“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.” –Walt Disney
In 1928, Walt Disney introduced the world to Mickey Mouse in the groundbreaking film Steamboat Willie. 95 years later, the catalytic, whistling rodent is now public domain.
According to copyright.gov, once a work’s copyright expires, it enters the public domain, which means “anyone can use it without permission from the author.”
“Anyone” includes Steven LaMorte of Slight of Hand Productions. The director recently announced an upcoming horror comedy starring the cartoon boat captain. This announcement follows in the sticky footsteps of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, which also entered the public domain just last year. Like LaMorte, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield put a dark spin on the childhood classic with his film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.
To clarify, Disney still owns the exclusive rights to the more modern versions of Mickey and Pooh, and they have no plans to let those expire. In a statement released last month, Disney said, “We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright, and we will work to safeguard against consumer confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey and our other iconic characters.”
The irony in this whole situation is that Steamboat Willie’s name is based on a piece of copyrighted work. As revealed by University of Iowa Communication professor and intellectual property Scholar Kembrew McLeod in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), an affiliate of NPR, Mickey’s moniker is inspired by the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill, Jr.
In 2024, unanchored by copyright, Steamboat Willie will continue to sail on to uncharted territory, and seas might get a little um…choppy if LaMorte gets his way.