{{Short description|1928 American animated short film}} {{About|the short film|the jazz musician|Steamboat Willie (musician)}} {{Use American English|date=January 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Steamboat Willie | image = Steamboat Willie 1928 Poster.svg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster<ref name=Gerstein>{{cite book | last=Gerstein | first=David | title=Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends Through the Decades | publisher=Walter Foster Jr. | date=2015 | page=14 | isbn=978-1-60058-429-9}}</ref> | director = {{ubl|Walt Disney|Ub Iwerks}} | story = {{ubl|Walt Disney|Ub Iwerks}} | producer = Walt Disney | starring = Walt Disney | music = {{ubl|Wilfred Jackson|Bert Lewis}} | animator = {{ubl|Ub Iwerks|Wilfred Jackson|Johnny Cannon|Les Clark (inbetweener)}} | color_process = Black-and-white | studio = Disney Cartoons | distributor = Celebrity Productions | released = {{Film date|1928|11|18|US}} | runtime = {{duration|m=7|s=47}} | country = United States | language = English | budget = $4,986.69 }} '''''Steamboat Willie''''' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney. Steamboat Willie. 1928 |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/302797 |website=Museum of Modern Art |access-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101173917/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/302797 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was produced in black-and-white by Disney Cartoons and was released by Pat Powers' Celebrity Productions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mouse and the Maker: How Walt Disney Made Some Noise for the Animation Industry – StMU Research Scholars |url=https://stmuscholars.org/the-mouse-and-the-maker-how-walt-disney-made-some-noise-for-the-animation-industry/ |access-date=January 1, 2024 |language=en-US |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101132029/https://stmuscholars.org/the-mouse-and-the-maker-how-walt-disney-made-some-noise-for-the-animation-industry/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The cartoon is considered the public debut of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, although both appeared months earlier in a test screening of ''Plane Crazy''<ref name="McGowan">{{Cite web |last=McGowan |first=Andrew |date=April 5, 2023 |title=Mickey Mouse's Debut Wasn't in 'Steamboat Willie' – It Was in This |url=https://collider.com/mickey-mouse-short-plane-crazy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208200312/https://collider.com/mickey-mouse-short-plane-crazy/ |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref> and the then unreleased ''The Gallopin' Gaucho''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 12, 2012 |title=Biographies of 10 Classic Disney Characters « Disney D23 |url=https://d23.com/walt-disney-archives/#MickeyMouse |access-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212121924/http://d23.disney.go.com/archives/biographies-of-10-classic-disney-characters/#MickeyMouse |archive-date=February 12, 2012 }}</ref> ''Steamboat Willie'' is the third of Mickey's films to have been produced, but it is the first to have been distributed, because Disney had seen ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927) and became determined to produce one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Dave |title=Steamboat Willie |url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf |website=Library of Congress |access-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606135251/https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
''Steamboat Willie'' is one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, and one of the first cartoons to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack, which distinguished it from earlier sound cartoons, such as Inkwell Studios's ''Song Car-Tunes'' (1924–1926), ''My Old Kentucky Home'' (1926), and Van Beuren Studios's ''Dinner Time'' (1928). Disney believed that synchronized sound was the future of film.
The soundtrack was arranged by Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis, and it included the songs "Steamboat Bill", a composition popularized by baritone Arthur Collins during the 1910s, and the popular 19th-century folk song "Turkey in the Straw".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2z-PDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 |title=A History of Intellectual Property in 50 Objects |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781108352024 |editor-last=Op Den Kamp |editor-first=Claudy |pages=171–172 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |editor-last2=Hunter |editor-first2=Dan |archive-date=December 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230233932/https://www.google.pt/books/edition/A_History_of_Intellectual_Property_in_50/2z-PDwAAQBAJ?hl=pt-PT&gbpv=1&pg=PA171&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref> The film's title may be a parody of the Buster Keaton film ''Steamboat Bill, Jr.'' (1928),<ref name="Uytdewilligen">{{cite book |last=Uytdewilligen|first=Ryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pv8gDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |title=The 101 Most Influential Coming-of-age Movies |publisher=Algora Publishing |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-62894-194-4 |pages=17–18 |quote=Buster Keaton's...'last great film' which inspired Mickey Mouse's first cartoon in sound, ''Steamboat Willie''. |access-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320055444/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pv8gDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> which is a reference to the song by Collins. Disney performed all of the voices in the film's little intelligible dialogue.{{efn|The only spoken words are when the parrot says "Help! Man overboard!" and "Hope you don't feel hurt, big boy!"<ref>[https://www.mouseplanet.com/8238/Plane_Crazy_About_Mickey_Mouse Mouse Planet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506012231/https://www.mouseplanet.com/8238/Plane_Crazy_About_Mickey_Mouse |date=May 6, 2022}}<!-- Verified from the subtitles on the "Walt Disney Treasures" DVD--></ref>}}
''Steamboat Willie'' became the most popular cartoon of its time. It has received wide critical acclaim, for introducing one of the world's most popular cartoon characters and for its technical innovation. It is often considered one of the most influential cartoons ever made. Animators voted it the 13th-greatest cartoon of all time in the 1994 book ''The 50 Greatest Cartoons'', and in 1998, the film was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing {{!}} Film Registry {{!}} National Film Preservation Board {{!}} Programs {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. |archive-date=October 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031213743/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |url-status=live}}</ref> As a work published in 1928, ''Steamboat Willie'' entered the US public domain on {{nowrap|January 1, 2024}}.
==Background== Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier character originated by the Disney studio but owned at the time by Universal Pictures.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Michael|last=Barrier|title=The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney|publisher=University of California Press|year=2008|page=56|isbn=978-0-520-25619-4|url=https://archive.org/details/animatedmanlifeo0000barr}}</ref> The first two ''Mickey Mouse'' films produced, silent versions of ''Plane Crazy'' and ''The Gallopin' Gaucho'', had failed to gain a distributor. According to Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney was inspired to create a sound cartoon to greatly increase its appeal, after watching ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gabler |first=Neal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JHrODsAdNwC |title=Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |year=2006 |isbn=9780307265968 |edition=1st |page=116 |author-link=Neal Gabler |access-date=December 26, 2023 |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226172213/https://books.google.pt/books?id=5JHrODsAdNwC&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-PT#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref> The character of Pete predates ''Steamboat Willie'' by three years, having appeared as the villain to both Oswald and Disney's first ever cartoon hero, Julius the Cat (an unlicensed derivative character of Felix the Cat) starting with ''Alice Solves the Puzzle'' (1925), though he was originally depicted as a bear.
