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As we glide into a New Year, chances are that you’ve perhaps copped some earplay about a certain world-famous mouse named Mickey and his entrance into the choppy waters of the public domain. To be clear, only the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse via his cartoon introduction in Steamboat Willie is available for enterprising filmmakers and creative sorts to play their own riffs off of. So why is only the ‘28 rendition of ol’ Mickey available for projects independent of Disney and not, for example, the 1940 version presented in the motion picture Fantasia? You got questions, we got answers (to an extent; hey, we’re amateur copyright lawyers at best)!
The U.S. copyright as it exists now only allows a copyright to be maintained for 95 years before it then becomes fair game for someone’s Uncle Jerry or kooky Aunt Edna to do with the lapsed property as they see fit. However, there are some pretty major sticking points that must be observed. The first and foremost is that the Mickey Mouse used by John Q. Public in their own creative work must be the one as seen in 1928’s Steamboat Willie. Wanna use a rendition of Mickey from 1932? Too bad. You’ll have to wait until 2028 to achieve that particular goal, Dear and Constant Reader.
In a press release addressing the copyright lapse on the earliest iteration of their iconic mascot, a nameless Disney lawyer (of which we’re sure there are hundreds of standing by on retainer from the House That Uncle Walt Built) said that “More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise.”
So if your jam of creativity is totally of a Roaring 20’s aesthetic, you’re Jake and the Fatman in regards to this bit of breaking news – Go forth and create something totally brilliant and fun and – maybe, who knows? – at least slightly respectful of the original source material and we’ll all be square.
And speaking of which, our good pals over at Bloody Disgusting have reported today on a slew of upcoming productions meant to take advantage of the lapsed copyright on 1928 Mickey Mouse.
A new video game is apparently forthcoming which is entitled Infestation 88 and that will introduce a horrific version of Mickey ‘28. Not enough for you? No less than two horror movie versions of our beloved mouse are en route to theaters: Mickey’s Mouse Trap and an untitled endeavor from director Steven LaMorte of The Mean One fame. This last one is set to relate the story of “a sadistic mouse” with an eye towards giving some major grief to a clueless group of ferry passengers.
For the cynics out there reading all of this who may worry about what some creative ne’er-do-wells might inflict upon our mutual childhood hero, cautious optimism might be the order of the day. After all, it feels as if Disney as a whole has long ago given up using Mickey Mouse for anything other than a cheap shill to sell sweatshirts and tickets to Epcot Center. When is the last time our favorite mouse has graced the silver screen in an honest-to-Pete animated short or feature? The lapse in the copyright for at least Steamboat Willie might actually breathe an entirely new life into Walt Disney’s evergreen character.
“It all comes from our love of these characters,” LaMorte explained to Variety. “Filmmakers — we’re all kids in the sandbox. We love taking them and playing with them in different ways. It’s not a desire to ruin these characters or make a quick buck, but to love them and honor them and show them in a new light.”
