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No, Disney is Not Changing Their Mascot.

 





The latest rumor about Disney is that Walt Disney World is replacing Mickey Mouse as their mascot. This rumor, of course, is false. 

The rumor was first published by Mouse Trap News. According to the website's about page, "Mouse Trap News is the world’s best satire site. We write fake stories about Disney Parks stuff. From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun." So basically, Mouse Trap News is like The Onion, but for Disney. 

The satire piece was then posted on Instagram by a user with 10 million followers. Naturally, the post went viral and caused panic amongst the general population. The Instagram user has yet to admit to spreading this false information, and the post still generates concerned comments. 

Within the original article, Mouse Trap News stated the reason for the mascot replacement being that Mickey's copyright will expire next year. 

Mickey Mouse entering public domain has been quite the hot topic recently. Essentially, pieces of media (such as books, movies, and cartoon characters) are copyrighted. This means that no one else excepted for the person who owns the media can make money off of it.  But once that copyright has expired, then that media falls into public domain. Public domain means that anyone can use that media for any purpose, including to sell a product. 

In the case of Mickey Mouse, that means that companies other than Disney can start making Mickey Mouse cartoons, movies, and products to sell without any approval from the Disney company. I'm sure how you can see that scenario would quickly turn Mickey into something very non-Disney like. 

Disney has actually lobbied Congress in the past to extend Mickey's copyright. They have been successful several times in the past. Disney has the money and the influence, they may be able to do so again. 

However, Disney fans who have paid close attention in the last few years may have noticed another strategy the company is going to take. 

The copyright only applies to Mickey's 1928 design. Mickey has been re-designed many times in the past., and today he looks MUCH different from Steamboat Willie Mickey. 



Recently, there's been a push for the 2013 design. This design is what was used in the Boardwalk Inn pool redesign, in Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway attraction, and in the Disneyland Toontown update. Kids today are more familiar with this design than any other. So the oldest Mickey design can easily fall into public domain, and today's generation might not notice or care because that Mickey doesn't look like their Mickey. 




It will take another 86 years before the 2013 Mickey falls into public domain. This means that Disney has almost a whole century to redesign the Mouse yet again, before the pattern has to repeat itself. 

This, of course, is just a theory that many fans believe to be Disney's Plan B should they not be able to get America to protect the Mouse once more. 

What do you think of Mickey Mouse falling into public domain? Please comment your thoughts below. 





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