''Steamboat Willie'' became widely recognized as the first cartoon with synchronized sound, but it is not.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lazarescu-Thois |first=Laura |title=From Sync to Surround: Walt Disney and its Contribution to the Aesthetics of Music in Animation |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/sound.2018.0117 |journal=The New Soundtrack |date=2018 |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=61–72 |doi=10.3366/sound.2018.0117 |issn=2042-8855 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-date=August 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813205823/https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/sound.2018.0117 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref> From May 1924 to September 1926, Dave and Max Fleischer's Inkwell Studios produced 19 sound cartoons, part of the ''Song Car-Tunes'' series, using the Phonofilm sound-on-film process. However, the ''Song Car-Tunes'' failed to keep the sound fully synchronized, whereas ''Steamboat Willie'' was produced using a click track to keep his musicians on the beat.<ref name=Finch>{{cite book |last=Finch |first=Christopher |title=The Art of Walt Disney from Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom |year=1995 |publisher=Harry N. Abrahms, Inc., Publishers |location=New York |isbn=0-8109-2702-0 |page=23}}</ref> Only one month before ''Steamboat Willie'' was released, Paul Terry released ''Dinner Time'', which has a soundtrack but was not a financial success.
In June 1927, producer Pat Powers made an unsuccessful takeover bid for Lee de Forest's Phonofilm Corporation. In the aftermath, Powers hired a former DeForest technician, William Garrity, to produce a cloned version of the Phonofilm system, which Powers dubbed "Powers Cinephone". By then, de Forest was in too weak a financial position to mount a legal challenge against Powers for patent infringement. Powers convinced Disney to use Cinephone for ''Steamboat Willie''. Their business relationship lasted until 1930 when Powers and Disney had a falling-out over money, and Powers hired away Disney's lead animator, Ub Iwerks.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}
==Plot== thumb|thumbtime=0:26|''Steamboat Willie'' (1928) Mickey Mouse is piloting a side-wheeler paddle steamer, cheerfully whistling "Steamboat Bill" and sounding the boat's three whistles. Soon, captain Pete appears and orders Mickey off of the bridge. Annoyed, Mickey blows a raspberry at Pete who attempts to kick him, but Mickey rushes away in time and Pete accidentally kicks himself in the rear. Mickey falls down the stairs, slips on a bar of soap on the boat's deck, and lands in a bucket of water. A parrot laughs at him, and Mickey throws the bucket on its head in retaliation.
Pete has been watching the occurrence, and pilots the steamboat himself. He bites off some chewing tobacco and spits into the wind. The spit flies backward and rings the boat's bell. Amused, Pete spits again, but this time the spit hits him in the face, to his dismay.
The steamboat makes a stop at "Podunk Landing" to pick up a cargo of various livestock. Mickey has trouble getting one of the slimmer cows with a FOB tag onto the boat attached to a harness. To solve this, Mickey fills the cow's stomach up with hay to fatten the slim cow into the harness. Just as they set off again, Minnie Mouse appears, running to catch the boat before it leaves. Mickey does not see her in time, but she runs after the boat along the shore calling out Mickey's name. Mickey hears Minnie's calls and he takes her on board by hooking the cargo crane to her bloomers.
Landing on the deck, Minnie accidentally drops a ukulele and sheet music for the song "Turkey in the Straw", which are eaten by a goat. After a brief tug of war with the goat over the partially eaten ukulele, Mickey loses his grip and it lands inside the goat. The force from the ukulele makes the goat begin to play musical notes. Mickey is interested, and orders Minnie to begin using the goat's body as a phonograph by turning its tail like a crank. Music begins to play which delights the two mice. Mickey uses various objects on the boat as percussion accompaniment, and later on begins to "play" the animals like musical instruments via pulling the tail of a cat, stretching a goose's throat, tugging on the tails of a nursing sow's piglets and using the sow as an accordion, and using a cow's teeth and tongue as a xylophone to play the song.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salys |first=Rimgaila |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cDk8d2UMRLwC&q=%22Steamboat+Willie%22+%22turkey+in+the+straw%22&pg=PA86 |title=The Musical Comedy Films of Grigorii Aleksandrov |year=2009 |publisher=Intellect |isbn=9781841502823 |oclc=548664422 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320055440/https://books.google.com/books?id=cDk8d2UMRLwC&q=%22Steamboat+Willie%22+%22turkey+in+the+straw%22&pg=PA86 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gould |first=Stephen Jay |date=June 7, 1979 |editor-last=Dixon |editor-first=Bernard |title=Perpetual Youth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-EEANKOC6kC&q=%22Steamboat%20Willie%22%20%22turkey%20in%20the%20straw%22&pg=PP1 |magazine=New Scientist |volume=82 |issue=1158 |pages=832–834 |issn=0028-6664 |oclc=964677385 |access-date=November 21, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url= |title=The New Illustrated Treasury of Disney Songs |publisher=Hal Leonard |year=1998 |isbn=0-7935-9365-4 |edition=5th |oclc=57245282}}</ref>
Captain Pete is unamused by the musical act and puts Mickey to work peeling potatoes as a punishment. Out of spite, Mickey uses a knife to peel the potatoes wastefully, discarding most of the potato along with the skin. In the potato bin, the same parrot that laughed at him earlier appears in the porthole and laughs at him again. Fed up with the bird's heckling, Mickey throws a half-peeled potato at it, knocking it back into the river below. Mickey then laughs as he sits next to the potatoes and hears the parrot squawking.
