“Steamboat Willie” is now in the public domain. What does this mean for Mickey Mouse?
As you may have heard, today, Jan. 1, 2024, the Disney animated short “Steamboat Willie” has become part of the public domain. So what does this mean for Mickey Mouse? It certainly doesn’t mean Mickey Mouse is public domain. Only the very specific version of Mickey that we see in “Steamboat Willie” – that is, Mickey with solid black eyes, no gloves, and a lot of other older and missing features that are part of the character today.
“Steamboat Willie,” whose title is a parody of Buster Keaton’s “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” was released on Nov. 18, 1928. Although Mickey, with an even older look, was first seen by a test audience in “Plane Crazy,” his first public appearance was “Steamboat Willie.” That is why The Walt Disney Company considers Nov. 18, 1928, to be Mickey Mouse’s birthday. “Plane Crazy” was “released” the same year and enters the public domain in 2024 as well.
Mickey’s birthday is a big deal for the Disney company, so you can bet they’ll continue to protect the character as much as they possibly can. Although “Steamboat Willie” being in the public domain does allow for other artists to use and interpret the character as they see fit, it doesn’t give them full license to do whatever they’d like. It must be very clear that the new work is in no way related to or created by The Walt Disney Company. This important fact could come down to a matter of opinion in a courtroom should Disney decide to challenge the use of the character.
“Fans have been providing interpretations of Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie as transformative works under fair use of copyright for years,” states Intellectual Property Lawyer Heidi Howard Tandy with Berger Singerman in Miami. “This new public domain status will allow fans, and yes, Disney critics as well, a chance to distribute their inspired creations on a broader, and possibly more lucrative scale.”
Although The Walt Disney Company might have some concerns about this public domain use, they’re certainly not unfamiliar with the law. The Walt Disney Company has used many works in the public domain and reinterpreted them for their own use. The original story of “Snow White” was public domain when Walt Disney decided to create his version as the first animated feature film. The same goes for “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Tarzan,” and many others.
The Walt Disney Company has had much success using public domain properties for their own good. Now other artists can gain the same advantages using a work previously created by Walt Disney and the original Disney artists.
This certainly isn’t the first time iconic characters have become part of the public domain. In 2022, A.A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” became public domain. A good example of using these public domain characters with no confusion of it being associated with the original source is the 2023 horror movie “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.” The reinterpretation of these characters is drastically different, yet the creators were able to use the name “Winnie the Pooh” with no legal conflicts.
It should also be noted that just because the original “Winnie the Pooh” stories became public domain, that doesn’t mean Disney’s versions of the stories have hit that milestone yet.
With many media companies now reaching their 90-100 year milestones, we’ll begin to see even more major works becoming public domain as each year passes. For Disney, Pluto becomes public domain in 2025 and Donald Duck in 2029. Like Mickey Mouse, these will be the earliest versions of the beloved characters entering public domain.
Beyond Disney, Superman becomes public domain in 2033, James Bond and Batman in 2034, and the MGM classic film “The Wizard of Oz” will hit public domain in 2035. Those are all still a way off, but they’ll be here before we know it.
Overall, get ready for an onslaught of “Steamboat Willie” reinterpretations, unlicensed merchandise, and more as this new year begins. BroadWest Entertainment has already announced a Live-to-Film concert of “Steamboat Willie” at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood this March.
The first version of Mickey Mouse has now joined Walt’s original creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who joined the public domain just one year ago.
Jeff DePaoli is a producer and voiceover artist living in Los Angeles. He can be heard as the voice of Disney Trivia on Alexa as well as the host of “Dizney Coast to Coast,” podcast. Get your FREE gifts of “America’s Hidden Mickeys,” “On the Rohde Again,” “Theme Park Comfort Kit” and more at DizneyCoastToCoast.com.
