Cartoon Central

Byrne’s comparison to Mickey Mouse is flawed, I think. He grants that the design has changed over the years, in oder to continue to appeal to a contemporary audience, but asserts that whatever crop of artists are avaiable at any time are religiously “on model”. What he fails to take into account is the animation medium itself(to say that animators are on model from frame to frame is akin to saying Ben Affleck looks like Ben Affleck from frame to frame) as well as the onslaught of merchandise which employs so much variety, much of it never seen in film or comics. The fact is, the look of Mickey Mouse is malleable, and open to interpretation, and the company encourages and exploits it.