===Dialogue=== Mickey, Minnie, and Pete perform in near-pantomime, with growls and squeaks but no intelligible dialogue. The only true dialogue in the film is spoken by the ship's parrot. When Mickey falls into a bucket of soapy water, the bird says, "Hope you don't feel hurt, big boy! Ha ha ha ha ha!".<ref>{{Citation |title=Mickey Mouse – Steamboat Willie (1928) {{!}} Walt Disney {{!}} 4K Remastered [Full Movie] | date=January 2024 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dawXVDYSZw |access-date=January 1, 2024 |language=en |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101131231/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dawXVDYSZw |url-status=live}}</ref> After Mickey throws the bucket onto the parrot's head, it cries "Help! Help! Man overboard!". It repeats the phase at the end of the short, after which Mickey throws a potato at the parrot and it falls into the water.<ref>{{cite book |last=Korkis |first=Jim |title=The Mickey Mouse Reader |date=2014 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1628461039 |editor1-last=Apgar |editor1-first=Garry |page=333 |chapter=More Secrets of Steamboat Willie}}</ref>
==Production== [[File:Earlypete.jpg|thumb|Pete confronts Mickey on the bridge of the steamboat]] ''Steamboat Willie'' was produced between July and September 1928, which according to Roy O. Disney's personal notes had a budget of {{US$|4,986.69|1928|about=yes|round=-3}}, including the prints for movie theaters.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/happy-90th-birthday-mickey-mouse-fun-facts-about-steamboat-willie/ |title=Happy 90th Birthday Mickey Mouse: Fun Facts about 'Steamboat Willie' |access-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925170428/https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/happy-90th-birthday-mickey-mouse-fun-facts-about-steamboat-willie/ |url-status=live}}</ref> There was initially some doubt among the animators that a sound cartoon would appear believable enough, so before a soundtrack was produced, Disney arranged for a screening of the film to a test audience with live sound to accompany it.<ref name=Fanning>{{cite book |last=Fanning |first=Jim |title=Walt Disney |year=1994 |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |isbn=9780791023310}}</ref> This screening took place on July 29, with ''Steamboat Willie'' only partly finished. The audience sat in a room adjoining Walt Disney's office. Roy projected the film from outdoors and through a window, to hide the projector's mechanical sound. Ub Iwerks hung a bedsheet behind the movie screen, behind which he placed a microphone connected to speakers where the audience would sit. The live sound was produced from behind the bedsheet. Wilfred Jackson played the music on a mouth organ, Ub Iwerks banged on pots and pans for the percussion segment, and Johnny Cannon provided sound effects with various devices, including slide whistles and spittoons for bells. Walt Disney provided the short's little dialogue, mostly grunts, laughs, and squawks. After several practices, they were ready for the performance for Disney employees and their wives.
The audience's response was extremely positive, and it gave Walt Disney the confidence to move forward and complete the film. He recalled this first viewing: "The effect on our little audience was nothing less than electric. They responded almost instinctively to this union of sound and motion. I thought they were kidding me. So they put me in the audience and ran the action again. It was terrible, but it was wonderful! And it was something new!" Iwerks said: "I've never been so thrilled in my life. Nothing since has ever equaled it."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |title=Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons |publisher=New American Library |year=1987 |isbn=0-452-25993-2 |edition=Rev. |location=New York |pages=34–35 |oclc=16227115 }}</ref>
Walt Disney traveled to New York City to hire a company to produce the soundtrack, since no such facilities existed in Los Angeles. He eventually settled on Pat Powers's Cinephone system,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lipton |first1=Lenny |title=The Cinema in Flux: The Evolution of Motion Picture Technology from the Magic Lantern to the Digital Era |date=2021 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-1-0716-0951-4 |page=281 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRIoEAAAQBAJ&dq=cinephone+steamboat+willie&pg=PA281 |access-date=January 10, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> created by Powers using a bootlegged and updated version of Lee De Forest's Phonofilm system.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Koszarski |first1=Richard |title=Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff |date=2008 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4293-5 |page=231 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NzOhgPs80MC&dq=cinephone+steamboat+willie&pg=PA231 |access-date=January 10, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
The music in the final soundtrack was performed by the Green Brothers Novelty Band and was conducted by Carl Edouarde. Joe and Lew Green from the band also assisted in timing the music to the film. The first attempt to synchronize the recording with the film, done on September 15, 1928, was a disaster.<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Dave |title=Steamboat Willie By Dave Smith, Chief Archivist Emeritus, The Walt Disney Company |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215161143/https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=Loc.gov}}</ref> Disney had to sell his Moon roadster in order to finance a second recording. This was a success, with the addition of a filmed bouncing ball to keep the tempo.<ref name="EDAS">{{Cite web |title=Steamboat Willie (1928) – The Internet Animation Database |url=https://www.intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry.aspx?shortID=96 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327040614/http://www.disneyshorts.org/years/1928/steamboatwillie.html |archive-date=March 27, 2008 |website=Internet Animation Database}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney. Steamboat Willie. 1928 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/302797 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250706133958/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/302797 |archive-date=2025-07-06 |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
==Release and reception== [[File:Broadway Theatre NYC entrance.jpg|thumb|right|The Broadway Theatre in New York (2007) was known in 1928 as Universal's Colony Theatre, when it premiered ''Steamboat Willie''.]] ''Steamboat Willie'' premiered at Universal's Colony Theater in New York City on November 18, 1928.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Broadway Theatre |url=http://www.shubertorganization.com/theatres/broadway.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112132355/http://www.shubertorganization.com/theatres/broadway.asp |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |website=The Shubert Organization |quote=The most notable film that played there in the early years was Walt Disney's ''Steamboat Willie'' which opened in 1928, and introduced American audiences to an adorable rodent named Mickey Mouse.}}</ref> The film was distributed by Celebrity Productions,<ref name="EDAS" /> and its initial run was played five times daily<ref>{{cite news |title=No Interruption |url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily4546newy/page/1304/mode/ |access-date=December 30, 2023 |work=The Film Daily |volume=46 |issue=43 |publisher=New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc. |date=November 20, 1928 |page=1305}}</ref> for two weeks. Disney was paid {{US$|500|1928|about=yes|long=no|round=-3}} per week.<ref name="EDAS" /> It played ahead of the independent feature film ''Gang War''.<ref name="McGowan"/> ''Steamboat Willie'' was an immediate hit, but ''Gang War'' became a lost film.
thumb|right|A Colony theater bill from November 18, 1928, promoted ''Steamboat Willie'' in the second row The success of ''Steamboat Willie'' led to international fame for Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse.
