Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is losing the rights to the original version of Mickey Mouse in just a few days, but it turns out that the company’s most iconic mascot will be coming right back to Disney+ within weeks with new episodes of Me & Mickey.
In the last several years, Disney has been gradually reducing the amount of Mickey Mouse content it produces and how often the character is highlighted, leading to speculation that the company wanted to minimize its losses when the mouse enters the public domain. Most recently, the popular animated Disney+ series The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse was canceled (to some consternation), and Mickey himself has not appeared in a feature film in years.
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However, it looks like the company isn’t entirely ditching Walt Disney’s most famous creation. At the end of January (per Variety), new episodes of both Me & Mickey and Mickey Mouse Funhouse will begin streaming on Disney+, giving fans at least a little bit more new content.
Me & Mickey is a CGI-animated series targeted at pre-schoolers and formatted primarily as a video log in which the mouse talks to his audience and describes his day, activities, and so on. At a time when Disney is struggling to retain subscribers to its streaming service and parents, in particular, are concerned about a lack of efficient content controls due to the upcoming merger of Disney+ and Hulu, it probably needs to do everything it can to appeal to younger audiences.
Although the original Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse introduced in 1928 is entering the public domain in January and theoretically should be available for use by anyone, many distinctive elements of the character will be retained by Disney, which has promised to be very ligitiously vigilant about protecting them.
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In a recent statement, Disney said:
“More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise…”
“We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright.”
While Mickey Mouse will begin drifting further into the public domain every year, it’s clear that Disney isn’t letting him go without a fight.
What’s your favorite Mickey Mouse show or short? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!