Disney: Hand-Drawn Cartoons Coming to TV This Summer

Check out the new old-style animated Disney short "Croissant de Triomphe"

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Disney Channel

Mickey Mouse in "Croissant de Triomphe"

Old-school Disney fans were saddened last week when, at a shareholder’s meeting for the company, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the hand-drawn 2-D animation for which the studio has long been known — the style that made Walt Disney a household name — was no longer part of the company’s movie plans. Disney’s future cartoons will, as far as we know, be entirely computer-generated.

(MORE: Walt Disney on the Cover of TIME in 1937)

But those missing the good old days may take solace in the other half of Iger’s remarks, in which he said: “There is a fair amount of activity going on in hand-drawn animation right now, but it’s largely for television.”

The studio will announce this evening, March 12, at its New York City “upfronts” presentation of the 2013–14 programming schedule, that 19 hand-drawn Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts will debut on television and online. The cartoons, which start airing on June 28, will evoke the classic Mickey look, as the company explains in a statement:

With the slapstick feel of classic Mickey Mouse, the series of cartoon shorts presents Mickey in a broad range of humorous situations that showcase his pluck and rascality, along with his long-beloved charm and good heartedness. Each cartoon short finds Mickey in a different contemporary setting including Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice and the Alps, facing a silly situation, a quick complication and an escalation of physical and visual gags. The stories also feature genuine heartfelt and heroic moments as Mickey explores and experiences life with his comical partners: Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto.

Though cartoon fans have to wait a few months to see the whole slate, here’s a preview of “Croissant de Triomphe,” the first one in the bunch:

“Croissant de Triomphe” on Disney Video