''Variety'' magazine's issue on November 21, 1928, said: {{blockquote|Not the first animated cartoon to be synchronized with sound effects, but the first to attract favorable attention. This one represents a high order of cartoon ingenuity, cleverly combined with sound effects. The union brought forth laughs galore. Giggles came so fast at the Colony [Theater] they were stumbling over each other. It's a peach of a synchronization job all the way, bright, snappy, and fit the situation perfectly. Cartoonist, Walter Disney. With most of the animated cartoons qualifying as a pain in the neck, it's a signal tribute to this particular one. If the same combination of talent can turn out a series as good as ''Steamboat Willie'' they should find a wide market if the interchangeability angle does not interfere. Recommended unreservedly for all wired houses.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 21, 1928 |title=Talking Shorts |url=https://archive.org/details/variety93-1928-11/mode/2up |magazine=Variety |volume=93 |issue=4 |page=13 |access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref>}}
''The Film Daily'' on November 25, 1928, said: {{blockquote|This is what ''Steamboat Willie'' has: First, a clever and amusing treatment; secondly, music and sound effects added via the Cinephone method. The result is a real tidbit of diversion. The maximum has been gotten from the sound effects. Worthy of bookings in any house wired to reproduce sound-on-film. Incidentally, this is the first Cinephone-recorded subject to get a public exhibition and at the Colony [Theater], New York, is being shown over Western Electric equipment.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 25, 1928 |title=Short Subjects |url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily4546newy/page/1342/mode/2up |magazine=The Film Daily |volume=46 |issue=47 |page=9 |access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref>}}Columbia Pictures reissued the film after Walt Disney Productions switched distributors.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg|first1=Jeff|title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons|date=1999|publisher=Checkmark Books|isbn=0-8160-3831-7|accessdate=2026-02-20|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/56/mode/2up|page=108}}</ref>
===Legacy=== In 1994, members of the animation field voted ''Steamboat Willie'' 13th in the book ''The 50 Greatest Cartoons'', which listed the greatest cartoons of all time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beck |first=Jerry |title=The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals |date=1994 |publisher=Turner Publishing |isbn=978-1878685490 |edition=1st |oclc=30544399}}</ref> In 1998, the short was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hooray for Hollywood (December 1998) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9812/film.html|website=Loc.gov|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=January 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112051533/http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9812/film.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Australian Perth Mint released a {{convert|1|kg}} gold coin in honor of ''Steamboat Willie'' in 2015.<ref name="Australian Perth Mint Coin">{{cite news |first=Perth |last=Mint |title=Disney – Steamboat Willie 2015 1 Kilo Gold Proof Coin |url=https://www.perthmint.com/catalogue/steamboat-willie-2015-one-kilo-gold-proof-coin.aspx |publisher=Pert Mint |date=November 27, 2014 |access-date=November 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128052533/http://www.perthmint.com.au/catalogue/steamboat-willie-2015-one-kilo-gold-proof-coin.aspx |archive-date=November 28, 2014}}</ref> In 2024, Time Out magazine ranked it as the best animated short film of all time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singer |first=Matthew |date=2024-04-11 |title=30 Best Animated Short Films Ever Made |url=https://www.timeout.com/film/the-30-best-animated-short-films-ever-made |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219200405/https://www.timeout.com/film/the-30-best-animated-short-films-ever-made |archive-date=2024-12-19 |access-date=2025-07-15 |work=Time Out Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In the 21st century, some have characterized the film as depicting animal cruelty.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stacy |first=Greg |date=2004-08-01 |title=Cruelty to an Animal |url=https://www.helnwein.com/press/internet/article_2142--Cruelty-to-an-Animal- |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=www.helnwein.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Beckerman |first=Jim |date=2018 |title=Mickey Mouse -- 90 this November -- wasn't always Mr. Nice Guy |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2018/11/05/disneys-mickey-mouse-turns-90-and-ny-exhibit-celebrates/1372885002/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203134530/https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2018/11/05/disneys-mickey-mouse-turns-90-and-ny-exhibit-celebrates/1372885002/ |archive-date=2023-02-03 |access-date=2025-07-15 |work=North Jersey Media Group |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Copyright status== ===United States=== {{further|Works based on a copyright-free Mickey Mouse}} [[File:Steamboat Willie Enters the Public Domain.jpg|right|thumb|This 2024 illustration shows ''Steamboat Willie'' entering the public domain]] Prior to its entrance into the public domain on January 1, 2024, the film had been the center of a variety of general controversies regarding copyright. Its copyright was extended multiple times by acts of the United States Congress. Since the copyright was filed in 1928, three days after its initial release,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpict19121939librrich/page/812/ |title=Motion pictures, 1912–1939 |publisher=Library of Congress Copyright Office |year=1951 |page=813}}</ref> it was repeatedly extended for nearly a century.<ref>{{Cite news |title=For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain |last=Fleishman |first=Glenn |date=January 1, 2019 |access-date=April 14, 2022 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/first-time-20-years-copyrighted-works-enter-public-domain-180971016/ |archive-date=April 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415013921/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/first-time-20-years-copyrighted-works-enter-public-domain-180971016/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
''Steamboat Willie'' could have entered the public domain in four different years: first in 1955,<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1981 |title=Catalog of copyright entries. Ser.3 pt.12–13 v.9–12 1955–1958 Motion Pictures |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084451130&view=page&seq=373 |journal=Catalog of Copyright Entries.musical Compositions |publisher=Library of Congress Copyright Office |pages=373 |oclc=6467863 |access-date=January 13, 2024}}</ref> at which point it was renewed to 1986,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Titles in document V2207P476 |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/doctitles.cgi?V2207P476 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506012232/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/doctitles.cgi?V2207P476 |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |access-date=April 19, 2022 |quote=163 Steamboat Willie / R162021 (1955)}}</ref> then extended to 2003 by the Copyright Act of 1976,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Free (Steamboat) Willie: How Walt Disney's Original Mouse Could be Entering the Public Domain: Pondering The Fate Of KC-Inspired Intellectual Property |url=https://www.flatlandkc.org/arts-culture/free-steamboat-willie-how-walt-disneys-original-mouse-could-be-entering-the-public-domain/ |last=Douglas |first=Jacob |date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=April 10, 2022 |work=Flatland |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226142831/https://www.flatlandkc.org/arts-culture/free-steamboat-willie-how-walt-disneys-original-mouse-could-be-entering-the-public-domain/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and finally to 2023 by the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (also known pejoratively as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act").<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lessig |first=Lawrence |title=Copyright's First Amendment |journal=UCLA Law Review |volume=48 |issue=5 |pages=1057–1073 |issn=0041-5650}}</ref> It has been claimed that these extensions were a response by Congress to extensive lobbying by The Walt Disney Company.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lessig |first=Lawrence |url= |title=Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity |title-link=Free Culture (book) |date=2004 |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=1-59420-006-8 |location=New York |page=220 |oclc=53324884 |author-link=Lawrence Lessig}}</ref>
