Original Mickey Mouse Returns After Disney Wrestles Back Character Rights - Inside the Magic (2024)

Mickey Mouse is Disney’s greatest cultural icon and official mascot, but it’s been a rough year for the little guy. Fortunately, fans are getting a taste of old-fashioned Mickey from Bret Iwan, the official voice of the character himself.

Original Mickey Mouse Returns After Disney Wrestles Back Character Rights - Inside the Magic (1)

On January 1, Mickey Mouse finally entered the public domain in the United States. For decades, The Walt Disney Company used various legal stratagems and political lobbying to prevent the character from becoming a fair-use property very successfully. The first copyrighted version of the character, from the 1928 Steamboat Willie short by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, was originally set to expire in 1983, meaning that the company would lose exclusive rights.

The Copyright Act of 1976 dramatically altered intellectual property law in America, changing a system of renewal terms into “a term consisting of the life of the author and fifty years after the author’s death.”

Further legislative acts, frequently at the behest of Disney’s armies of lawyers, further extended that to 70, 95, or 120 years, depending on various factors. However, Disney couldn’t keep it up forever, and as of 2024, anyone in the United States can utilize the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse in whatever fashion they like.

Original Mickey Mouse Returns After Disney Wrestles Back Character Rights - Inside the Magic (2)

Related: Mickey Mouse Officially Replaced at EPCOT, Disney Moves in Another Direction

As you might expect, this immediately opened the floodgates for a wave of slasher horror films, ultraviolent video games, and music videos. Disney is already dealing with the unprecedented legal questions involved with AI-generated art depicting Mickey Mouse committing horrific acts, so monitoring public domain use for any potential infractions has to be a chore.

However, fortunately, there are still some beacons of traditional Mouse goodness out there. Since 2009, Bret Iwan has been the official voice of Mickey Mouse, taking over the mantle from Walt Disney himself, Carl W. Stalling, Jimmy MacDonald, and Wayne Allwine.

He has voiced the character at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover attraction at Magic Kingdom, dozens of episodes of shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey Mouse Funhouse, and video games like Epic Mickey and Disney Speedstorm.

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Now, Iwan, a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design and frequent contributor to the Disney Fine Arts program, has illustrated a new book titled Camp Mickey and Minnie: One Wild Summer. The 40-page children’s book was written by Ryan March. The Penguin Random House site describes it:

Mickey & Minnie open a new Summer camp prepared to teach campers and readers alike to unplug and reconnect with the magic of the outdoors.

In this new fully illustrated hardcover picture book, Mickey & Minnie will be opening a new Summer camp! While preparing for the campers Goofy worries that the abundance of frogs on the lake will get in the way of his Art of Water Sports club. The solution is obvious: plastic flamingos! But Goofy’s flamingos are just the start of his humorous (and ultimately harmless) attempts to control the natural world. Every time Goofy solves his problem with one animal, another shows up in its absence. Mickey & Minnie help Goofy see that his actions caused a big stink and that it is best to live in harmony with nature. The story showcases how every animal has a role to play in their environment, even if that role isn’t always clear to people. In the end, natural balance is restored to the camp and Mickey & Friends prepare for the rest of an amazing summer.

Related: Original ‘Peter Pan’ To Join Mickey Mouse in Public Domain

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Brett Iwan has discussed his passion for including the famous character in his artwork (via ABC13), saying, “Any chance I get to combine Mickey and art, you know, those two passions of mine, it’s fantastic. I love knowing that Mickey’s got a little bit more dynamic range to him.

Like he can get a little frustrated, he can be annoyed with his friends, and this story gave him the ability to do that. When he sees Goofy making a mess of his camp, he’s like, ‘Come on, Goof. Let’s get this under control.'”

While the world may be eager to put Mickey into all sorts of unsavory situations the moment they’re legally able to, it’s nice to see the return of the traditional Mouse sometimes.

What’s your favorite appearance of Mickey Mouse?

Original Mickey Mouse Returns After Disney Wrestles Back Character Rights - Inside the Magic (2024)
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