Mickey Mouse has entered the public domain – or at least his original version. The cartoon mouse first appeared in steamer Willie in 1928, meaning it entered the public domain in 2024. And as has become a tradition for beloved characters entering their copyright-free era, there are already dozens of weird knockoffs and parodies of Disney's most famous mascot.
Just two days into the new year, there are already quite a few video games and movies taking advantage of Mickey Mouse's likeness. Of course, the vast majority of these have a horror theme, as making the Disney mascot a killer has a pretty clear anti-Disney appeal. And turning classic children's characters into monsters when they enter the public domain is is starting to become a tradition. An example is Mickey's mousetrapa film that seems to have been made in anticipation of the character's copyright expiring, in which the mouse is a slasher villain.
On the video game side of projects prepared for January 1, there is Infection 88, a co-op survival horror game that pits players against a distorted version of steamer Willie's Mickey Mouse.
There are also projects that have been announced but don't have trailers yet, such as Steven LaMorte's untitled horror film that has a murderous Mickey on the unsuspecting passengers of a steamboat.
But despite the laundry list of imitations and reinterpretations that have already surfaced (and will surely appear in the next few months), by far the best use of steamer Willie Entering the public domain, you can now watch it on YouTube.