In the 1990s, former Disney researcher Gregory S. Brown determined that the film was likely in the U.S. public domain already due to errors in the original copyright formulation.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-22-fi-mickey22-story.html|title=Disney's rights to young Mickey Mouse may be wrong|last=Menn|first=Joseph|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=August 22, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521062106/http://articles.latimes.com/p/2008/aug/22/business/fi-mickey22|archive-date=May 21, 2009|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> In particular, the original film's copyright notice had two additional names between Disney and the copyright statement. Thus, under the rules of the Copyright Act of 1909, all copyright claims would be null.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1909 |title=An Act to Amend and Consolidate the Act Respecting Copyright |url=https://www.copyright.gov/history/1909act.pdf |access-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-date=December 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227024915/https://copyright.gov/history/1909act.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LA Times"/> Arizona State University professor Dennis Karjala suggested that one of his law school students look into Brown's claim as a class project. Lauren Vanpelt took up the challenge and produced a paper agreeing with Brown's claim. She posted her project on the Internet in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala/publicdomain/Vanpelt-s99.html|title=Mickey Mouse – A Truly Public Character|last=Vanpelt|first=Lauren|date=Spring 1999|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002215114/http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala/publicdomain/Vanpelt-s99.html|archive-date=October 2, 2008|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> Disney later threatened to sue a Georgetown University law student who wrote a paper confirming Brown's claims,<ref name=UVSL>{{cite journal|url=http://homepages.law.asu.edu/~dkarjala/opposingcopyrightextension/publicdomain/HedenkampFreeMickeyMouseVaSp&E%282003%29.htm|title=Free Mickey Mouse: Copyright Notice, Derivative Works, and the Copyright Act of 1909|last=Hedenkamp|first=Douglas A.|journal=Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal|date=Spring 2003|issue=2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725055415/http://homepages.law.asu.edu/~dkarjala/opposingcopyrightextension/publicdomain/HedenkampFreeMickeyMouseVaSp&E(2003).htm|archive-date=July 25, 2008|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> alleging that publishing the paper could be slander of title, but Disney chose not to sue after its publication.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080822/1750312073.shtml|title=Turns Out Disney Might Not Own The Copyright On Early Mickey Mouse Cartoons|last=Masnick|first=Mike|work=Techdirt|date=August 25, 2008|access-date=May 28, 2020|quote=Disney warned him that publishing his research could be seen as 'slander of title' suggesting that he was inviting a lawsuit. He still published and Disney did not sue.|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023121441/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080822/1750312073.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Excerpt from Steamboat Willie (1928), used as part of Walt Disney Animation Studios Logo.gif|thumb|right|The Walt Disney Animation Studios production logo since 2007 is based on an excerpt from ''Steamboat Willie''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Patten |first=Dominic |title=Mickey Mouse Hits The Public Domain, But Don't Expect To Get A Free Ride On 'Steamboat Willie' |url=https://deadline.com/2024/01/mickey-mouse-public-domain-2024-steamboat-willie-1235681133/ |access-date=January 2, 2024 |work=Deadline |date=January 1, 2024 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102150807/https://deadline.com/2024/01/mickey-mouse-public-domain-2024-steamboat-willie-1235681133/ |url-status=live}}</ref>]] Beginning in 2022, several Republican lawmakers vowed to oppose any future attempt to extend the copyright term due to Disney's opposition of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act. Legal experts noted that later versions of Mickey Mouse created after ''Steamboat Willie'' will remain copyrighted, and Disney's use of the ''Steamboat Willie'' version as a logo in its films since 2007 may allow the company to claim protection for the 1928 version under trademark law, because active trademarks can be renewed in perpetuity if the owner can prove ongoing usage.<ref name="Martín2022">{{Cite news |last=Martín |first=Hugo |date=May 11, 2022 |title=Republicans took away Disney's special status in Florida. Now they're gunning for Mickey himself |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-05-11/mickey-mouse-copyright-expiration-disney-under-attack-republicans |access-date=January 22, 2023 |archive-date=May 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511121233/https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-05-11/mickey-mouse-copyright-expiration-disney-under-attack-republicans |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Barnes2022">{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |date=December 27, 2022 |title=Mickey's Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Creation Will Soon Be Public Property |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/mickey-mouse-disney-public-domain.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231025064529/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/mickey-mouse-disney-public-domain.html |archive-date=October 25, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
In April 2023, John Oliver announced his intention to use the ''Steamboat Willie'' version of Mickey Mouse as the new mascot for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' as soon as the cartoon entered the public domain in 2024, and debuted the "brand new character".<ref>{{cite news |last=Tinoco |first=Armando |date=April 2, 2023 |title=John Oliver Tests Disney's Lawyers By Staking Claim On Mickey Mouse Ahead Of ''Steamboat Willie'' Version Entering Public Domain |work=Deadline |url=https://deadline.com/2023/04/john-oliver-tests-disney-lawyers-staking-claim-mickey-mouse-steamboat-willie-version-entering-public-domain-1235316046/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522052725/https://deadline.com/2023/04/john-oliver-tests-disney-lawyers-staking-claim-mickey-mouse-steamboat-willie-version-entering-public-domain-1235316046/ |archive-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref>
