Steamboat Willie

Steamboat Willie, released on November 18, 1928, is an animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. The cartoon is a parody of the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill Jr. and was written and directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It is a parody which has become more famous than what it is parodying.

Related Topics:
November 18 - 1928 - Animated cartoon - Mickey Mouse - Parody - Buster Keaton - Steamboat Bill Jr. - Walt Disney - Ub Iwerks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Music for Steamboat Willie was put together by Wilfred Jackson, one of Disney's animators (and not, as sometimes reported, by Carl Stalling). It comprises popular melodies including "Steamboat Bill" and "Turkey in the Straw".

Related Topics:
Wilfred Jackson - Carl Stalling - Turkey in the Straw

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It has been (and continues to be) in the history books as the first animated short with a completely post-produced soundtrack of music, dialogue, and sound effects, although other cartoons with synchronized soundtracks had been exhibited before, notably by Max Fleischer's My Old Kentucky Home (1926) and Paul Terry's Dinner Time (1928). Steamboat Willie was the first sound cartoon to attract widespread notice and popularity.

Related Topics:
Max Fleischer - My Old Kentucky Home - 1926 - Paul Terry - Dinner Time - 1928

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film has been the center of some attention regarding the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act passed in the United States. Steamboat Willie has been close to entering the public domain in the United States several times; each time, copyright protection in the United States has been extended. Many people have claimed that these extensions were a response by the U.S. Congress to extensive lobbying by Disney. However, the copyright extensions that Congress has passed in recent decades have followed extensions in international copyright conventions to which the United States is a signatory. (See U.S. copyright law, Universal Copyright Convention, and Berne Convention.) The U.S. copyright on Steamboat Willie will be in effect through 2023. However, it is now public domain in Canada and Australia.

Related Topics:
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act - United States - Public domain - Copyright - U.S. Congress - Disney - U.S. copyright law - Universal Copyright Convention - Berne Convention - Canada - Australia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~