Last week we brought you the news that, judging by the online reaction, the new Green M&M redesign was the worst thing that had ever happened, ever. Well, it looks like we now have a runner up – with people up in arms about a new outfit for none other than Disney's Minnie Mouse. What is it with Fridays and outrage over redesigned female animated characters?
Disneyland Paris has unveiled a new outfit for the character, replacing her iconic red and white polka-dot dress. Instead, Minnie now wears a pantsuit designed by Stella McCartney – but it seems even fashion royalty isn't safe from the ire of the internet. We're just wondering which updated character design is going to upset everyone next.
Minnie's original outfit (left) vs the offending pantsuit (right) (Image credit: Disney/The Cut/Future owns)
McCartney's new "sustainable" costume for Minnie was designed for Women’s History Month in March, and also in celebration of the Disneyland Paris's 30th anniversary (which we love the logo for, by the way). The real-life version of the costume is made from "responsibly sourced fabrics," and is a take on the designer's iconic blue tuxedo.
“I am delighted to be working with the one, the only, the iconic Minnie Mouse,” McCartney told D23, the official Disney fan club. “Minnie has always had a special place in my heart. We share the same values. What I love about Minnie is the fact that she embodies happiness, self-expression, authenticity, and that she inspires people of all ages around the world. Plus, she has such great style!”
Stella McCartney has designed Minnie Mouse's very first pantsuit, and it's gorgeous 😍 #DisneylandParis30 pic.twitter.com/jKSckBji36January 25, 2022
But while the new outfit will only be worn on-site by the character during March, it's still managed to rile up some corners of the internet. "More woke BS. We're talking about a character that is almost 100 years old," one user tweets, while another adds, "People have an attachment to Minnie Mouse's usual outfit. Her whole style is cutesy, and overtly feminine, to distinguish her from the way Mickey Mouse is drawn. She went from a fun red dress to an ugly (sorry, it is) pantsuit."
Thankfully for Minnie and McCartney, the change has plenty more supporters than Green M&M-gate. Far from being decried as "slut erasure" (mainly because Minnie Mouse was never supposed to look, er, like that), the pantsuit has its fair share of fans, who are loving the 'I've just cleared my inbox' look:
i literally love minnie mouse wearing pantsthis is actually pretty cool pic.twitter.com/UgWqh4cCOmJanuary 27, 2022
So there we have it, our Fiercely Debated Re-Clothed Animated Non-Human Character of the Week is Minnie Mouse. Join us next week when we'll let you know whose choice of wardrobe has the internet enraged once again. Will it be Jessica Rabbit? (Oh wait, that's already happened.) Will it be Lola Bunny? (Oh wait, that's already happened.) If you fancy redesigning a cartoon character of your choice in the meantime, check out today's best Adobe Creative Cloud deals below.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