Not affecting trademark status,<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=January 1, 2019 |title=Mickey Mouse will be public domain soon{{snd}}here's what that means |language=en-us |work=Ars Technica |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/a-whole-years-worth-of-works-just-fell-into-the-public-domain/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102000118/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/a-whole-years-worth-of-works-just-fell-into-the-public-domain/ |archive-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> ''Steamboat Willie'' entered the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2024, more than 95 years after its release.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Jennifer |title=Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle |url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/ |website=web.law.duke.edu |publisher=Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain |access-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101003836/https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Delouya |first=Samantha |date=January 1, 2024 |title=An early version of Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/01/business/mickey-mouse-early-version-copyright-expired/index.html |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101093815/https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/01/business/mickey-mouse-early-version-copyright-expired/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> thumb|A graph explaining the film's trademark status in the United States as of 2024 Although it was believed that only the black-and-white depiction of Mickey Mouse (lacking the red shorts and gloves) would enter the public domain, it has been pointed out that a promotional poster created in 1928 features Mickey Mouse wearing red shorts and yellow gloves, meaning those attributes might also have entered the public domain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bolling |first=Ruben |date=January 2, 2024 |title=Mickey Mouse's red shorts have entered the public domain |url=https://boingboing.net/2024/01/02/mickey-mouses-red-shorts-have-entered-the-public-domain.html |access-date=December 29, 2024 |website=Boing Boing |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8AT04E/ |title=Mickey Mouse poster from 1928 sells for more than $100,000 |publisher=Reuters |date=November 29, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2024}}</ref> However, though the poster was created in 1928, it is unclear whether it was published that year; thus, its copyright status is unknown, and Mickey Mouse's red shorts and yellow gloves are not definitively in the public domain (whether such details reach a threshold of originality is another unresolved issue).<ref name=":0" />
===Japan=== The copyright status of ''Steamboat Willie'' has been more complicated in Japan. Many people believed that the copyright expired in May 1989, based on the regular copyright term of 50 years after publication plus the wartime extension of 10 years and 5 months. In 2003, Japan extended the copyright length for films to 70 years, but it did not revive already expired copyrights. However, films released before 1971 remain under copyright until 38 years after the director dies if it is longer than 70 years after publication.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.uw.edu/Casrip/Newsletter/Vol14/newsv14i1Mitani.html |title=Argument for the Extension of the Copyright Protection over Cinematographic Works|access-date=March 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204230924/http://www.law.washington.edu/Casrip/Newsletter/Vol14/newsv14i1Mitani.html |archive-date=February 4, 2008}}</ref> Ub Iwerks, the last surviving director, died in 1971, and counting from 38 years after his death plus the wartime extension, Mickey Mouse entered the public domain in Japan in May 2020. Still, some people{{who|date=March 2025}} alleged that Mickey Mouse would remain protected until 2052 due to the complex nature of the protection for films.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://xtrend.nikkei.com/atcl/contents/skillup/00009/00073/|title=ミッキーマウスの著作権が2023年終了 喜べない日本の複雑な事情|website=日経クロストレンド | access-date=March 9, 2025 | lang=Japanese}}</ref>
However, according to the Copyright Act of Japan, once the cinematographic work's copyright expires, the original work also loses copyright protection, and the protection for the author's life plus 70 years does not apply to anonymous, corporate or cinematographic works,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4207 | title=Copyright Act (Act No. 48 of May 6, 1970 amended up to Act No. 52 of 2021)}}</ref> so it is most likely that the film entered the public domain in May 2020.
==In other media== {{multiple image | align = right | width = 200 | image1 = Walt Disney - Steamboat Willie (vinyl record) 02.jpg | image2 = Walt Disney - Steamboat Willie (vinyl record) 01.jpg | footer = Disney Music Group released a vinyl record with the music score of "Steamboat Willie" in 2018. |direction = vertical }}
===Television and film=== The fourth-season 1992 episode of ''The Simpsons'' "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" features a short parody of the opening scene of ''Steamboat Willie'', titled ''Steamboat Itchy''.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |last2=Wood |first2=Adrian |year=2000 |title=Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season4/page7.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904192407/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season4/page7.shtml |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
In the 1998 film ''Saving Private Ryan'', set in 1944, a German prisoner of war, nicknamed "Steamboat Willie", tries to win the sympathy of his American captors by talking about Mickey Mouse.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=Jeff |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jhfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT373 |title=A Mouse Divided: How Ub Iwerks Became Forgotten, and Walt Disney Became Uncle Walt |publisher=Post Hill Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781682616284 |chapter= 36: Overlord |access-date=December 26, 2023 |archive-date=December 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230233949/https://www.google.pt/books/edition/A_Mouse_Divided/7jhfDwAAQBAJ?hl=pt-PT&gbpv=1&pg=PT373 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In the 2008 film spinoff ''The Beast with a Billion Backs'' from the TV series ''Futurama'', the opening is a parody of ''Steamboat Willie''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 9, 2011 |title=Futurama: 'Reincarnation' (6.26) |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/futurama/futurama-review-reincarnation-626 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606193514/https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/futurama/futurama-review-reincarnation-626 |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Paste |language=en-US}}</ref>
As part of its 100-year anniversary, in July 2023, Disney released a ''The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse'' special and series finale titled ''Steamboat Silly'' featuring multiple copies of vintage Mickey.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Justin |date=July 29, 2023 |title=Disney's Beloved Mickey Mouse Shorts End Their Decade-Long Run |url=https://gizmodo.com/disney-mickey-mouse-shorts-steamboat-silly-1850688719 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224173748/https://gizmodo.com/disney-mickey-mouse-shorts-steamboat-silly-1850688719 |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Gizmodo |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mullinax |first=Hope |date=November 19, 2023 |title=Disney Celebrates Mickey Mouse's 95th Birthday With a Special Tribute Video |url=https://collider.com/mickey-mouse-95th-birthday-disney-100-video/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231226144750/https://collider.com/mickey-mouse-95th-birthday-disney-100-video/ |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref>
The first cinematic adaptation of ''Steamboat Willie'' since its entry to public domain is the live-action art film ''Social Imagineering'' by multidisciplinary artist Sweætshops released at midnight on January 1, 2024, which was filmed on the PS ''Waverley'' paddle steamer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2023 |title=Mickey Mouse ''Steamboat Willie'' feature filmed on Waverley |url=https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/24045988.mickey-mouse-steamboat-willie-feature-filmed-waverley/ |access-date=January 13, 2024 |website=Greenock Telegraph |language=en-UK}}</ref>
