Mickey Mouse by Annamaria Ward
Cute features in the visual creation process of characters are widely used among designers to evoke particular emotions and create connections with the audiences (Chen & Zhunag, 2023). In the example of Mickey Mouse, his features rely on cuteness or the so-called “baby schema” developed by the Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz in the 1940s. This concept refers to a set of infantile physical features, for example a large head, round face and big eyes. These features are perceived to be cute and evoke feelings of warmth and caretaking (Glocker et al., 2009).
The early design of Mickey Mouse looked more like a rat than a cute mouse. In the course of Mickey’s evolution, however, Disney designers assigned to him more juvenile characteristics in his appearance. They increased the size of his head and eyes adding a pupil, and thickened the arms and legs. The shapes of Mickey’s body have also changed, specifically his ears becoming more round (Genosko, 2005). His ears were also moved backwards creating a distance between the nose and ears and thus more rounded features of his face as well as a sloping forehead (Gould, 2008). All of these changes can be linked to the “baby schema” and contribute to the creation of warm feelings towards Mickey (Hosany et al., 2013). Furthermore, this change coincided with a transformation in Mickey’s personality from a mischievous mouse more towards a model American citizen who would not do naughty things such as scaring Minnie while flying a plane. Cuteness in animated characters is used to enhance their charms, appeal and make them more effectively marketed to audiences (Genosko, 2005).