Mickey

Mickey Mouse is finally in the hands of the public, to do whatever they want with him. Well, in part. After Disney infamously helped delay the moment, today is the day Steamboat Willie, the first Disney animated short to star Mickey and Minnie Mouse, become public domain. But what does that mean? Simultaneously a lot and not much.Let’s Eat a Chocolate Xbox ControllerWhy Is Steamboat Willie Entering Public Domain?Legal copyright doesn’t last forever—and was never meant to. Copyright law is meant to balance a fine line…

Image: LegoNew year, new... Lego? That’s how that saying goes, right? After a few quiet months to round out 2023, Lego is starting 2024 with a bang with tons of new sets. Marvel! Star Wars! Sonic! Jurassic Park! Bouquets and Polaroids! Truly, something for everyone.Seriously, after the last few months delivered a few handfuls of sets here and there, 2024's Lego floodgates are already well and truly opened. Almost every primary Lego line has a bunch of new sets releasing this month, including City, Creator, DREAMZzz,…

The earliest version of Mickey Mouse is now in public domain as of January 1, 2024, and as many guessed, a game developer has announced its own twist on the character in a spooky setting.Nightmare Forge Games has announced Infestation 88, an episodic 1-4 player co-op survival horror game set in 1988. You play as an exterminator called upon to rid dwellings of "twisted versions of classic characters and urban legends." And yes, Mickey Mouse is one of those characters. The game is set to release later this…

Today, Jan. 1, isn’t just New Year’s Day — it’s also Public Domain Day, where thousands of cinematic treasures, literary classics, Great American Songbook selections, and works of art see their copyrights expire and enter the public domain. The headliner this year is the fair use of Mickey Mouse — at least, the Steamboat Willie version of the beloved character — as that copyright expiration has been anticipated for years. However, there’s much more than just Mickey entering the public domain in 2024. Jennifer…

M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me. With several asterisks, qualifications and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024. In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney‘s copyright as his first screen…

It’s been a challenging centenary year for Disney, and the world’s largest and most prominent entertainment company is having to end it with an emotional “so long!” to its oldest friend, Mickey Mouse.To be clear, it’s not the Mickey Mouse, iconic centerpiece of countless elementary school lunch bags, T-shirts and baseball caps, who is leaving the happiest place on earth when his copyright protection expires on 1 January.Rather, it’s Mickey’s original Steamboat Willie persona, a rat-like figure with spindly legs created by…

January 1, 2024 won’t just be the start of a new year. It’ll also see Mickey and Minnie Mouse enter the public domain.Lucy & Danny Devito Tell io9 About Their Love for Looney Tunes and Ren & StimpyCome that date, Disney’s exclusive copyright on the two iconic characters’ Steamboat Willie incarnations from 1928 will have run out, after which anyone can do anything they want with them. So if you’ve got a song, cartoon, movie, whatever, starring one or both of those characters that you’ve been sitting on for some…

By ANDREW DALTON | AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES — M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me. Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, poses for a photo at the Pancoast Hotel, Aug. 13, 1941, in Miami, Fla. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo, File)  With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of…

M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me.With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024.In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney’s copyright as his first screen release, the 1928 short …

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 100 years of creating timeless magic is at the core of Wish, its latest feature now playing in theaters.Rainn Wilson’s First Fandoms: Star Trek And D&Dio9 recently sat down with Wish directors Fawn Veerasunthorn and Chris Buck to talk about the animation company’s effort to pay homage to everyone that came before and will continue Disney’s legacy, in a story that draws on the origins of the very wishes that brought the studio to life. The film, written by Jennifer Lee (Frozen) and…