What Makes a Mouse?

Some thoughts on the occasion of Steamboat Willie entering the Public Domain
Ben Sisto, January 1, 2024

 
 

All aboard.


On January 1st, 2024, Steamboat Willie (SBW) enters the Public Domain. SBW is the third official title starring Mickey Mouse, and was originally released 96 years ago in 1928 as a black and white animated short. An immediate hit, SBW brought international fame for both Mickey Mouse and his creator, Walt Disney. As SBW enters the Public Domain, there’s some debate about exactly what is up for grabs. According to one 2022 New York Times article,

“Only one copyright is expiring. It covers the original version of Mickey Mouse as seen in “Steamboat Willie,” an eight-minute short with little plot. This nonspeaking Mickey has a rat-like nose, rudimentary eyes (no pupils) and a long tail. He can be naughty.”

This got me wondering what, if anything, is different in more recent depictions of Mickey Mouse that might allow Disney to maintain copyright control even as Steamboat Willie enters the Public Domain?

Let’s start with the buttons.

 

Buttons

In Steamboat Willie (1928), Mickey’s buttons appear round and white. Later, in Mickey’s Garden (1935) they become oval, and later still turn yellow in Runaway Brain (1995). However, with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006), the buttons return to being completely round and white.

Mickey’s button shape and color appears to be flexible. Buttons in 2006 are the same as 1928.

 

Shorts

In Steamboat Willie (1928), Mickey’s shorts appear to be white. Later, in The Band Concert (1935) they become green, and later still turn red in Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940).

Mickey’s shorts, while often red, have appeared in a variety of colors.

 

Gloves

In Steamboat Willie (1928) Mickey is not wearing gloves—they were added one year later in The Opry House (1929) and as such, I suggest the gloves will become Public Domain on 1/1/2025. As previously shown, Mickey’s gloves are yellow in The Band Concert (1935), but then switch to white around the time of Moving Day (1936). When Taschen published Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. The Ultimate History (2020), they opted to depict Mickey with yellow gloves of the Band Concert-era.

While Mickey’s gloves are often white, the color is not a defining trait.

 

Shoes

Pictured here is another still from Steamboat Willie (1928), followed by three shoe color variants. In SBW, the shoes are clearly white. Mickey is later seen with purple shoes on the cover of the comic Mickey Mouse and Pluto (1962). Next, Mickey wears brown shoes in the Golden Book title Surprise for Mickey Mouse (1972). Finally, a video game box from 1993 in which Mickey wears yellow shoes.

Colors appear very flexible; Mickey’s shoes are perhaps a defining trait, but they remain generally unchanged since SBW. All are large, round, and have “soft” toe shapes.

 

Tail

In Mickey Mouse Turns 90 [Melodie Sweeney, The American Museum of Natural History, May 15, 2018] the author notes that "Over the years, Mickey Mouse has gone through several transformations to his physical appearance and personality. In his early years, the impish and mischievous Mickey looked more rat-like, with a long pointy nose, black eyes, a smallish body with spindly legs and a long tail."

I have read elsewhere that tail-length is important to Mickey’s current IP, but want to consider some other images. First, a publicity cel from the 1950s (image with Mickey holding an envelope) in which Mickey’s tail does appear slightly shorter than the Steamboat Willie version. Next, Spreading Happiness Around the World (2018). This painting by Walt Disney Animation Studios animator Mark Henn was commissioned by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club and their “friends at the Walt Disney Archives, in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios.” Here, Mickey’s tail appears longer than the 1950s version; long enough to rest on the ground as it does in Steamboat Willie. Lastly, while The Birthday Song (2017) is a nod to the Mickey of the late 1920s, the tail appears much shorter than the one in Happiness.

Mickey’s tail has changed length over the years; it seems to get longer and shorter based on a given animator’s unique style and as such, an exact length does not appear to be a core trait.

 

Face Shape

Mickey’s inner-face shape—which I define as the area around his eyes with a strong widows peak, in combination with sharp inward points to define the cheeks—appear less common in the world of cartoon mice, but its not without similarities. Might Mouse, who fist appeared in 1942, looks substantially similar. Ears a bit lower. As Mighty wasn’t sued out of existence upon entry to a Mickey-dominated landscape, I have to assume Disney does not consider “Inner face shape” a trait they own.

 

Ears?

The image above shows some simple blends. The top row is an eight-step blend between the Steamboat Willie (1928) look, and a 1950s Fred Moore mouse. The lower row blend’s the Fred mouse with the 2013 depiction from The Birthday Song. Even in the most blended, crunched-up, weird vector-art states, you can clearly make out Mickey’s ears. They really stand out, more than any other trait thus far considered.

