An entertainment icon is using the now-public domain character Steamboat Willie as his show’s personal mascot, because in his words, what can Disney do about it? Sue him?
Monday night’s episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert featured a guest appearance from long-time friend John Oliver and a surprise appearance of a particular cartoon rodent. John Oliver, host of the award-winning HBO late-night talk show Last Week Tonight, appeared onstage with a mascot donned in the appearance and costume of Mickey from Steamboat Willie. “It’s not Mickey Mouse,” Oliver noted, “I can’t stress that enough. Luckily, there’s no resemblance, so there shouldn’t be confusion.”

Oliver is well-known for his comedic and satirical news reporting, getting his start on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He’s covered a variety of popular events, world news, and big corporations on his own program, including Disney. Steamboat Willie has been a popular character for Oliver to use on his show in an effort to taunt the Walt Disney Company to respond, although so far he appears to be safe from any retaliation.

Oliver appeared on Colbert’s late-night talk show to promote the upcoming season of Last Week Tonight. “This is Steamboat Mickey, which is in the public domain now. Therefore, he can help with promoting any non-Disney related show.” The two hosts discussed Oliver’s history of “baiting” the Walt Disney Company, trying to get the House of Mouse to sue Oliver. According to Oliver, “they’ve left me with no choice but to take this up a f**king notch.” They joked about the extremely litigious nature of the company, leading Oliver to bring up how he’s been sued before because of the show and got away unscathed. Oliver and Steamboat Willie showed off the official poster for the newest season of Last Week Tonight, which pictured the two of them underneath the phrase “What Are They Gonna Do, Sue?”
You can watch the clip with Steamboat Willie here:
While John Oliver and Last Week Tonight will probably be safe, given that Steamboat Willie is now public domain, there are still precautions anyone should take when going up against the big mouse. Disney, like most creative corporations, is not shy when it comes to defending their properties, even when it makes them look bad. In 1989, they threatened legal action against children’s daycare centers in Hallandale, Florida, for their wall art depicting various Disney characters.
Eventually, the centers replaced the drawings with characters belonging to Universal Studios and Hanna-Barbera Productions, who volunteered the use of their character art and probably enjoyed coming off as the heroes against “big bad Disney.” Years later, in 2019, they denied a grieving father the option to engrave Spider-Man on his 4-year-old’s grave, stating that they wanted to “disassociate their characters with death.” This came a year after Disney killed Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

They’ve also been known to crack down on crafters and sellers who make and sell merchandise featuring various Disney IPs without an official license and have no problem shutting down “small shops.” Inside the Magic has also previously reported on Walt Disney World banning a seller who makes Mickey ears. While there are now several Disney-affiliated characters who are public domain, including Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan, the rules on which versions of these characters are or are not public can be tricky.
This isn’t the first time Steamboat Willie has been used in a satirical or very non-Disney way. Last month, Adult Swim featured a graphic image of the character with the words, “public domain b****.” John Oliver’s back-and-forth with the Walt Disney Company is hilarious and entertaining, especially as he know skirts around those public domain laws with Steamboat Willie. However, his desire to be sued by the House of Mouse may yet come back come true in the future.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver returns to HBO on February 18, 2024.
What do you think about Steamboat Willie being public domain? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!