The First 5 Minutes of Epic Mickey 2

Junction Point and Disney have posted the first five minutes of Epic Mickey 2 online, and it plays out more like a classic cartoon short than part of a video game.

Epic Mickey 2 finds Mickey teaming up with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to save Wasteland — the world for forgotten cartoon characters — again. This sequel to the original is a more inclusive game, no longer a Wii exclusive but also being released for PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect. In it, two players are encouraged to join up for co-op fun, now that Oswald is a playable character as well. The villain from the first game returns, promising to have reformed and offering his assistance in dealing with a new threat. Is he sincere? I suppose we’ll find out.

We’d heard before that Epic Mickey 2 was being built akin to an animated musical, complete with its own original songs, which the characters will burst into at key moments of the narrative. This five minute opening sequence gives us our first look (er, listen) at one of these songs, “Help Me, Help You.” It’s a madcap ditty (that’s now stuck fully in my head), and it seems to work okay in this cutscene cinematic scenario. But I’m still not convinced that it will work in the middle of a video game.

Take a look and let us know what you think. Are you excited to play Epic Mickey 2?