Despite the iconic nature of the ears, they don’t appear fixed in any exact size or position. Above we see three versions: On the left, Steamboat Willie (1928), the middle’s from an official 1959 character study sheet, and on the right we have Mickey’s face from The Birthday Song (2013). Each drawing is clearly of Mickey and no other mouse, regardless of the ears appearing more circular, puffy, or oblong. Those shifts could be based on Mickey’s head rotation (his ears are oddly both always visible despite never overlapping), viewer perspective, a specific animator’s style, the era it was created in, or some combo of all that. The ears are iconic, but if they appear to have Mickey-ness I would suggest that it’s relational; two orbs floating in space are not the same thing as Mickey Mouse.

 

Looking for Mickey-ness

 
 

We’ve established Mickey-ness doesn’t live in his shoes or gloves, or the ears alone—so above I’m focusing in on the head and face overall, over time. I’m on the hunt of Micky-ness that trancends versioning. One thing that stood out immediately: the Mickeys of 1928 and 2022 perhaps have more in common with one another than either do with those of 1950 or 1980. I would argue most people would identify all versions in the graphic above as Mickey. It is feeling like perhaps, the ‘secret’ lies in the combination of the ears and definition of Mickey’s cheeks.

 
 
 

I was thinking a bit about object-oriented ontology (I’m new here so apologies if I’m missing the mark) in relation to the question of what exactly a Mickey Mouse is. Having divorced his head from his body, I wonder—what are the most irreducible, fundamental trait(s) remaining? Mickey is surely not a single eye-shape, common to many other cartoon characters. You don’t find Mickey in the eyebrow; they can and have been removed across time without much change to his overall Mickey-ness. Even with the iconic ears removed, I read ‘Mickey’ in many examples. A friend, musician John Colpitts, remarked that all this feels like a Ship of Theseus situation. Despite being so well known, I’m finding it hard to define this little guy.

 

Conclusion


The NYT piece I quoted at the top suggested the copyright expiring only covers “the original version of Mickey Mouse as seen in “Steamboat Willie,” who has “a rat-like nose, rudimentary eyes (no pupils) and a long tail.” Additionally, he can “be naughty.” I wondered what, if anything, is unique to later Mickeys, as Disney is planning on maintaining a strong amount of copyright control. Some thoughts:

  • Mickey’s shoes and shorts are in the Public Domain as part of the 1/1/24 dedication of Steamboat Willie.

  • Mickey’s gloves—introduced in 1929—should enter the public domain in 2025.

  • We have seen how attributes like tail-length and ear position vary over time and with different animators.

  • You can draw Mickey peeking out from behind a fence, or with his hands behind his back, and still retain inherent Mickey-ness—clothing and accessories are not fundamental traits.

  • Disney itself has returned to the 1920s “rat-like,” angular, pie-eyed style in modern works like The Birthday Song and Runaway Brain. Modern fans recognize the original style as Mickey Mouse, not a random rat.

  • There’s the idea that OG Mickey was a bit gruff, and after the 1940s, Mickey has been squeaky clean. I’ve watched the newer (2013-2022) Mickey material with my daughter and was surprised to see slightly more violent, slapstick, off-the-wall, and fast-paced storylines. They feel less like Disney and more like Spümcø. Mickey does not have a consistent personality.

Is there a singular, irreducible thing that gives rise to Mickey-ness? Does Mickey lend his Mickey-ness to a variety of objects which, in different combinations, are read as holding varying levels of Mickey-ness? Or, is Mickey as dependent on these individual physical attributes as they are on him, to bring Mickey-ness forth? I think that might be it, that Mickey-ness arises from relationships and no specific trait or behavior. With all that in mind…

It’s my opinion that when Steamboat Willie enters the Public Domain—with his very-obviously-Mickey-ears, big smile, and well-defined cheeks—the dedication includes the complete underlying concept of Mickey Mouse.

 

To Copy is to Know

You have to draw Mickey to describe Mickey, and herein lies one of the fundamental problems with copyright today—it’s a restriction on communication and education. In a media-rich culture, how do we talk about, critique, or enrich culture when all of our touchstones are owned by corporations; their very discussion restricted? We’re left with a situation where every potential infringement case for a would-be defendant has a chilling effect. Innovation, experimentation, and risk-taking at the individual level becomes hindered. This might sound over the top, but let’s remember Disney is the company that tried to force a headstone maker to not-produce a Winnie the Pooh design for child’s grave (later revoked; 2006); that Disney forced a daycare center to remove a locally produced Mickey Mouse / character mural.

As Steamboat Willie—and IMO, All Possible Mickeys—enters the public domain today, it feels like a good moment to reflect on what art is, why we make it, and what we potentially lose when we seek to restrict it. Thanks for reading and please feel free to email me with counterpoints and ideas!

Ben Sisto
January 1, 2024




Notes & Initial References


The Steamboat Willie image I traced was grabbed from an Etsy seller at https://www.etsy.com/no-en/listing/593576452/disney-mickey-mouse-steamboat-willie.

Some references are linked directly in the body text. The ones that follow are articles I read which provide further context, different insights, etc.