The original Popeye, Tintin and more works from the 20s are now in the public domain

2025 has brought a new list of works now in the public domain, and some iconic creations are on the list.

In the US, the term of copyright protection for works published before 1978 is 95 years. This means that the 1929 work and 1924 sound recordings are open to everyone in the US as of January 1, 2025. That’s all the movies, books, songs and art published in the Roaring 20s, now out of copyright protection.

Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain has a helpful summarybut highlights include Hergé’s original Tintin character as he appeared in the Le Petit Vingtième magazine strip Les Aventures de Tintin, The Karnival Kid (Mickey Mouse’s first speaking appearance and the debut of his signature white gloves), and Alfred Hitchcock- the first of sound film, Xantaia.

The most notable entry, however, is the original Popeye (who didn’t eat spinach for strength), who appeared in the Thimble Theater comic strip Gobs of Work created by EC Segar. “Everything he says, all his characteristics, his personality, his sarcasm … that’s in the public domain,” Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain. he told NPR. “Spinach, if you want to be on the safe side, you might want to wait.”

January 1, 2024 The first iteration of Mickey Mouse entered the public domainand a day later The horror movie Steamboat Willie was announced. Winnie the Pooh’s Tigger also entered the public domain last year, as the character appeared in AA Milne’s The House in Pooh Corner in 1928. Tigger appeared in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2the sequence of Rhys Waterfield’s child-spoiling horror film. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 is in the works.

But 2025 is particularly interesting, as 1929 was the first year for cinema with sound. So it’s no surprise to see that some Popeye horror movies are already in the works. Popeye the Slayer Man is one, ITN Studios’ Popeye, which is said to be as hot as advertised, is another. Maybe we’ll even get a Tintin slasher in the next few years.

In 2026 works dating back to the 1930s will lose their copyright, including Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse’s dog Pluto, teenage detective Nancy Drew and the earliest versions of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.

Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.