Though it's definitely NOT where the turn of phrase "skinny minnie" has come from, New York department store Barney's has created a short film for their holiday season, starring our favourite Disney characters as supermodels walking the runway.

And in order to dress them in designer duds, they thought they had to make them super skinny.

Like, really? Here's what they said:

“What is really important in the film is getting all of the details of how that world works. That was the real challenge and involved a whole education process. The animator and I sat next to each other and went over every detail of the clothes — how they’re made, what material, how they would move — to get them as accurate as we possibly could. When we got to the moment when all Disney characters walk on the runway, there was a discussion. 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 5-foot-11 Minnie,’ and they agreed. When you see Goofy, Minnie and Mickey, they are runway models.”

Personally, I think that's bullshit. If they didn't think Minnie Mouse was good enough to star in this film looking like as Minnie Mouse, then create a new character. Don't go and  make Disney characters completely unrecognisable just because you think that's "fashion". Minnie, Daisy and Goofy were never waifs, they haven't gone on a drastic diet to change their appearance and I wouldn't want them to. They're lovable just the way they are and I think they could rock a Lanvin dress much better than these ridiculously tiny new characters could.

Top, "Minnie Mouse", above, their version of Daisy Duck. Below, Goofy.