Here’s what the twisted minds at Adult Swim did with Steamboat Willie
Adult Swim aired a raunchy interstitial celebrating the recent entry of Mickey Mouse's early incarnation in the public domain
Most of the Internet’s use of Steamboat Willie—the earliest version of Mickey Mouse that has recently entered the public domain—can be summed up in one classic copypasta. “Drew like a dark, fucked up version of [Steamboat Willie] haha,” the meme goes. “Just a glimpse into my dark reality. A full stare into my twisted perspective would make most simply go insane lmao.” See: proto-Mickey with pointy little teeth and an evil expression. How ghastly, how grotesque! This is not the non-threatening Mickey Mouse we know and love! Many of these dark, fucked up takes on Steamboat Willie are ironic and in on the joke, serving as commentary on the inevitable “twisted” projects that will employ the mouse’s visage. Now Adult Swim has entered the fray with its own gently NSFW Steamboat Willie, and the lines have become blurred about what’s twisted in an ironic way and what’s a sincere attempt at edginess.
Adult Swim first aired the brief interstitial on January 7, which features an animation of Steamboat Willie thrusting onto and kissing the text “PUBLIC DOMAIN BITCH.” Adult Swim is known for its cheeky little bumpers between programming (in 2020, mimicking AS bumps became a whole viral TikTok trend). This one’s not so very different, and we can take it at face value as a mild middle finger to the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world, from a tiny subsidiary of another major entertainment conglomerate.