The year is 2025, which means a lot of beloved characters have gone into the public domain over the past few years. Many characters made famous by Disney: Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Bambi, and Winnie the Pooh, are all out there in copyright-free land.
Well, they are to a point, you can create a new version of Winnie the Pooh, just not in the likeness of the one Disney is all. In the case of Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie, “Creators can copy, share, and build only on this ‘Mickey 1.0.’” Mickey 1.0 is the original version.
If someone were to make a mouse look like Mickey from the Disney Club Version, they would soon end up with an army of lawyers all shouting “Cease and Desist”. It also means that creators cannot use the public domain figures in the likeness of the Disney versions.
So far, creators have been doing this. Take Pooh, for example, there’s a huge difference between the Disney version and the same, public domain character from Blood and Honey.
Back to Mickey, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has the term ‘Mickey Mouse’ copyrighted. So, if you were to make a new version of Steamboat Willie, you couldn’t call the main character Mickey Mouse.
Same, but different
With all these characters now in the public domain, it’s started a new genre of movies: Non-Disney Horror Movies. I just made that up, I need to copyright it.
So far, here is a list of movies that have non-Disney public domain figures:
- Pooh: Blood and Honey 1 & 2
- Bambi – The Reckoning
- Cinderella’s Curse
- The Mouse Trap
- Screamboat
- Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare
- Mouseboat Massacre
- Piglet
- Mouse of Horrors
- The Little Mermaid (not that one)
There are many more, with even more on the way. I love how they have singled out the horror mouse movies, there are several with a killer mouse. The mouse is not, in any way, Mickey Mouse, but a brand new and original creation, like Sherry Bobbins or Monald Muck.
All of these movies have public domain characters that Disney have made beloved, but others have turned into horror movies. A kid who loved the original Winnie the Pooh would need therapy for life if they saw Blood and Honey. #giggle
You Can’t Do That!
What I love about this story about the public domain characters is that Disney cannot say anything about these Non-Disney Horror Remakes. Imagine this: Disney suddenly comes out and says:
“These horror movies are horrible! They are taking a beloved IP and ruining them and destroying their fond memories!”
The internet would break with the responses. In fact, I have made a meme in readiness:
Now that these characters are in the public domain, people can do whatever they like with them, as long as copyright isn’t broken. Then Disney can do nothing about it! I, for one, hope that the Non-Disney Horror Remakes carry on.
Disney can have a taste of what we’ve all had to suffer.
