Disney and OpenAI are set to open the vault to Sora — yet an AI Mickey feels like magic lost

Some imagination, huh?

11 Dec 2025, 17:12 · TechRadar

Opinion By Jacob Krol published 11 December 2025

(Image credit: Future/Disney/OpenAI)

This is bold: The Walt Disney Company has struck a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI, which will allow Sora, the AI video generation tool, to use classic Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters.

Additionally, Disney’s making a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI – with the possibility of more – but for a company that’s been strict and intentional with the use of its characters, this is surprising.

Especially so, as with this agreement, classic characters like Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, as well as those from franchises like Frozen, Toy Story, Moana, Zootopia, and mainstays from the Star Wars and Marvel universes, will be eligible for use as licensed characters within OpenAI and Sora. So while it might seem fitting for Deadpool and Stitch to be thrown into some crazy scenes, for a company that’s been so strict on storytelling and use of characters, it’s a bit of an about-face.

Selections of short-form, Sora-generated videos will even be highlighted in Disney+, likely available to stream alongside classic films made by Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, to name a few. It’s critical to note that this is just for the characters, costumes, props, vehicles, and environments – not for any talent likeness or voice.

As noted in the release, Disney expects its licensed characters to begin appearing in Sora- and ChatGPT-generated content in early 2026. Robert A. Iger, CEO of Disney, is quoted as saying, “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry...”

It’s a will-they-or-won’t-they moment for Disney, as OpenAI and user-generated AI content have been growing, and we’ve been wondering when this would happen. Iger calls out the rapid development and progress of artificial intelligence and notes that the agreement struck is designed to “responsibly extend the reach of our (Disney’s) storytelling through generative AI.”

Iger also says it “puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before.” Disney’s also been about imagination and creativity, but it’s been real humans pulling the strings behind the curtains – writing the stories and drafting the art. This does mean you could act next to one of your favorite characters, though.

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