NEWS: ‘Karnival Kid’ Mickey Mouse Will Enter Public Domain Soon

By Robin Burks Leave a Comment

Last year was wild: the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain and folks wasted NO time taking advantage of it.

Weighted Steamboat Willie Plush

We saw a Steamboat Willie horror movie that had been in the works for a while just waiting for this version of Mickey to enter the public domain. Following that, a video game development company announced a new horror title, called Infestation: Origin, a co-op survival game. Adult Swim also posted a video making fun of the fact that Mickey was now up for grabs. Well, now, another version of Mickey Mouse will soon have its copyright expire, sending it to the public domain.

The Karnival Kid, which featured Mickey Mouse speaking for the very first time, will enter the public domain in 2025. Several other Mickey shorts also become public domain, meaning that the copyright has expired and those versions of the character can be used by the general public without permission or payment to Disney.

©Disney

Some high profile comics character will also be entering public domain in 1925, including Popeye, who first appeared in a newspaper strip in 1929. However, only this version of Popeye is available to the public for free use — this wasn’t the version of the character with the grumbly voice or that ate spinach. This doesn’t apply to Robin Williams’ turn as the character in the 1980 Popeye movie either.

©Paramount

Another famous comic character entering public domain in 2025 is Tintin, which first appeared in the U.S. in 1929. However, the version of the character with the bright red hair didn’t appear until later, so that version is still protected by copyright law. That includes the version seen in Stephen Spielberg’s 2011 movie, The Adventures of Tintin.

©Paramount

Other notable works entering public domain in 2025 include William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, John Steinbeck’s A Cup of Gold, Virginia Woolf’s essay “A Room of One’s Own,” Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail, John Ford’s The Black Watch, Cecil B. DeMille’s Dynamite, and more.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

3 Ways Mickey Mouse Has Been Defiled Since Becoming Public Domain

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