With his cute round features and high-pitched voice, Disney's iconic character Mickey couldn't possibly be evil... or could he? For the past year, Disney and Nintendo have worked on redesigning the 81-year-old character for an upcoming Nintendo Wii video game.

The new Mickey is now leaner and meaner. While it is a departure from the Mickey we've come to know and love, it's actually a closer depiction to the original incarnation in 1928's "Steamboat Willie", in which he got into fistfights, played tricks on his friends, and amorously pursued Minnie.

The new Mickey still sports his trademark red shorts, yellow shoes, and white gloves. But he now has longer limbers and a bit edgier facial expressions that some have even called "demonic". Demonic might be going a little too far, but it is definitely a look that conveys that this Mickey isn't all sweetness and nice.

With the makeover, company execs are hoping that it will keep Mickey relevant in a generation growing up with Nickelodeon and Pixar. And what better a way to do that than to put him in a video game.

The game "Epic Mickey" will debut in Fall 2010. It's set in a cartoon wasteland inhabited by forgotten and retired characters, and a somewhat twisted version of Disneyland's infamous "It's a Small World." When the sinister Disneyland becomes endangered, Mickey Mouse gets called upon to save the day and that is what players are charged with doing in the game.