Wendy Heather Wood

The Plane Crazy version of Mickey Mouse cries while looking at the camera, holding a newspaper. The headline reads "Disney Invests $1 Billion in Open AI."

Disney is a company with a history of making bad decisions (even going back to the era where Walt was in charge of the studio), but the recent announcement of investing $1 billion in Open AI hit me really badly. The whole reason I became an artist in the first place was because I wanted to be able to draw Mickey Mouse. The fact that he was created and brought to life by living people inspired me to learn how to draw. Now Disney straight up is like “Oh we don’t need all those human artists to do all that stuff, we can just let the computer do it.” This decision not only feels like an insult to the fans, but an insult to every single artist whoever worked for the company. Am I shocked Disney made such an awful decision? Not entirely. As I’ve said, they have a history of making bad decisions no matter what the era, but this feels more baffling than anything considering earlier this year they were planning to sue Open AI. Disney is a company that has a history of being extremely strict with their IP, to the point where they sent a Cease and Desist to a daycare center for having unlicensed Mickey Mouse art on their walls. Yet here Disney is giving $1 billion to something known for making inappropriate content. Even with protections in place, there will be people who will find work arounds. Trust me, I’ve been on the internet for awhile. I’ve seen people put crap pass the radar again and again. The difference now is that it will be inappropriate slop with the Disney logo on it.

It’s especially bothersome for me, because Disney productions have always been a comfort for me. Whenever I’ve felt sad or angry or negative mood, doing something Disney related usually cheered me up. Wether watching a Disney movie or show, reading a Disney comic book, drawing Disney fan art, or discussing Disney history with friends, the mouse house has been my go-to comfort zone. Sadly it’s a bit hard to go to that comfort zone when that’s now become the source of my frustration (and sadly far from the only entertainment company to be pro-AI). It’s understandable to be angry, but I should make it clear that while we should be critical, we shouldn’t attack anyone still working for the company. Like many mega-corporations Disney is a collection of various smaller companies and studios, and not every part of that is going to agree with this decision like it’s a hive mind. Plus in this day where jobs are getting hard to come by (especially in the entertainment biz) people need to hold on to whatever they can find to support themselves. We also shouldn’t attack everyone who still buys Disney stuff. We don’t have to agree with them, but at the same time we shouldn’t pester everyone on the street who wears a Moana shirt.

Am I frustrated with the Disney’s recent decision? Oh yes, very much so. Do I hate the Disney company now? Well, not entirely. While I don’t love everything they’ve put out I still have a love for the studio’s creative output (I say sipping cocoa out of one of my Mickey Mouse mug, wearing my Mickey Mouse hoodie, sitting at my desk adorned with Mickey Mouse figurines, having just finished my annual viewing of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas). Whenever I express my love of Disney it’s for the creative side of the studio, not the meddling-executive business side, and I know several others feel the same way. One could argue creative side needs support now, if anything to prove to the higher-ups that it’s human creativity that’s kept Disney alive for over a century. That brings up the question though, how do we support the creative side of a company while still being critical of the business side? Is there even a way to do that when they’re connected with each other (as nearly every creative company is). I do not feel qualified to answer that question, and even if I did I don’t feel comfortable telling people what they should do with a situation like this. The best advice I can give is to use your own judgement, just as I’ll have to.

Vent art, with some venting thoughts.

#MickeyMouse #art

Illustration of team rockets pokemon from early on in the series.

team rocket ✨️🚀
#art #pokemon

Super useful and informative thread about Section 230.

12 year old me wearing a white sunhat with a fabric rose on it belonging to my mum.

42 year old me wearing the same hat.

30 years later, does it still suit me?

sign that says "please wait patiently for the failure of the system"

ever day I be like

Some more street art.

I saw some cool street art in Portsmouth today.

A grey squirrel having a feed on some grass.

The same squirrel, still munching away.

My little squirrel friend looking for food.

Squirrel having a bite to eat.

Made a new friend on my walk today.

I know some CD players couldn't play them. They'd either skip back to the last track or get confused and stop playing.

I also had a couple of CDs that had multimedia sections placed before the music and one of my players would play them as an audio track. It was pretty horrific.

Henry Golding.

A soft drawing of a white rabbit in a winter woodland scene, wearing a beige wool dress and pale pink winter shawl with a fur-lined bonnet, dropping seeds in the snow in a heart-shaped pattern for a small flock of chickadees.

Spreading good cheer 🐰🐦💕 #art #cuteart #bunnies #winter

A packet of Haribo Giant Strawbs, objectively the best kind of Haribo.

You can't go wrong with some oversized strawberries.

cozy baking time 🥣 ❤️ 🍪

Today's "Lauren Ipsum"

Pre-order the new book! https://ko-fi.com/s/cdec8cd7c7

View the website at https://lauren.smallbugstudio.com/
Subscribe to the comic at https://laurenipsum.substack.com

#webcomic #art #furryart

Digital illustration of a black cat sticking out the middle of a wreath. The wreath is decorated with red ribbon, mistletoe, pineapples and stars

🌲🐈‍⬛ Festive kitty!!!

#illustration #cuteart

A photo of a sea spider, definitely not an alien parasite waiting to jump on your face.

Oh hey, turns out we found some facehuggers in the ocean. Neat. phys.org/news/2025-12...

LIE MACHINE, Iron Circus Comics' next anthology is accepting applicants starting DECEMBER 1st til February 1st 2026. That's a whole two months for you to come up with a few pages and a text script! It doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to be at least basic sketches or concept! https://ironcircus.com/lie-machine/

"You really think someone would do that? Just go on the internet and tell lies?" 🤔💭

📻LIE MACHINE 📰 is officially taking submissions starting TODAY! Going from now until Feb 1st, 2026!
Follow this link down and read down to 'Production' to submit your pitch! ironcircus.com/lie-machine/

Mouse wrapped up for the cold with candle on snowball, tail is wrapped up too.

The little caroler
#sketchbook

Donald Trump: US president named inaugural Fifa Peace Prize winner US President Donald Trump receives the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize before the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

It’s weird that news organizations like the BBC are covering this as if it’s a real thing with a real process behind it—and not clearly some nakedly invented “participation trophy” by a corrupt organization to curry favor with a corrupt and easily manipulated man-child. www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

A cute Krampus says “you, in the bag.”

Gruß vom Krampusnacht. Merry Krampus night, hope y’all been good or you’re going in the bag.

Huh. Never thought being a former admin on a comic form could be the thing that might get me banned from the US.

A pack of cards can cost you a couple of quid/dollars and last years, and you can play with anything from pennies to the rusty screws you keep in a jar just in case. It has one of the lowest costs of entry for any game. All you need is someone with a deck and the inclination to teach you the rules.

Yeah, I think it's more likely that there are other planets with complex ecosystems on them than it is that Earth is entirely unique in that regard. I don't believe that interstellar travellers have been coming over to spy on us though.

FRIDAY!

FINALLY FRIDAY!

British novelists criticise government over AI ‘theft’ Richard Osman and Kate Mosse say plan to mine artistic works for data would destroy creative fields

Once more with feeling and a dollop of frustration … Taking our work without permission or payment is theft.

thttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/14/british-novelists-criticise-government-over-ai-theft#img-1

I initially just thought that someone who drove a Tesla was visiting Trump's building, which would be one of the least surprising events in history.

It's that time of year where I post this one

You can add your name to the petition mentioned in the article here: www.aitrainingstatement.org

About time someone else had a go at running this place. Our attempts have been hit and miss at best.