Does the skinny makeover of Disney characters go too far?

Minnie Mouse has gotten a makeover, and it's not just a new hair bow or some snappy shoes.


Barneys New York, the U.S. department store, has teamed up with Disney to give some of the iconic Disney characters high-fashion makeovers - and that includes making the usually short and stumpy Minnie Mouse into a skinny supermodel.

The campaign, called "Electric Holiday," sees Minnie sporting a red and pink ruffled dress, and Goofy looking like a French hipster in skinny pants and a Sgt. Pepper-style jacket.

"When we got to the moment when all Disney characters walk on the runway, there was a discussion," Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman told Women's Wear Daily. "The standard Minnie Mouse will not look so good in a Lanvin dress. There was a real moment of silence, because these characters don't change. I said, 'If we're going to make this work, we have to have a five-foot-11 Minnie,' and they agreed. When you see Goofy, Minnie and Mickey, they are runway models."

But the makeover has prompted some concern, as parents worry that the makeover is sending the wrong message to children. One writer for the Christian Science Monitor called it "an unhealthy Barneys look", while Ming Na, the voice of Disney movie character Mulan, tweeted, "Apparently #Disney characters are on a very strict diet 4 this Xmas! Yeek!"

According to Women's Wear Daily, when the campaign launches in November, there will be a "moving art" short film and a 3-D light show. The film is supposed to be about a fantasy Minnie has about going to fashion week shows in Paris, and includes her encounters with Mickey, Goofy, Daisy Duck, Cruella de Vil and other well-known Disney characters.