Disney's "Disney Epic Mickey"

Disney hasn't been shy about including elements of steampunk in its films in the recent past (2001's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" and 2002's "Treasure Planet" are two animated films that immediately spring to mind), and in the not-too-distant future it looks like they'll be taking those elements a step further, releasing the steampunk-inspired videogame "Disney Epic Mickey" on Wii.

Rumors about the game have surfaced in the past few months after bloggers discovered concept art for the game drawn by illustrators like Fred Gambino. Yet Disney Interactive Studios didn't officially acknowledge the game's existence until Oct. 28, when they offered this press release.

The release bills the game as an "adventure-platforming game with light role-playing elements" for Nintendo's Wii console. Developed by game designer Warren Spector, of Disney's Junction Point developer of console games, the game stars a Mickey Mouse who has been "re-imagined for videogames." According to the press release:

"In the game's fiction, a sorcerer named Yen Sid creates a beautiful, whimsically twisted world where Disney's forgotten and retired creations thrive. Originally, the powerful sorcerer from 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' in Walt Disney's 1940 film 'Fantasia' was nicknamed 'Yen Sid' by Disney animators, although never named as such on screen. In Spector's game, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit -- Walt Disney's first cartoon star, created in 1927 -- becomes the earliest inhabitant of Yen Sid's Cartoon Wasteland after Mickey Mouse is created. Oswald makes the Cartoon Wasteland comfortable for other retired characters as they join him in this magical land.

"Years pass, and as Oswald dwells in the Cartoon Wasteland, he becomes resentful watching Mickey's popularity swell. When Mickey curiously stumbles upon Yen Sid's map, he makes an innocent yet terrible mistake and inadvertently devastates Oswald's comfortable world. Eventually, Mickey's mistake pulls him deep into the mysterious Cartoon Wasteland to face the destruction he unknowingly created."

"Epic Mickey" isn't slated for release until fall 2010, but you can satiate your thirst till then at Disney Interactive Studio's official "Disney Epic Mickey" site, or visit Game Informer magazine's comprehensive "Epic Mickey" site, created in conjunction with their exclusive cover story featuring the game in this month's issue.