A 1928 version of Mickey Mouse appears in the trailer of an upcoming slasher film after becoming public domain on Jan. 1, 2024.

A 1928 version of Mickey Mouse appears in the trailer of an upcoming slasher film after becoming public domain on Jan. 1, 2024.

The characters of Steamboat Willie and Winnie-the-Pooh have been swiftly scooped up by horror filmmakers, looking to find a darker edge to the kid-friendly nostalgic icons.

Disney’s Steamboat Willie already has a second horror movie parody in two days of 2024. Another horror movie featuring the public domain version of Mickey Mouse was announced today.

In essence, Mickey Mouse does indeed enter public domain Monday, but only the specific depiction character from the "Steamboat Willie" cartoon.

The "Steamboat Willie" version of Mickey entering the public domain has resulted in some interesting projects.

A 1928 movie featuring the first appearance of Mickey Mouse enters public domain on Jan. 1. But creative and commercial access to the character is complicated by both copyright and trademark law.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The New Year brought the excellent news that Steamboat Willie-era Mickey Mouse has finally entered the public domain, after decades of Disney, er ...

A 1928 movie featuring the first appearance of Mickey Mouse enters public domain on Jan. 1. But creative and commercial access to the character is complicated by both copyright and trademark law.

Mickey Mouse has come to define the entire Disney brand and made his first appearance in the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie, which has now entered the public domain 95 years after its release.

"Steamboat Willie's" entry into the public domain means we're getting Mickey Mouse's Trap, the boring Mickey horror movie we all expected.