Easily the most engrossing aspect of Disney Epic Mickey, and its remakeDisney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, is its setting. The Cartoon Wasteland is a haunting, somber place that’s a graveyard for all the forgotten echoes of Disney’s rich history; albeit one with just enough twinkles of that familiar magic to give you an idea of how things used to be, before the Thinner Disaster.
But how did Wasteland (for it is one, in both name and style) come to be? Exactly who created it? And how was it so irreparably destroyed? It’s time forusto paint a picture with the Magic Brush now, as we catch you up on the backstory of the most depressing theme park Disney ever conceived.
Just a heads-up: there will bespoilers galore in this article, for several major story beats in Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. The plot is kind of the game’s whole attraction, so exercise caution, Mouseketeers!
How Was Wasteland Created?
Wasteland’s history begins inthe workshop of the wizard Yen Sid, who animation fans may recognise as thetitular sorcerer from the Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment of Fantasia. He’s also a prominent recurring character inthe Kingdom Hearts games.
Using his Magic Brush, which can spray both life-granting Paint and destructive Thinner,he models a world for “things that have been forgotten,“which in practical terms only seems to include intellectual property under the Disney banner. Funny, that.
According to the game’s lore,all cartoon characters have a beating Heart that grows bigger with the more audience love and affection they receive.
Once forgotten, the character loses that Heart, and they are transported to Wasteland – where they aretrapped until such a time as they’re remembered by the masses(or they steal someone else’s Heart, as the Mad Doctor attempts to do.)
The sorcerer’s limitless power breathes energy and vibrancy into the world,and it soon gains its first resident, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Oswald wasone of Walt Disney’s first animated creations, but he was wrestled away from the studio when Universal Pictures (who had partly financed the Oswald shorts) invoked a contractual clause.Mickey Mouse was created to replace Oswald, and the poor rabbit faded into obscurity.
Bitter about being rejected, yet still optimistic and hoping to make the best of things,he installs himself as Wasteland’s leader.
Via a telescope that gives him occasional glimpses of the real world, Oswald sets about renovating Yen Sid’s creation intoa close-enough imitation of Disneyland; and it isn’t long before more forgotten faces, like Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, begin turning up too.
How Was Wasteland Destroyed?
All seems to be going decently for Wasteland, then… so trust Mickey Mouse, of all people, to screw it up. One morning,a pre-fame Mickeyis awoken by the unmistakable sound of his mirror undulating.
It seems that, as happens in various Mickey shorts (most famously Thru The Mirror), it has the ability towarp Mickey to different locations. On this particular day,it opens a doorway to Yen Sid’s workshop.
“I do not know if the mirror was being mischievous… or malicious. Perhaps it knew that the curious intruder had a role to play in my project.” - Yen Sid
Unable to keep his gloved mitts to himself,Mickey enters the workshop and observes Yen Sid putting the finishing touches on Wasteland.
Once the old wizard’s gone to bed, Mr. Mouse taps into his inner mischievous nature andtakes hold of the Magic Brush, mucking around and trying tocreate an inky replica of himself. Soon, with all the magical fluid flying around,things get out of control.
The ink merges into ahulking monstrosity known as the Blot. Panicking, Mickey hurls Thinner onto the creature - which wounds it, but doesn’t kill it - and then flees the scene of the crime. Hearing the noises,Yen Sid rushes to see what’s happened, but he’s too late.
What Were The Thinner Disaster And The Blot Wars?
The Blot enters Wasteland, dragging with it an entire bottle of Thinner – which unleashesa tidal wave of deadly goop across the land, wiping out many characters and permanently ravaging the environment.
Among the toons who survived,this cataclysm came to be known as the Thinner Disaster, and it would change the fate of Wasteland forever.
The period following the Thinner Disaster, during which the Blot reigned over Wasteland,is referred to as the ‘Blot Wars.‘Oswald’s closest ally and mechanic, The Mad Doctor,defected to the Blot’s side once he realised it couldhelp him achieve his goals of escaping Wasteland.
The Blot Wars came to a head atop Mickeyjunk Mountain, whereOswald and his wife Ortensia were able to seal the Blotin the bottle it arrived in.
Unfortunately,Ortensia was petrified into rock during the process. Unable to cope with the trauma,Oswald moved out of their old home in Dark Beauty Castle, allowing it to fall to rack and ruin.
Wasteland’s Geography
Several years later,the Blot’s mooks and the Mad Doctor capture Mickey and drag him, screaming and squeaking, into Wasteland, where he’s going to be forced to atone for his mistakes.
Even in its destroyed state,Wasteland is a vast, diverse realm that merges off-key renditions of Disneyland areas with entirely original ones. Oswald copied the parks as best he could, but wasn’t able to get everythingquiteright, which lends the world an unsettling quality.
The main burg isMean Street, dotted with shops, a cinema, an ice cream parlor, and Horace’s detective agency. When Mickey arrives, most of these have shuttered, but depending on how you play the game, business can slowly pick up again.
Next isOsTown, a downbeat little hamletwhere dwells Clarabelle Cow, Moody the pirate, Gremlin Prescott, and a ramshackle replica of Mickey’s house, built by Oswald in the (futile) hopes the mouse would wind up forgotten.
There’sVentureland, with its thick vegetation and rampant piracy problems;Bog Easy, a dark marsh that separates the rest of Wasteland from the ghostlyLonesome Manor; theWorld of Gremlins, complete with a horrifying Small World knockoff; andTomorrow City, boasting neon-lit skyscrapers and rocket rides.
The two centrepieces of Wasteland, however, areDark Beauty Castle and Mickeyjunk Mountain. The former was once an opulent sight, and the home of Oswald and Ortensia, before the Thinner fumes warped it beyond recognition.
The latter, meanwhile, isa toxic heap of decaying Mickey merch that’s tumbled down into Wasteland, which Oswald moved his sanctuary to following the Blot Wars.
It serves as apervasive reminder of all that he’s lost, all the fame and recognition that should have been his, and it’s here that Mickey finds him by the time of the game, stewing in envy.
Wasteland’s ultimate fate beyond this point is down to the player.The choices you make over the course of the adventure determine how much Oswald will warm up to you, how many citizens are present for the victory parade, and even whether some characters survive at all.
