I can't remember the source (maybe just a pet theory) but I believe Disney stopped using Mickey because there was so much contention over "Mickey would never do

I can't remember the source (maybe just a pet theory) but I believe Disney stopped using Mickey because there was so much contention over "Mickey would never do that" among fans so he just became a mascot instead of having him be a character in a story...probably in the 80s-90s. Near the 2000s the recognizably of Mickey started dropping with young kids so they've put him in more stuff. He started "hosting" things like Mickey's Clubhouse, put him in games like Epic Mickey and Kingdom Hearts, they had a retro redesign about 10 years ago and have used him in a bunch of new stuff including a few theme park rides.