Make Your Own Mickey Mouse Clip: Disney Embraces AI

AFP/APP

San Francisco: Walt Disney and OpenAI announced a landmark three-year licensing deal on Thursday that will let users create short videos featuring iconic Disney characters through artificial intelligence.

The agreement marks the first time a major entertainment studio has allowed generative AI platforms to legally use its highly protected characters — from Mickey Mouse and Elsa to Marvel superheroes and Star Wars figures like Darth Vader — for user-generated content.

The move represents a major shift for an industry that has largely been fighting AI companies in court. Disney and other major media groups have sued OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity for allegedly using copyrighted material without permission to train their AI models.

Disney continued its legal push on Wednesday, sending a cease-and-desist letter to Google over the alleged use of its intellectual property in training the tech giant’s AI systems.

For OpenAI, the partnership comes as the company faces escalating concerns about the sustainability of its business model, with operational costs rising far faster than revenue despite approaching one billion users worldwide.

Under the deal, fans will be able to generate and share videos featuring more than 200 characters across Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars using OpenAI’s Sora video-generation platform and ChatGPT. Launched in September, Sora functions as a TikTok-style social network where only AI-generated videos can be posted.

From its early days, Sora drew criticism as users uploaded videos featuring characters resembling copyrighted icons from South Park, Pokémon, and more. CEO Sam Altman promised to give rights holders greater control after pushback from license owners.

The partnership includes a $1 billion equity investment by Disney in OpenAI, as well as warrants allowing Disney to purchase additional shares in the future. Disney shares rose more than 2 percent following the announcement.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said the collaboration would “thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling.” Characters available for AI fan creations will include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Elsa, Iron Man, Captain America, Darth Vader, and Yoda.

The agreement excludes talent likenesses and actor voices — a point of major concern in Hollywood amid ongoing debates over AI’s impact on creatives.

“This does not in any way represent a threat to creators — in fact the opposite,” Iger told CNBC. “I think it honors and respects them, in part because there’s a license fee associated with it.”