===Video games=== ''Steamboat Willie''–themed levels are featured in the video games ''Mickey Mania'' (1994),<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Neill |first=Jamie |date=December 14, 2010 |title=Mickey Mania Review (SNES) |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2010/12/mickey_mania_retro |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925202413/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2010/12/mickey_mania_retro |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Nintendo Life}}</ref> ''Kingdom Hearts II'' (2005),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mejia |first=Ozzie |date=April 15, 2018 |title=Kingdom Hearts 3 Goes Retro with Classic Kingdom |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/104349/kingdom-hearts-3-goes-retro-with-classic-kingdom |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723044040/http://www.shacknews.com:80/article/104349/kingdom-hearts-3-goes-retro-with-classic-kingdom |archive-date=July 23, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Shacknews |language=en}}</ref> and ''Epic Mickey'' (2010).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tong |first=Sophia |date=July 26, 2010 |title=Peter David penning Epic Mickey digicomic, graphic novel |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/peter-david-penning-epic-mickey-digicomic-graphic-novel/1100-6270901/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323000336/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/peter-david-penning-epic-mickey-digicomic-graphic-novel/1100-6270901/ |archive-date=March 23, 2014 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref> An alternate ''Steamboat Willie''-themed costume of ''Kingdom Hearts''{{'}} Sora is featured in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' (2018).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kamen |first=Matt |date=October 5, 2021 |title='Kingdom Hearts' hero Sora is the final 'Super Smash Bros Ultimate' DLC fighter |url=https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/kingdom-hearts-hero-sora-is-the-final-super-smash-bros-ultimate-dlc-fighter-3063004 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330220233/https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/kingdom-hearts-hero-sora-is-the-final-super-smash-bros-ultimate-dlc-fighter-3063004 |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> The ''Steamboat Willie'' versions of Mickey Mouse and Pete are featured as playable racers in ''Disney Speedstorm'' (2023).<ref>{{cite news |last=Ford |first=Suzie |title=Steamboat Pete Cruising into Disney Speedstorm in Season 2 |url=https://www.gamespace.com/all-articles/news/steamboat-pete-cruising-into-disney-speedstorm-in-season-2/ |access-date=January 2, 2024 |work=GameSpace |date=May 26, 2023 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102083827/https://www.gamespace.com/all-articles/news/steamboat-pete-cruising-into-disney-speedstorm-in-season-2/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Penwell |first=Chris |title=All Disney Speedstorm characters so far |url=https://www.destructoid.com/all-disney-speedstorm-characters-so-far/ |access-date=January 2, 2024 |work=Destructoid |date=September 24, 2023 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102002314/https://www.destructoid.com/all-disney-speedstorm-characters-so-far/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Other use by Disney=== In 1993, to coincide with the opening of Mickey's Toontown in Disneyland, a shortened cover of the cartoon's music was arranged to be featured in the land's background ambiance.<ref>{{Citation |title=Steamboat Willie (From "Toontown") | date=October 26, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwvrGovM7ak |access-date=January 2, 2024 |language=en |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101190837/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwvrGovM7ak |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2007, a ''Steamboat Willie'' clip of Mickey whistling started being used in the production logo of Walt Disney Animation Studios.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Osmond |author-link=Andrew Osmond (journalist) |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tRuEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=100 Animated Feature Films|edition=rev. |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2022 |isbn=9781839024443 |pages=3 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |archive-date=December 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230233954/https://www.google.pt/books/edition/100_Animated_Feature_Films/6tRuEAAAQBAJ?hl=pt-PT&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maddaus |first=Gene |date=December 22, 2023 |title=Mickey Mouse, Long a Symbol in Copyright Wars, to Enter Public Domain: 'It's Finally Happening' |url=https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/mickey-mouse-public-domain-disney-copyright-lawsuits-1235844322/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224213338/https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/mickey-mouse-public-domain-disney-copyright-lawsuits-1235844322/ |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2019, Lego Ideas released an official ''Steamboat Willie'' set to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderton |first=Ethan |date=March 18, 2019 |title=Cool Stuff: Disney's Classic 'Steamboat Willie' Mickey Mouse Short Is Becoming A LEGO Set |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/565045/steamboat-willie-lego-set/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231226150637/https://www.slashfilm.com/565045/steamboat-willie-lego-set/ |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}</ref>
The whistle in the film has been used to make sound, and the ship's wheel is a prop,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2023/01/25/photos-first-look-inside-the-mickey-minnies-runaway-railway-queue-at-disneyland/|title=Photos: First Look Inside the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Queue at Disneyland|website=laughingplace.com|date=January 25, 2023|accessdate=March 24, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://disneyaddicts.com/top-10-mickey-cartoons-to-watch-before-riding-mickey-minnies-runaway-railway-at-disneyland-297093/|title=Top 10 Mickey Cartoons to Watch Before Riding Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Disneyland|website=disneyaddicts.com|date=February 25, 2023|accessdate=March 24, 2023}}</ref> in the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway attraction, which opened at Disneyland in January 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palm |first=Iman |date=January 27, 2023 |title=What to expect with Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway ride at Disneyland |url=https://ktla.com/news/theme-parks/disneyland/mickey-minnies-runaway-railway-what-guests-should-expect-from-disneylands-latest-ride/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231226142328/https://ktla.com/news/theme-parks/disneyland/mickey-minnies-runaway-railway-what-guests-should-expect-from-disneylands-latest-ride/ |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=KTLA |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Works based on ''Steamboat Willie''=== Following the cartoon entering the public domain, several unofficial media were announced, including survival horror game ''Infestation: Origins''.<ref>{{cite news |last=McCaffrey |first=Ryan |title=Mickey Mouse-Inspired Horror Game 'Infestation 88' Announced |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/mickey-mouse-inspired-horror-game-infestation-88-announced |access-date=January 2, 2024 |work=IGN |date=January 1, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
Several film adaptations were announced.<ref name=Horror1/> ''The Mouse Trap'' (2024) is a slasher film where a mass murderer in a Mickey Mouse mask hunts down a group of teenagers inside an amusement arcade,<ref name="Variety">{{cite web |last1=Maddaus |first1=Gene |title='Steamboat Willie' Horror Film Announced as Mickey Mouse Enters Public Domain |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/steamboat-willie-horror-film-mickey-mouse-public-domain-copyright-1235849861/ |website=Variety |access-date=January 4, 2024 |date=January 2, 2024}}</ref> and ''Screamboat'' (2025)<ref>{{cite web |title=Untitled Steamboat Willie Horror Film – IMDb |website=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30766582/reference/ |access-date=January 4, 2024}}</ref> is a comedy horror film where Mickey Mouse turns into a mutated creature that starts a murderous rampage on a ferry.<ref name="Variety" /> ''Screamboat'' was directed by Steven LaMorte, who previously worked on the 2022 Grinch slasher film ''The Mean One''.<ref name=Horror2/>
