As soon as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, “Steamboat Willie” memes began flooding the internet. And just two days into 2024, there are already a handful of horror films and games in the works based on this version of Mickey Mouse from the 1928 animated short. While Mickey has become the poster boy for this kind of exploitation, there are now many other famous works that anyone can use for free when the calendar turns to a new year.
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In fact, “Steamboat Willie” isn’t the only Mickey Mouse cartoon from 1928 to enter the public domain this year. Walt Disney directed a silent film called Plane Crazy starring Mickey, Minnie and Clarabelle Cow. The short didn't hit theaters until the following year after it was converted into a sound cartoon, but Disney copyrighted it in 1928 shortly after a test screening, allowing it to enter the public domain. Another new addition from the same year is the Mickey-directed short “The Galloping Gaucho”, a parody of the 1927 film “The Gaucho” starring Douglas Fairbanks.
All three of these Mickey Mouse shorts introduced special features, such as shoes and anthropomorphized white eyes with black pupils, which are absent from the more popular version. These shorts were made for adult audiences before the studio moved into family-friendly fare, so the deliberately provocative Mickey parodies popping up now aren't as far removed from the original as people might think. A handful of cartoons featuring Mickey's predecessor Oswald, the lucky bunny, will also lose their copyright status this year.
Understandably, the creators were eager to get their hands on Walt Disney's most famous character, despite (or perhaps because of) the company's efforts to prevent it. There's no shortage of irony here, considering the studio built its legacy on adapting public domain works like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and turning them into animated blockbusters.
Tigger, another big name with ties to Disney animation, will also enter the public domain in 2023. The character was introduced in AA Milne's The House At Pooh Corner in 1928. Winnie-the-Pooh and other characters from the Hundred Acre Wood have been free of copyright and Disney's exclusivity since 2022 – which is how we got Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey last year – but Tigger is a new addition to the pantheon. Blood And Honey 2 is due out next month and Tigger will also be in it.
Books entering the public domain in 2024
Several new public domain books have already been made into films, including Virgina Woolf's Orlando and Erich Maria Remarque's original German-language novel Nothing New on the West (the English translation was later copyrighted). The latter just received an Oscar-nominated adaptation in 2022, but it's been more than 30 years since Tilda Swinton starred in the film adaptation of Woolf's cross-gender historical epic, so the time may be ripe for a revival. We may also see new versions of DH Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover or Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's The Front Page, both of which have been adapted several times.
In some cases, publication may generate public interest in works that have never been adapted before, including notable books from the Harlem Renaissance such as WEB Du Bois's Dark Princess and Claude McKay's Home To Harlem, both published in 1928 were published. This year also marks the entry into the public domain of the poetry collections of Robert Frost, Dorothy Parker, Edna St. Vincent Millay, EE Cummings and Carl Sandberg.
Films entering the public domain in 2024
In 1928, Hollywood was still transitioning from the era of silent films to a new era of talkies, and that year saw notable releases in both formats. The Singing Fool, the follow-up to 1927's The Jazz Singer, was also released that year, as was an early gangster film called Lights Of New York, considered the “first all-talking film.” A number of great silent comedies were also released, such as Buster Keaton's The Cameraman, Charlie Chaplin's The Circus and the first Laurel and Hardy short, Should Married Men Go Home? Harold Lloyd also appeared in his last in 1928 Silent film called Speedy. All of this is now copyright free.
Charlie Chaplin – The Lion Cage – Full Scene (The Circus, 1928)
Historically, the films from 1928 were also the first to be considered for the Oscars. The opening ceremony was held in 1929 and recognized films released the year before, including “Wings,” the first film to win Best Picture.
Music will enter the public domain in 2024
Copyrights for musical performances may be subject to different rules than books and films, which are currently limited to 95 years (technically, copyrights expire at the end of the 95th year). Things get even more complicated when you consider the different standards for published music and audio recordings. Songs you can now cover without paying royalties include “Mack The Knife,” “When You're Smiling,” “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” “Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love),” and “Makin.” “Yay!” However, the recorded versions of these songs popularized by individual artists may still be subject to copyright. However, recordings from 1923 are free for public use, including well-known renditions of “Yes! “We Have No Bananas,” “Who’s Sorry Now,” “The Charleston,” and Bessie Smith’s performance of “Down Hearted Blues.”
These works and many others now belong to all of us. So go ahead, get inspired and do whatever you want with them.