In February 2024, our lab participated in a Short-Term Working Group (SWG) focused on collaborative experimental animation. The project reimagined Disney’s Steamboat Willie (1928), examining its legacy and cultural symbolism through participatory animation and reinterpretation.

With the film entering the public domain in January 2024, we saw an opportunity to critically engage with one of animation’s most iconic works. Our group, an international collective based in North Texas, set out to deconstruct the meaning of Mickey Mouse by removing him entirely from the narrative. Selected frames from the original film were printed, and Mickey was manually erased, creating a visual void that invites reflection on cultural memory, authorship, and the passage of time.

The final piece, titled Steamboat, was created in the Experimenta.l. lab and was one of four animations selected for screening at the Annecy Festival 2025 Official Closing Ceremony. It was featured as part of the introduction to the Off-Limits Award, which honors innovation and excellence in experimental animation.

The work also screened at the Aurora Video Art Night Festival (Dallas, TX, Spring 2024) and the Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival (Baltimore, MD, Fall 2024).

You can view the short film, along with selected footage and documentation of the project, below.

• Project Steamboat – experimenta.l. YouTube Channel

• Project Steamboat – experimenta.l.