{"id":42410,"date":"2024-01-19T18:14:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T23:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=42410"},"modified":"2024-01-19T18:14:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T23:14:54","slug":"the-bootleg-files-the-woo-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2024\/01\/19\/the-bootleg-files-the-woo-song\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: The Woo Song"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 852: \u201cThe Woo Song\u201d<\/strong> (2024 music video by Corey Rieman the Dilemma Band incorporating Walt Disney\u2019s \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d).
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\nLAST SEEN:<\/strong> On multiple social media and online video sites.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> Not yet.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> The underlying \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d footage has been the subject of complicated copyright actions.<\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: <\/strong>Some day, perhaps.<\/p>\n

On New Year\u2019s Day, Mickey Mouse was the center of attention because the copyright for the 1928 animated short \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d finally expired and the groundbreaking film that helped usher synchronized sound into the world of cartoons was suddenly denuded of copyright protection. Less than two weeks after \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d officially became a public domain work, footage from the film was incorporated into a bouncy music video for \u201cThe Woo Song\u201d from the rockers Corey Rieman and the Dilemma Band.
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For years, a controversy percolated over whether \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d was properly protected by copyright. During the 1990s, the film was the subject of papers published by several law students who believed that errors in the original copyright filing meant the film was always part of the public domain \u2013 Disney\u2019s aggressive legal team ensured those considerations never went beyond the concept of academic debate. Disney successfully lobbied Congress for copyright extension legislation in 1976 and 1988, but by 2022 Republicans on Capitol Hill became tired of what they perceived as the Mouse House\u2019s detour into woke politics and they refused to consider a third copyright extension law that would have kept \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d in Disney\u2019s ownership for longer.<\/p>\n

For \u201cSteamboat Willie,\u201d Disney used the tunes \u201cSteamboat Bill\u201d and \u201cTurkey in the Straw\u201d on the soundtrack. Those songs were already old standards by the time 1928 audiences saw and heard the film, but they fit into the cartoon\u2019s vaguely antediluvian setting. <\/p>\n

But when the original soundtrack is removed and a contemporary rock song is substituted \u2013 in this case, \u201cThe Woo Song\u201d from Corey Rieman and the Dilemma Band \u2013 something magical happens. When channeled into this music video, \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d doesn\u2019t seem like something from the dawn of the Herbert Hoover years, but instead comes across with a contemporary vibe with a free-spirited Mickey getting slapped down by a strict authority.<\/p>\n

In the video, the lyrics flash on the screen and they wonderfully mirror the 1928 animation. Rieman\u2019s song opens with \u201cBeing caught between dreams and memories makes you lose sight that yesterday\u2019s today was once a tomorrow\u201d and the on-screen action is the smiling, too-cheery Mickey steering the steamboat while whistling and musically rocking his body. Of course, Mickey loses sight of the seriousness of his duties, as the steamboat\u2019s captain Pete exiles him from the boat\u2019s steering wheel to the below deck ignominy of scrubbing the floor with a bar of soap while a nasty parrot laughs at his downfall. The song is punctuated by the cry of \u201cWoo!\u201d that is echoed throughout the cartoon in the steamboat\u2019s whistle and its various characters, and it can be considered as a cry for individualism amidst an environment where such behavior is not tolerated.<\/p>\n

And when Mickey is punished further by Pete for his dereliction of duties to peel potatoes, the song\u2019s lyrics \u201cSometimes it\u2019s what you need, sometimes it\u2019s you want\u201d echo the mouse\u2019s penchant for self-destructive behavior in this restrictive setting, reminding the view that he brought his punishment on himself for not taking himself seriously when the rules demand obedience and a somber sense of duty.<\/p>\n

As a disclosure: I\u2019ve known Corey Rieman for a number of years and I’ve worked with him on the PPRN Radio Internet-based talk show and on my own \u201cNutmeg Chatter\u201d radio show in Connecticut. I am prejudiced when I say what Corey and his band are among the best indie music groups out there today, and I can say in all sincerity that his video for \u201cThe Woo Song\u201d with Mickey Mouse as his star is among the most entertaining offerings that you\u2019ll find on the Internet today. For about three minutes, get yourself lost in \u201cThe Woo Song\u201d and be grateful that Mickey Mouse fell into the public domain and that Corey Rieman caught him.<\/p>\n