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“US copyright law says the rights to characters can be held for 95 years.” 95 years ago was also about when the cinema and recording industries began. Since t
by blendo 3y ago
“US copyright law says the rights to characters can be held for 95 years.”
95 years ago was also about when the cinema and recording industries began.
Since then, I’ll argue, all recorded entertainment and theatrical performances have become “fixed” into our culture similar to how Plato, the Bible, and Shakespeare became cultural touchstones due to literacy and the printing press.
And now, as they enter the public domain, Mickey and others are becoming, for better or worse, an inescapable part of our common heritage.
- 8organicbits 3y agoIs Mickey content good enough that we'll see continued interest? My encounters with Mickey (35 year old American) have been only through the movie Fantasia and I know he is a prominent mascot of Disney World. But the pull to Disney world is probably what, Star Wars or Pixar these days? I was recently thinking Star Wars and the Friends TV series could reach that permanent status. Mickey seems unlikely to me.
- cool_dude85 3y agoMickey's a big one targeted at little kids. His clubhouse, funhouse, roadster racers, etc. are very popular with that demo, I assure you.
- 8organicbits 3y agoHuh, I have two young children. No idea what those are. We use Disney Plus almost exclusively for Bluey and Frozen. Is that also Disney Plus?
- cool_dude85 3y agoStay away if possible, especially clubhouse which does the "the characters talk to the child and ask them questions" thing that I personally hate. But yes, at least in the US they're all on plus.
- speedgoose 3y agoThose shows aren’t very good to say the least compared to Bluey.
- core_dumped 3y agoMickey Mouse is quite literally Disney’s mascot. The same Disney with global theme park locations. It’s clear that Disney has far more prominence than Star Wars and friends combined. Hell they even own Star Wars now. If you asked any random person on the street, chances are they know who Mickey Mouse is. It doesn’t really matter what “content” is made with him. Disney can just keep pumping out cheap CGI kids shows for brand recognition alone and Mickey would last for at least another generation.
- flipthefrog 3y agoMy kid was obsessed with the 1930s Disney cartoons, including the black and white Mickeys, from age 2 to 5.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- nemo44x 3y agoI’m assuming you don’t have kids? Little kids love Mickey Mouse and there’s lots of old and new content featuring him. Little kids still dream of going to Disney World to meet Mickey Mouse and the other characters.
- 8organicbits 3y agoTwo kids 5 and 7. Where are you finding the content? I don't think it aired when I was a kid, and I don't think it's on Disney Plus.
- nemo44x 3y agoI think it’s on Disney+. If I have to hear “hot dog hot hot diggity dog” one more time…
- Nursie 3y agoThis, to me, is a good reason for things to lose copyright sooner. There are few people alive today who would remember when steamboat Willy was released. Culture is currently tied up in copyright long enough that things will mostly be forgotten long before they enter the public domain. Effectively lost. This is surely not desirable.
- jackcosgrove 3y agoI was never into Mickey as a child. I saw him as out of date even back in the 80s and 90s. I think Disney stopped developing a lot of new content using Mickey because they knew he was going into the public domain and the ROI would not be as good as using new characters.
- gWPVhyxPHqvk 3y agoIn the past few months I personally haven given Disney hundreds of dollars for Mickey branded merchandise due to my 3 year old's love of Mickey. Mickey stuffed toys, bed sheets, water bottles, clothes, pull ups, etc. In fact, I just turned off the TV, which was just playing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney+.
- nonrandomstring 3y ago> Plato, the Bible, and Shakespeare > inescapable part of our common heritage Indeed, but how? The three circles of Mickey Mouse is the semiotic emblem for everything that is shallow, plastic, maudlin and sentimental, self-obsessed, cynically capitalistic and exploitative. In British (army and construction worker culture) the phrase "Mickey Mouse" is used for anything that's an ineffectual toy or poorly manufactured. There are almost no positive connotations of Disney I can think of outside the cohort of 5 - 10 yo girls. To call something "Disney" is to mock it. YMMV in the USA.
- RyanHamilton 3y agoMany adults of a certain age will have very happy childhood memories of watching classic disney movies such as jungle book, cinderella, toy story, Lion King. Most creative companies would love to have the kind of love that disneys back catalog has. Alas this love does mean the easy ability to sell plastic toys for every film.
- nonrandomstring 3y agoMy own partner and daughter are huge on Disney. Wow, I think I might actually be a bit too mulling over my top 100 films. So yeah, my own comment stings a bit and I appreciate the love out there. Guess my point is, sure and there's also this really massive negative sentiment out there attached to the corporate symbol - namely "Micky Mouse" who is semantically fused with Disney. Corporate symbols seem ripe for psychological splitting.
- devilbunny 3y agoToy Story and Lion King are classics now? Damn, I’m old.
- shagie 3y agoFrom 2011... The 2011 Guide to Making People Feel Old - Using Movie Release Dates - https://xkcd.com/891/ https://xkcd.com/891/ Age 26 - Did you realize that Toy Story Came Out Over Fifteen Years ago? Age 27 - Did you realize that Lion King Came Out Over Fifteen Years ago? ... Age 33, 34, 35 - Did you realize that The Little Mermaid Came Out Closer to the moon landing than the present day?