Steamboat Willie, created by Walt Disney, to enter public domain after 95 years – taking earliest Minnie with him
It’s been a challenging centenary year for Disney, and the world’s largest and most prominent entertainment company is having to end it with an emotional “so long!” to its oldest friend, Mickey Mouse.
To be clear, it’s not the Mickey Mouse, iconic centerpiece of countless elementary school lunch bags, T-shirts and baseball caps, who is leaving the happiest place on earth when his copyright protection expires on 1 January.
