2 Mice; 2 Ducks; 2 Dogs and a bear….

December 18, 2025

Disney lost the copyright for the original, 1928 version of Mickey Mouse (as he appeared in Steamboat Willie)  on January 1, 2024.  This was merely a function of timing.  And prognosticators foretold of dire consequences which have not meaningfully materialized. 

Back in the late 90s, my agency won the Disney Standard Character Licensing account.  Tiny team of 6 people whose division delivered outsized impact: more than $1 billion in profit to the bottom line of the parent company.

Six people.  $1 billion

You may ask how that is possible? – and thus, a story about the power of brand!

Two mice, two ducks, two dogs and a bear.  That’s how the team summed up Disney Standard Character suite – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Winnie the Pooh.  This group ran more than 288 licensees ranging from companies like Johnson & Johnson and Hasbro to Tiffany jewelers, T-shirt manufacturers and everything in between.  Each company held a license to use one or more of the pre-approved, tightly held images from those “standard characters.”

Making Sense of Chaos

We were awarded the business and immediately noticed some gaps in communications and understanding – who had which licenses, for which distribution or retail channel(s), for which age groups.  It was a mess.  The first order of business was to make it make sense, for everyone (licensees, the Disney team/executives and consumers).

Adopting Occam’s Razor (‘the simplest explanation is the best’), we opted to categorize by age range:

This product structure reflected Disney’s famous “Cradle to Grave” philosophy of customer relevance and it enabled the same manufacturer licensee to sell a single unit into multiple distribution channels at increasing margins.

The new categorization of products meant guardrails and clearly demarcated lines were needed for all stakeholders to maintain an orderly operation.

Retail channels were defined by customer and price point:

Walmart carried different products than Macys and different still from Bloomingdale’s – you see where this is going.

Advertising restrictions were put in place – magazines and media outlets for Disney Babies were not the same as for Mickey & Co.  This meant photographers, look & feel, models, etc., all needed to be connected but highly differentiated.

Even PR looked and felt different sub-brand to sub-brand, all in service of differentiation.

The Low Roar:

Perhaps the most-often cited critique heard by the team from its licensees was “when will there be another Mickey Mouse movie?”

These same licensees made millions from The Little Mermaid, Hercules, The Lion King and other animated Disney feature films.  Sales of T-shirts, backpacks, stickers and school supplies reliably skyrocketed post release.  There was another bump around the sequel and home entertainment releases.  And then sales fell off a cliff.

That’s the bit right there – ‘fell off a cliff’.

None of the “Standard Characters” had a major film release in decades yet their likenesses produced billons at retail.  Why mess with a good thing?!  A movie meant instant sales uplift AND an inevitable down-spiral.  No movie could sustain that level of nostalgia or keep selling based on the memories and good feelings these images evoked.

The licensees never seemed to grasp this – we heard it at every sales kickoff or licensing conference.

Winnie the Pooh was Different:

I’ll save the details around this re-launch for another time, but suffice it to say: On launch, Disney Standard Character Licensing’s “New Pooh” reached $800,000,000 in sales in its first year.  Is it any wonder these brands delivered $1 billion in profit to Disney’s bottom line.

That’s the power of a brand. Tightly controlled.  Universally loved and understood.  Licensed smartly to ensure long-tail revenue.

Need to add some power to your brand? Contact us – it’s what we do.  Check the bell on my profile for more stories like this.

Of Note: Speaking of $1 Billion - last week Disney announced a $1 Billion investment in OpenAI alongside licensing acquired characters from Star Wars and (importantly) its standard character library – time will tell how this impacts its bottom line.  What are your thoughts?  Share in the comments.