Opinion Express View | Mickey and Minnie characters are now free to use

As of January 1, 2024, also celebrated annually as Public Domain Day, many iconic characters are now free to use. Examples include Mickey and Minnie from the 1928 short films Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy, Winnie the Pooh’s companion Tigger, and Peter Pan. With the liberation of these popular characters, comes the chance for fresh creativity.

For instance, Pooh and Tigger could be on a quest to discover they are queer and in love. Peter Pan could be reimagined as a man held responsible for his actions, forced to adult in the real world. Even Disney — which held onto its copyrights with dear life, so much so that the Act passed in 1998 to extend the copyright term was named the Mickey Mouse Protection Act — has seen the value of subverting expectations. After all, for the 2023 live-action reboot The Little Mermaid, it cast the black actor Halle Bailey to play Ariel and queer-coded Ursula, the evil sea witch.

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Unfortunately, experience has shown that the opportunities presented by the release of copyrighted content are not always squeezed for all that they can yield. Those who seek to reimagine seem limited by their understanding of what that means and have, so far, gone in mostly for the horror twist. No doubt there is some shock value in a horror-action reboot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (2016’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). And cuddly Winnie the Pooh turning bloodthirsty in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) may be exciting for a second. But throwing Pooh’s companion Tigger into the gut-and-gore mix — as threatened by Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 — is too predictable. The freedom to use characters and stories comes with responsibility. Peter Pan may have been able to evade it, but creators hoping to engage and entertain can do better.