How Generative AI Threatens Hollywood’s Walled Gardens

Now you, too, can experiment with Mickey Mouse.

Art by Clark Miller

Rosen is the author of Medium Shift, tracking the transformations underway in the media business.

The “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse emerged in 1928 from Walt Disney’s passion project to marry cartoons with synchronized sound. It lost copyright protection on Jan. 1 as generative artificial intelligence tools launched a creative revolution threatening Hollywood’s business model.

New generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, which creates videos from text prompts, make it easier for anyone to be a 21st-century Walt Disney. Using a text-to-video AI tool, anyone can reimagine “Steamboat Willie” and transform animation into an interactive experience guided by the imaginations of its users.