Adult Swim Gets NSFW With Steamboat Willie After It Entered Public Domain

Mickey Mouse’s earliest incarnation recently entered the public domain with the trademark on Steamboat Willie expiring on January 1st this year, and Adult Swim had some NSFW fun with the famous mascot with a wild new promo shortly after it entered the public domain. It’s been over 90 years since the releases of the earliest takes on Mickey and Minnie Mouse seen in both “Steamboat Willie” and “Plane Crazy”. Although later versions of the mascot are still protected under Walt Disney’s copyright, the trademark on these early versions has expired with the start of the new year. And we’ve seen wild results. 

As soon as Steamboat Willie entered the public domain, there have been all sorts of new projects announced using this iteration of the famous mascots in new ways. It’s been mostly horror films that have shared a bloody take on the mascot itself, but Adult Swim went in a completely different direction with a humorous new use of the Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse during a recent bump in between commercials that celebrates it entering the public domain. Check it out as spotted by @CNschedules on X. 

What’s Next for Adult Swim in 2024? 

Adult Swim has a lot of new projects now in the works for a release some time this year. While many of them are still being kept a mystery as of the time of this writing, there have been previously announced works that are scheduled to arrive in 2024. Major franchises such as Rick and Morty Season 8 likely releasing some time later this year, Rick and Morty: The Anime will be premiering its new spin-off series this year, the Junji Ito adaptation, Uzumaki, is likely scheduled to make its premiere this year as well. 

These are only some of the new projects Adult Swim has in the works for 2024, and the year is just getting started. There will be far more announcements in the future as the year continues to roll on, and thus many more reasons to tune into Adult Swim to see what they will be cooking up next. Especially when it means there are chances to see wild bumps or promos like this one in between each of their shows. 

What do you think of Adult Swim’s use of Steamboat Willie? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!