Epic Mickey Headcanons (Spoilers Ahead!)

Toon Anatomy and Creation

Here we are with Epic Mickey headcanons. Let's get started!

How is a toon born?
Toons are born when the magic paint from Walt Disney's brush is applied to a drawing of the character on paper. The brush's magic takes the drawing from the paper and carries it into the real world, where it is then brought to life. The toon's characteristics can change based on the creator's imagination. Want your character to be silent but have a big stretchy neck? You can do that. Want them to be able to speak and have the ability to flatten their bodies at will? You can do that too! It all depends on how the person drawing them envisions their character.
In terms of how time affects a toon, technically speaking, toons don't age the same way humans do. Humans may grow old and eventually weaken and die with time; toons don't do that. Due to the paint that makes up their bodies, toons can be as young or as old as you want them to be and they will never ever grow any older. Toons are essentially ageless, but they do have birthdays—just not the way humans have them. For example, Mickey's first cartoon was released in 1928; that's the year he was "born". He may not grow older, but he has been around for many years. The release year of the cartoon or film or whatever media the character first appeared in marks the year they were "born", even if they had been brought to life much earlier.

What can hurt or kill a toon?
Like I said, toons are basically immortal. They can have anvils dropped on their heads, they can get cut or burned, they can be beaten into the pavement; they can take a LOT of punishment. But can that actually full-on KILL them? Simple answer, no.
Toons do have their weaknesses, however. They still need air to breathe, if they're organic, and robot toons need to recharge and keep in good condition. Toons still need to eat and sleep, and they are not immune to sickness. If you stuck a toon into a room and filled it with water, unless that toon is aquatic, chances are it's not gonna look too good. But above all else, toons are not immune to one single substance.
Thinner.
Paint thinner, or just "Thinner", is basically a toon equivalent of deadly acid. Spill some Thinner onto a toon, and it will gradually eat away at their paint and ink, which is not only just a cruel thing to do, but it's also excruciatingly painful. Think of it this way: a toon's outline, which came from the drawing they originated from, is their skeleton. The paint is like their skin. Pour Thinner onto the paint and nothing but the outline will remain. A toon cannot survive without their paint, or they will fade away.
Now, you may think I'm forgetting one thing: Hearts. A toon Heart is the most important part of a toon's being. It holds all of the love and admiration from the audiences who watch that character on the screen. Without a Heart, no one will remember the character, and they will vanish into the Wasteland. Not only do the humans forget them, but all of the other toons—even if they remember the movie or project they were in, the memory of the specific toon is completely erased from their minds.
A Heart is the key to escaping the Wasteland, but toons cannot still survive outside of it without a Heart... can they...?

What is in the toon's ink?
The toon's body is a combination of two main substances: paint, which gives the toon its colors, and the ink, which is used to give it form. The drawing is what holds it all together. Apply paint and ink to a blank sheet of paper and all you'll get is a shapeless blob. The paint needs a form to latch onto or it can't become a toon.
The paint comes from one source and one source alone: Walt's paintbrush. He found it all by its lonesome and decided to give it some use, and with help from Ub Iwerks, he created the very first of his toon sons: Julius. With him, he created the Alice Comedies, which the toon cat believed was his ticket to stardom...

That's all for now, but stay tuned, because I have a lot more to tell.
Peace out!