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Disney was actually founded on Alice in Wonderland, Mickey Mouse was created years later. At the time, Alice in Wonderland would have still been copyrighted if

Disney was actually founded on Alice in Wonderland, Mickey Mouse was created years later. At the time, Alice in Wonderland would have still been copyrighted if it were under the copyright regime Disney etc. instituted since. The corporation pulled the ladder up after it. Incidentally, Mickey Mouse was in many ways a ripoff of Universal's Oswald the Rabbit.

not2b 5y ago
Incorrect: Mickey Mouse was created in the 20s, Disney's Alice in Wonderland was released in 1951. You're right that the book would still have been copyrighted. Oswald the Rabbit was also created by Walt Disney, in 1927, and sold to Universal. He then created Mickey Mouse as a replacement character for his own movie.
- 9000 5y ago
  They aren't referencing the 1951 movie, but instead the 1920s shorts series called Alice Comedies, the first of which is literally called Alice's Wonderland. These weren't really retellings of the original stories, but it would nevertheless not be hard to imagine they would count as a derivative work under modern law and would thus have been illegal to produce without a licensing deal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Comedies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Comedies
Tagbert 5y ago
"Mickey Mouse was in many ways a ripoff of Universal's Oswald the Rabbit" Considering that Walt Disney created Oswald the Rabbit for Universal, it is no surprise that some elements carried over to Mickey. When Universal took Oswald away from Disney's control, he responded by creating the mouse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit#Universal_takes_direct_control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit#Univer...
- yesenadam 5y ago
  Apparently Mickey and Oswald were both created by Ub Iwerks. I don't know why it's still repeated that Disney created them personally. "Disney asked Iwerks to design a character that became Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The first cartoon Oswald starred in was animated entirely by Iwerks." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ub_Iwerks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ub_Iwerks Sounds a bit like a Jobs + Wozniak situation!

not2b 5y ago

Incorrect: Mickey Mouse was created in the 20s, Disney's Alice in Wonderland was released in 1951. You're right that the book would still have been copyrighted. Oswald the Rabbit was also created by Walt Disney, in 1927, and sold to Universal. He then created Mickey Mouse as a replacement character for his own movie.

9000 5y ago
They aren't referencing the 1951 movie, but instead the 1920s shorts series called Alice Comedies, the first of which is literally called Alice's Wonderland. These weren't really retellings of the original stories, but it would nevertheless not be hard to imagine they would count as a derivative work under modern law and would thus have been illegal to produce without a licensing deal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Comedies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Comedies

Tagbert 5y ago

"Mickey Mouse was in many ways a ripoff of Universal's Oswald the Rabbit" Considering that Walt Disney created Oswald the Rabbit for Universal, it is no surprise that some elements carried over to Mickey. When Universal took Oswald away from Disney's control, he responded by creating the mouse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit#Universal_takes_direct_control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit#Univer...

yesenadam 5y ago
Apparently Mickey and Oswald were both created by Ub Iwerks. I don't know why it's still repeated that Disney created them personally. "Disney asked Iwerks to design a character that became Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The first cartoon Oswald starred in was animated entirely by Iwerks." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ub_Iwerks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ub_Iwerks Sounds a bit like a Jobs + Wozniak situation!