An iconic Disney copyright expired after 95 years, and the Internet is already going to town.
“Steamboat Willie,” the first animated Mickey Mouse short, entered the public domain Monday, Semafor reported. Since then, a horror movie trailer, video game teaser and various memes featuring the character have surfaced online.
Welcome to the public domain, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)! https://t.co/ELwRxlukIr pic.twitter.com/Kbv740jTD2
— Internet Archive (@internetarchive) January 1, 2024
The horror film, called “Mickey’s Mouse Trap,” features a murderer dressed as “Steamboat Willie” Mickey Mouse tormenting a 21-year-old working at an amusement arcade on her birthday in a survival game scenario, according to the Hollywood Reporter. This comes after “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” was released in 2023 following the character’s copyright expiration. (RELATED: ‘Akin To Bribes’: Disney Gave Sweetheart Benefits To Hand-Picked Board Members Of Special District, Audit Finds)
“We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it’s “Steamboat Willie’s” Mickey Mouse murdering people. It’s ridiculous,” director Jamie Bailey said in a statement, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows.”
The next 5 years of Steamboat Willie content pic.twitter.com/SoBanKpslO
— ToonHoleChris (@toonholechris) January 1, 2024
The trailer for “INFESTATION 88,” a co-op horror video game featuring the original Mickey Mouse hunting players, was released the same day the copyright expired, the outlet reported. “Steamboat Willie” Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) also became the most popular NFT at the OpenSea marketplace quickly after the character entered the public domain, Coin Telegraph reported.
First trailer for ‘INFESTATION 88’, a new co-op horror game where players are hunted by the original Mickey Mouse. pic.twitter.com/jzkZiWiMoo
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 1, 2024
The “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse from 1928 is legally different than the resigned, modern-day version of the character, according to Gizmodo. Disney reportedly delayed “Steamboat Willie’s” copyright expiration by lobbying Congress to pass the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. Also referred to as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act,” the bill added a 20-year extension to previous rules making copyrighted works expire 50 years after an author’s death or after 75 years for corporate-owned works like Mickey Mouse.
Disney quietly acknowledged its financial hardship and the American public’s dissatisfaction caused by the company’s left-wing agenda in November. The entertainment giant’s annual 10-K financial statement made publicly available revealed that Disney’s social activism was listed as a “risk factor” for future performance.