DVDizzy Forum

Nine new Mickey Mouse cartoons also are becoming public domain, two years after Steamboat Willie made the first version of him public property. He’s joined this year by his dog Pluto, who, in 1930, was known as Rover.

Pluto’s earliest appearances from 1930 are now free to use, including his debut as an unnamed pooch in The Chain Gang and as Minnie Mouse’s dog “Rover” in The Picnic. Like early Betty Boop, these works lost U.S. copyright protection after 95 years. The name “Pluto” and his role as Mickey Mouse’s pet first appeared in The Moose Hunt (1931), which won’t enter the public domain until 2027.