Summary

  • The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, a popular animated series, is coming to an end after releasing over 120 episodes since 2013.
  • The final short film, "Steamboat Silly," pays homage to Mickey Mouse's first appearance in "Steamboat Willie" and features a meta twist on the story.
  • "Steamboat Silly" is being released just before Mickey Mouse's copyright for his appearance in "Steamboat Willie" expires, and it remains to be seen if Disney will use it to retain the copyright. The short premieres on July 28th on Disney+.

The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Disney’s series of animated short films that tells fun stories starring Mickey, Minnie, and more, is coming to a close. The shorts under what would become this umbrella were released in 2013 (they were originally known simply as Mickey Mouse shorts), and over 120 episodes have been released between 2013 to 2023. The shorts have also won a number of Emmy awards, screened at prestigious events like the Venice Film Festival, and inspired the Disney attraction Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

To close out the long-running series and as part of the Disney100 celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Walt Disney Company’s founding, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse goes back to its roots in its final short. Screen Rant is excited to present an exclusive look at “Steamboat Silly”, which revisits the first-ever appearance of Disney’s most famous character. Check it out below:

Watch The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse: Steamboat Silly On July 28th

Steamboat Silly pic 2 Willy Mickey Mouse

As shown in the clip above, “Steamboat Silly” is an homage to Steamboat Willy, which introduced the character of Mickey Mouse. The story of “Steamboat Silly” is reminiscent of ’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” short in that Mickey Mouse has to wrangle a horde of characters he accidentally released. The fact that he is essentially wrangling his own past is a fun meta twist on the story.

Interestingly, “Steamboat Silly” is being released shortly before Mickey Mouse’s copyright is set to expire. The specific copyright in question is not of Mickey Mouse as a character, however, but his specific appearance in Steamboat Willy; whether or not “Steamboat Silly” can help Disney retain the Steamboat Willy copyright remains to be seen. Regardless, “Steamboat Silly” looks to be a fun and more than fitting way to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of one of the most influential companies of all time, as well as the end of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.

“Steamboat Silly”, the final short of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, premieres July 28th on Disney+.