The Mouse is Out

Background: Once upon a time, in the year of the roaring twenties, a mischievous inkblot named Mickey Mouse set sail down the river on a magical adventure called Steamboat Willie. And this river had a secret current. It raced not just through celluloid frames, but through the very fabric of time, carrying whispers of a hidden land called the Public Domain. In this fantastical realm, stories flowed free from the clutches of copyright's chains. It was a place where anyone could pick a tale, dust it off, and spin it anew. For decades, Mickey avoided this land. His adventures were guarded by the mighty Disney Studios. But as the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2024, a magical transformation took place. Mickey's steamboat lurched, its whistle sputtering, and with a puff of black smoke, it burst through a shimmering portal into the Public Domain!

As of 2024, Mickey's classic appearance from the short film "Steamboat Willie" is now available for public use, without requiring permission from Disney.

Deja Vu: This isn't the first time an iconic character has hopped into the public domain. Think Sherlock Holmes, who entered the public domain in the U.S. in the 1980s. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant detective, once a tightly guarded property of the Doyle estate, now stars in countless adaptations. Like Holmes, Mickey's entrance into the public domain opens the floodgates for endless reinterpretations and uses, from the reverent to the ridiculous.

Fact: Peter Pan’s copyright is held by a children’s hospital. The Peter Pan works by J.M. Barrie were given to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929. In 1987, when that copyright would have expired, the hospital was granted a special copyright exception by U.K. law.

Trivia Question: What were Mickey’s first spoken words? Hint: you might hear the same thing yelled in the stands of a baseball game.

Quote: "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." – attributed to Henry David Thoreau.

Some saw a whistling mouse. Some saw the face of a multi billion dollar industry.

Definition: "Derivative Work" – a work based upon one or more preexisting works.

Spotlight Profile: Let's not forget Ub Iwerks, co-creator of Mickey Mouse. Iwerks was the chief animator for Mickey's debut in "Steamboat Willie" (1928). His ability to churn out hundreds of drawings a day made Mickey's early animation both possible.

List: Derivatives

1. West Side Story - A modern adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," set in New York City. It transforms the original play into a musical focusing on rival gangs.

2. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith - A mashup of Jane Austen's classic novel "Pride and Prejudice" with elements of modern zombie fiction.

3. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire - A novel that reimagines the world of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," telling the story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.

4. L.H.O.O.Q. - A famous work by Marcel Duchamp, created in 1919. It's a seminal example of what Duchamp called a "readymade" artwork, where an existing object is modified or re-contextualized to create new art. Duchamp took a cheap postcard print of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and drew a mustache and goatee on it.

Recommended Reading: Mickey Mouse: Emblem of the American Spirit by Garry Apgar. How Mickey Mouse took on a life of his own, and became an instantly recognizable figure virtually everywhere on earth.

Trivia Answer: Hot dogs!

Mickey doesn’t speak in Steamboat Willie. Instead, his first words came from the 1929 short, The Karnival Kid, where he sets up as a hot dog vendor.

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Canva: Celebrate Mickey's public domain debut by unleashing your own creative magic! Canva's intuitive design platform empowers you to create stunning Mickey-themed artwork. From nostalgic tributes to modern interpretations, let your imagination take flight and share your unique vision of the beloved mouse with the world.