7AZVMYA The second half of the opening sequence.]] Arguably even worse. Mickey, strapped to the Mad Doctor's table, is threatened by a robot with a creepy eye, wielding giant scissors, a ''drill'', and a ''chainsaw'' (all inches from his face). He then nearly has his '''heart ripped out of his body'''. The terror factor is [[{{Understatement}} lessened somewhat]] by the fact that the [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking final tool]] is [[NightmareRetardant a toilet plunger]].[[hottip:*:Although DoctorWho fans may argue that [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E6Dalek being plungered to death is a legitimate concern...]]]]
** In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljtl4F2xWPk a recently-revealed cutscene]], Gus has a flashback to the thinner spill that started the whole plot off in the first place. In the flashback, we see four extras watching, essentially, a tsunami of thinner overtake the area they're in. Three of them run out of the way, but one stands rooted to the spot, watching. When the wave passes...''he's not there.''
** There is also Scrapper Mickey's health icon, which has a 'very' deranged face...
** A recently revealed boss [[http://parksandresorts.wdpromedia.com/media/disneyparks/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/epg056677SMALL.jpg looks particularly disturbing...]]
*** That face.... THAT FACE!!!

* TearJerker: The story "There's a Hole in the Sky" from the collection of comics ''Tales of Wasteland''.
** Also, if you watch "Oh, What a Knight" once you unlock it, you see how much of the short's humor value was derived from Oswald and Ortensia's obsessive love for each other. With that in mind, see what has become of the happy couple in the game....
*** The cutscene where Mickey first sees Oswald's altered version of the "Partners" statue with Walt and Oswald holding hands has made quite a few gamers tear up.

** Especially trying to figure out how to beat him the "nice" way.

--->'''Oswald''': [[RunawayBrain Brain]]-[[ShoutOut swapping?]]

--->'''Oswald''': Brain-swapping?

* TearJerker: Not surprising, because this is DISNEY we're talking about.

* GuideDangIt: Using lock-on targeting in combat (you have to place your cursor over the enemy you wish to target, then hold down the C button for about half a second). [[Tropers/Theenglishman This troper]] found it entirely by accident, it isn't mentioned in the manual, and it's so [[DamnYouMuscleMemory downright counterintuitive]] at first that most reviewers didn't even know the feature existed.

* ThatOneBoss: The fight with the Mad Doctor and his Beatleworks.

* TearJerker: Hinted at. Not surprising, because this is DISNEY we're talking about.

** [[http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/2/29336-159693-MickeyandOswaldjpg-620x.jpg This image]], which features Mickey meeting Oswald, was drawn decades before this game was released.

* FridgeLogic: So...if Mickey met Yensid later, did Yensid ever discover that he was the intruder from that night?
** FridgeBrilliance: The intro says he didn't know the intruder's name, not right away. Odds are he used some magic whenever he tested Mickey for the job (Sorcerer's Apprentice Cartoon), and saw both sides - The side that ran instead of helping that night and the PuritySue we all know and decided to give him the job as a secret test of character, but wasn't evil enough to send Mickey there. Plus he probably figured it'd come back and bite him on the ass sooner or later, and sure enough...
** All Oswald wants is to be loved by audiences around the world, right? Well...[[EnsembleDarkhorse he]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming already is]].
*** Yeah, but he doesn't ''know'' that.

* ThatOneBoss: The fight with the Mad Doctor and his Beatleworks.
* TropeOverdosed: The game isn't even ''out'' yet and the trope page is already a monster. Just imagine what it will look like post-release...

** Oswald becomes even more sympathetic when you realize that Walt didn't ''have'' to abandon him--if he had just sucked it up and took the budget cut, Oswald might have been just fine (and certainly wouldn't have fallen into the DorkAge WalterLantz put him through in the 30's).

* CompleteMonster: The Mad Doctor, as he was in his original cartoon short. [[spoiler: And also the true Shadow Blot, who is pure evil as opposed to the smaller Blot that's been around for most of the game.]]

* {{Retcon}}: Bet you didn't know Mickey had an older brother!
** Not exactly a Retcon, since Oswald ''was'' one of Walt Disney's earlier creations. The initial design for Mickey even looks like Oswald with a few cosmetic changes.

* {{Narm}}: The [[InNameOnly "scream"]] Mickey does when you die by falling. It sounds so casual/forced. He just goes, "Ohhh...!" It honestly makes {{strike:me}} everyone giggle.

* {{Narm}}: The [[InNameOnly "scream"]] Mickey does when you die by falling. It sounds so casual/forced. He just goes, "Ohhh...!" It honestly makes {{strike:me}}everyone giggle.

* {{Narm}}: The [[InNameOnly "scream"]] Mickey does when you die by falling. It sounds so casual/forced. He just goes, "Ohhh...!" It honestly makes me giggle.

* {{Narm}}: The scream Mickey does when you die. It sounds so casual/forced. He just goes, "Ohhh...!"

* CrazyAwesome: ''Disney.'' Yes, the company. Think about how the first meetings for this game must have gone: "Hey, you know Mickey Mouse? The extremely marketable character you last used in an educational show for children? We want to make an ''[[HighOctaneNightmareFuel extremely]]'' [[DarkerAndEdgier dark]] video game about him." "Okay." "On the Wii." "Okay." "We're bringing in the guy who made ''DeusEx'' to direct it." "Okay." "You'll have to buy back the rights to characters no one has cared about in nearly a century." "Okay." "[[http://www.slashgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/EpicMickey10.jpg Here's the concept art.]]" "Okay." "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-MnhFSHTxU Here's the opening sequence.]]" "Okay." Seriously, [[FlatWhat what.]]

* CharacterRerailment: The game aims to bring the character back to the "mischievous mouse" from TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation.

* NauseaFuel: In the latter half of the game, [[spoiler: the Blot's Bloticles are destroyed by ''drenching their blisters with thinner, with an overall effect like pus]].