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Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company. Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves. Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Disney. Mickey is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters.
Ubbe Ert Iwerks, known as Ub Iwerks, was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician, known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in general, and for having worked on the development of the design of the character of Mickey Mouse, among others. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious relationship with his father, who abandoned him as a child. Iwerks met fellow artist Walt Disney while working at a Kansas City art studio in 1919.
Plane Crazy is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first appearance of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, and an executive from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer saw the film, but failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success; Plane Crazy was officially released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be given a wide release after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho and The Barn Dance (1929).
Minnie Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue polka-dotted dress, white bloomers and low-heeled shoes occasionally with ribbons on them. The Mickey Mouse comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse, although this is seldom used.
The Gallopin' Gaucho is a 1928 American animated short film and the second short film featuring Mickey Mouse to be produced, following Plane Crazy and preceding Steamboat Willie. The Disney studios completed the silent version in August 1928, but did not release it in order to work on Steamboat Willie. The Gallopin' Gaucho was released, with sound, after Steamboat Willie on December 30 of the same year.
"Steamboat Bill" is a 1910 song with music by the vaudeville group The Leighton Brothers and lyrics by Ren Shields which became one of the first hit recordings in the United States through its 1911 recording by Arthur Collins, mostly known for the music in Disney's Steamboat Willie, the first released Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. Steamboat Bill also appeared in the 1928 Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphony animated short subject produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. In the film, four human skeletons dance and make music around a spooky graveyard—a modern film example of medieval European "danse macabre" imagery. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphony series. In 1993, to coincide with the opening of Mickey's Toontown in Disneyland, a shortened cover of the cartoon's music was arranged to be featured in the land's background ambiance. The short's copyright was renewed in 1957, and as a published work from 1929 it will enter the US public domain on January 1, 2025.
The Mad Doctor is a Mickey Mouse cartoon released in 1933. It is known as the first appearance of the title character "The Mad Doctor", or "Dr. XXX". It was the 52nd Mickey Mouse short film, and the second of that year.
Public Domain Day (PDD) is an observance of when copyrights expire and works enter into the public domain. This legal transition of copyright works into the public domain usually happens every year on January 1 based on the individual copyright laws of each country.
The Barn Dance is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on March 15, 1929, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series; it was the first of twelve shorts released during that year. It was directed by Walt Disney with Ub Iwerks as the head animator. The title is written as Barn Dance on the poster, while the full title is used on the title screen.
The Opry House is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Pictures, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the fifth Mickey Mouse short to be released, the second of that year. It cast Mickey as the owner of a small theater. Mickey performs a vaudeville show all by himself. Acts include his impersonation of a snake charmer, his dressing in drag and performing a belly dance, his caricature of a Hasidic Jew and, for the finale, a piano performance of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt.
The Karnival Kid is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Productions, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks, with music by Carl W. Stalling. It was the ninth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the sixth of that year.
Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studio and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, although both characters appeared several months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy. Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but it was the first to be distributed, because Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to produce one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.
When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of creators whose works enter the public domain in 2024. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.
Mickey: The Story of a Mouse is a documentary film directed by Jeff Malmberg. The documentary had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 19, 2022, and had its worldwide release on November 18 of the same year, on Disney+, on the same day as Mickey Mouse's 94th birthday.
Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1928, films released in 1928, and other works published in 1928, enter the public domain in 2024. Sound recordings that were published in 1923 enter the public domain.
Infestation: Origins is an upcoming survival horror game developed and published by Nightmare Forge Games. The game is known for featuring Mickey Mouse as he appeared in the 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie. It was announced on January 1, 2024, after the short entered the public domain in the United States, and is scheduled for release in 2024.
Mickey's Mouse Trap is an upcoming Canadian independent comedy slasher film directed by Jamie Bailey from a screenplay written by Simon Phillips. It is a horror reimagining to Walt Disney's 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie and stars Sophie McIntosh, Nick Biskupek, James Laurin, Mireille Gagné, Damir Kovic, Callum Sywyk, Allegra Nocita, Jesse Nasmith, Mackenzie Mills, Madeline Kelman, and Ben Harris, with Phillips as the titular character. It follows a group of friends trapped inside an amusement arcade after it closes as they are terrorized by a masked killer in a Mickey Mouse costume.
The following is a list of prominent creative works starring Mickey Mouse announced after Steamboat Willie and The Gallopin' Gaucho, both released in 1928 entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024. In January, multiple films and video games starring the character were announced immediately. This list only includes works that got prominent media attention.
The Untitled Steamboat Willie horror film is an upcoming American independent comedy horror film directed by Steven LaMorte. It is a horror reimagining to Walt Disney's 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie. LaMorte previously directed The Mean One (2022), a horror retelling of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
References
- ↑ "Watch This STEAMBOAT WILLIE Inspired Horror Short Film THE VANISHING OF S.S. WILLIE". GeekTyrant. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ↑ Loh, Lainey. "5 horror-fic things announced as Mickey Mouse's copyright ends". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ↑ "Watch This STEAMBOAT WILLIE Inspired Horror Short Film THE VANISHING OF S.S. WILLIE". GeekTyrant. 2024-01-03. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ "The Vanishing of S.S. Willie Released, Putting Mickey Mouse in a Horrifying Documentary". Horror. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ↑ Squires, John (2 January 2024). "'The Vanishing of S.S. Willie' – First Mickey Mouse Horror Project Is a 9-Minute Short You Can Watch Here". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ↑ Hamman, Cody (3 January 2024). "The Vanishing of S.S. Willie horror short film takes advantage of Mickey Mouse's public domain status". JoBlo. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ↑ Bolt, Neil (3 January 2024). "Mickey Mouse Short Horror Film The Vanishing of S.S. Willie Out Now". ComingSoon.net – Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
