EMERYVILLE, Calif. — Disney and Pixar Studios are being forced to produce a sequel to Inside Out after being notified by their lawyers that their copyright over the five emotions present in the film would soon expire, according to a press release from Disney CEO Bob Iger.
“Unfortunately Disney’s never been very good at keeping ownership over IP, so we will need to work fast,” said Iger.
“It is very important to keep the basic concept of emotions under the Disney umbrella so that we can continue to bring you Joy and Sadness like no other company is legally allowed to. Thanks to our ownership, you are able to have all the Fear and Disgust you want while at one of our parks. Get ready for our newest Disney brand emotion, Anxiety!”
Disney’s lawyers explained the ownership details.
“Disney only possesses the notion of feeling Joy, Disgust, Sadness, Fear, and Anger. Emotions such as Envy and Greed are still in the public domain. Do not attempt to create your own Sadness, as you will be swiftly faced with an infringement lawsuit,” explained one lawyer.
“The same copyright goes for other concepts-turned-Pixar-movies owned by Disney such as elements, the existence of souls, and red pandas.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was very disappointed to learn that Disney was retaining the rights.
“We here at the WB would’ve loved to have more emotions in our films. Unfortunately, we only own the rights to having Shame, Boredom, and Horniness in our movies,” Zaslav said when interviewed on the subject.
“It would have been great to have Joy appear in Space Jam 3 to play basketball with Tony Soprano and Xavier Renegade Angel, but it’s seeming like we’ll have to shelve that idea.”
Disney is also attempting to obtain the rights to the emotion Disappointment, which will be making a cameo in the next Simpsons Disney Plus short.