Media compared both films to ''Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey'' which was enabled by Winnie-the-Pooh entering the public domain the previous year.<ref name=Horror1>{{cite news |last=Nordyke |first=Kimberly |title=Trailer for Mickey Mouse Slasher Film Drops on Same Day 'Steamboat Willie' Character Enters Public Domain |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mickey-mouse-slasher-film-trailer-drops-steamboat-willie-public-domain-1235777382/ |access-date=January 2, 2024 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 2, 2024}}</ref><ref name=Horror2>{{cite news |last=Maddaus |first=Gene |title='Steamboat Willie' Horror Film Announced as Mickey Mouse Enters Public Domain |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/steamboat-willie-horror-film-mickey-mouse-public-domain-copyright-1235849861/ |access-date=January 2, 2024 |work=Variety |date=January 2, 2024}}</ref>
After Disney declined to acknowledge whether the company would pursue litigation regarding a planned advertisement by law firm Morgan & Morgan based on the film, the law firm sued Disney in September 2025 in the US Florida Middle District Court.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schneider |first=Mike |title=Morgan & Morgan sues Disney to use 'Steamboat Willie' in law firm ads |website=Associated Press |date=2025-09-17 |url=https://apnews.com/article/disney-morgan-morgan-steamboat-willie-6f8b8ab3fa1d7168424803f38d09838a |access-date=2025-11-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brittain |first=Blake |title=Disney sued by law firm Morgan & Morgan over 'Steamboat Willie' ad |website=Reuters |date=2025-09-17 |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/disney-sued-by-law-firm-morgan-morgan-over-steamboat-willie-ad-2025-09-17/ |access-date=2025-11-19}}</ref> Two months later, Morgan & Morgan dropped their lawsuit.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brittain |first=Blake |title=Law firm Morgan & Morgan drops Disney lawsuit over Mickey Mouse ad |website=Reuters |date=2025-11-12 |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/law-firm-morgan-morgan-drops-disney-lawsuit-over-mickey-mouse-ad-2025-11-12/ |access-date=2025-11-19}}</ref>
==Release history== ===Theatrical=== * July 1928 – first sound test screening (silent with live sound) * September 1928 – first attempt to synchronize the recording on the film * November 1928 – original theatrical release with final soundtrack * 1972 – ''The Mouse Factory'', episode #33: "Tugboats" (TV) * 1990s – ''Mickey's Mouse Tracks'', episode #45 (TV) * 1996 – ''Mickey's Greatest Hits'' * 1997 – ''Ink & Paint Club'', episode #2 "Mickey Landmarks" (TV) * Ongoing – Main Street Cinema at Disneyland
===Cuts=== thumb|This segment of film was cut from a ''Steamboat Willie'' reel by a 1930s cinema. In the 1950s, Disney removed a scene in which Mickey tugs on the tails of the baby pigs, and then picks up the mother and kicks them off her teats, and plays her like an accordion, because television distributors deemed it inappropriate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Korkis |first=Jim |date=November 14, 2012 |title=Secrets of Steamboat Willie |url=https://www.mouseplanet.com/10157/Secrets_of_Steamboat_Willie |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=Mouseplanet.com |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506012233/https://www.mouseplanet.com/10157/Secrets_of_Steamboat_Willie |url-status=live}}</ref> A variant of this censored version is featured on the 1998 VHS/Laserdisc compilation special ''The Spirit of Mickey'', where the first part of the scene with Mickey pulling on the piglets' tails is reinstated. Since then, the full version of the film was included on the ''Walt Disney Treasures'' DVD set "Mickey Mouse in Black and White", and on Disney+ and the Disney website.<ref>{{Citation |title=Steamboat Willie |url=https://video.disney.com/watch/steamboat-willie-4ea9de5180b375f7476ada2c |access-date=January 8, 2024 |language=en |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104063242/https://video.disney.com/watch/steamboat-willie-4ea9de5180b375f7476ada2c |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Home media=== * 1984 – ''Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Editions: Mickey'' (VHS) * 1998 – ''The Spirit of Mickey'' (VHS/Laserdisc) * 2001 – ''The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story'' (VHS) * 2002 – ''Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White''<ref>{{cite web|title=Mickey Mouse in Black and White DVD Review|url=https://www.dvdizzy.com/mmblackwhite.html|website=DVD Dizzy|access-date=February 19, 2021|archive-date=March 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301064155/https://www.dvdizzy.com/mmblackwhite.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * 2005 – ''Vintage Mickey'' (DVD) * 2007 – ''Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit DVD Review |url=https://www.dvdizzy.com/oswald.html |website=DVD Dizzy |access-date=February 14, 2021 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225110140/https://www.dvdizzy.com/oswald.html |url-status=live}}</ref> * 2009 – ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (Blu-ray) * 2018 – ''Celebrating Mickey'' 90th-anniversary compilation (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital) ** ''Celebrating Mickey'' was reissued in 2021 as part of the U.S. Disney Movie Club exclusive ''The Best of Mickey Collection'' along with ''Fantasia'' and ''Fantasia 2000'' (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Best of Mickey Collection Blu-ray |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Best-of-Mickey-Collection-Blu-ray/284994/ |website=Blu-ray.com |access-date=May 23, 2021 |archive-date=May 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523205142/https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Best-of-Mickey-Collection-Blu-ray/284994/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * 2019 – Disney+ (streaming online) * 2023 – ''Mickey & Minnie: 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1'' 95th-anniversary compilation (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital)
==See also== * History of animation * 2024 in public domain * ''Mickey Mouse'' (film series)
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{DisneyAtoZ|title=''Steamboat Willie''}} * {{IMDb title}} * ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20111203224534/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/514481/Steamboat-Willie/ Steamboat Willie]'' at the TCM Movie Database * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726003331/http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=96 ''Steamboat Willie''] at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts * [https://archive.org/details/SteamboatWillie ''Steamboat Willie''] at the Internet Archive * [https://www.filmsound.org/animation/steamboatwilly/ The Test Screening of ''Steamboat Willie'']
===Essays=== * [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/steamboat_willie.pdf ''Steamboat Willie'' essay] by Dave Smith, Chief Archivist Emeritus, The Walt Disney Company at National Film Registry * ''Steamboat Willie'' essay by Daniel Eagan in ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry]'', A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pp. 152–153 * [https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/ ''Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle'' essay] by Jennifer Jenkins, Director, Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain
{{Mickey Mouse in animation}} {{Minnie Mouse in animation}} {{Pete (Disney) in animation}} {{Ub Iwerks}} {{Clarabelle Cow in animation}} {{Portal bar|Disney|Animation|Cartoon|Film|1920s|United States}} {{Authority control}}
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