Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse in Black & White, Vol. 2 Mickey's third set rounds out his earliest shorts, but it's a bit lacking compared to the first few volumes.

Mickey Mouse In Black And White (DVD)The earliest Walt Disney Studios animated shorts packed as much barnyard humor and crude slapstick as Disney's gagmen could shoehorn into eight minutes. After ...

The best-known Mickey Mouse film from those days is “ Steamboat Willie,” the seven-minute short that hit theaters in November of that year and kickstarted his international fame.

The black-and-white footage features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and was drawn shortly before the character was abandoned and turned into Mickey Mouse that same year.

Almost a century after his big-screen debut, Mickey Mouse enters the public domain on January 1, opening the floodgates to potential remakes, spin-offs, adaptations … and legal battles with Disney.

What could happen to the original version of Mickey Mouse and others after they entered the public domain on Jan. 1? Hint: think Winnie the Pooh wielding a sledgehammer.