List of animated films in the public domain in the United States

The following is a list of animated films in the public domain in the United States for which there is a source to verify its status as public domain under the terms of U.S. copyright law. For more information, see List of films in the public domain in the United States. Films published before are not included because all such films are in the public domain (Note: while the film in and of itself may be in the public domain, the original versions may incorporate elements that remain under a separate copyright).

Some shorts listed here were produced for the United States government such as the Private Snafu series. Because they were produced for the U.S. government, they automatically fall into the public domain.

Warner Bros. Pictures
The films listed below were last owned by Warner Bros. Pictures when the time for their renewals came up.

Source: Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain

Looney Tunes

 * 1) Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930)
 * 2) Congo Jazz (1930)
 * 3) Hold Anything (1930)
 * 4) Booze Hangs High, The (1930)
 * 5) Box Car Blues (1930)
 * 6) Big Man from the North (1931)
 * 7) Ain't Nature Grand! (1931)
 * 8) Ups 'n Downs (1931)
 * 9) Dumb Patrol (1931)
 * 10) Yodeling Yokels (1931)
 * 11) Bosko's Holiday (1931)
 * 12) The Tree's Knees (1931)
 * 13) Bosko Shipwrecked! (1931)
 * 14) Bosko the Doughboy (1931)
 * 15) Bosko's Soda Fountain (1931)
 * 16) Bosko's Fox Hunt (1931)
 * 17) Bosko at the Zoo (1932)
 * 18) Battling Bosko (1932)
 * 19) Big-Hearted Bosko (1932)
 * 20) Bosko's Party (1932)
 * 21) Bosko and Bruno (1932)
 * 22) Bosko's Dog Race (1932)
 * 23) Bosko at the Beach (1932)
 * 24) Bosko and Honey (1932)
 * 25) Bosko's Store (1932)
 * 26) Bosko the Lumberjack (1932)
 * 27) Hollywood Capers (1935)
 * 28) Boom Boom (1936)
 * 29) Westward Whoa (1936)
 * 30) Porky's Railroad (1937)
 * 31) Get Rich Quick Porky (1937)
 * 32) Porky's Garden (1937)
 * 33) Ali-Baba Bound (1940)
 * 34) Timid Toreador, The (1940)
 * 35) Haunted Mouse, The (1941)
 * 36) Joe Glow the Firefly (1941)
 * 37) Porky's Bear Facts (1941)
 * 38) Porky's Preview (1941)
 * 39) Porky's Ant (1941)
 * 40) Coy Decoy, A (1941)
 * 41) Porky's Prize Pony (1941)
 * 42) Meet John Doughboy (1941)
 * 43) We, the Animals Squeak! (1941)
 * 44) Henpecked Duck, The (1941)
 * 45) Notes to You (1941)
 * 46) Robinson Crusoe Jr. (1941)
 * 47) Porky's Midnight Matinee (1941)
 * 48) Porky's Pooch (1941)
 * 49) Porky's Pastry Pirates (1942)
 * 50) Who's Who in the Zoo (1942)
 * 51) Porky's Cafe (1942)
 * 52) Saps in Chaps (1942)
 * 53) Daffy's Southern Exposure (1942)
 * 54) Nutty News (1942)
 * 55) Hobby Horse-Laffs (1942)
 * 56) Gopher Goofy (1942)
 * 57) Wacky Blackout (1942)
 * 58) Ducktators, The (1942)
 * 59) Eatin' on the Cuff (or The Moth Who Came to Dinner) (1942)
 * 60) Impatient Patient, The (1942)
 * 61) Daffy Duckaroo, The (1942)
 * 62) Confusions of a Nutzy Spy (1943)
 * 63) Hop and Go (1943)
 * 64) Tokio Jokio (1943)
 * 65) Porky Pig's Feat (1943)
 * 66) Scrap Happy Daffy (1943)
 * 67) Puss n' Booty (1943)

Merrie Melodies

 * 1) Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (1931)

United Artists
The films listed below were last owned by United Artists when the time for their renewals came up.

Source: Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain

Merrie Melodies

 * 1) Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931)
 * 2) One More Time (1931)
 * 3) You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931)
 * 4) Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (1931)
 * 5) Red-Headed Baby (1931)
 * 6) Pagan Moon (1932)
 * 7) Freddy the Freshman (1932)
 * 8) Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee (1932)
 * 9) Goopy Geer (1932)
 * 10) It's Got Me Again! (1932)
 * 11) Moonlight for Two (1932)
 * 12) Queen Was in the Parlor, The (1932)
 * 13) I Love a Parade (1932)
 * 14) You're Too Careless With Your Kisses (1932)
 * 15) I Wish I Had Wings (1932)
 * 16) Great Big Bunch of You, A (1932)
 * 17) Three's a Crowd (1932)
 * 18) Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives, The (1933)
 * 19) I Wanna Be a Sailor (1937)
 * 20) Jungle Jitters (1938)
 * 21) Have You Got Any Castles? (1938)
 * 22) Hamateur Night (1939)
 * 23) Robin Hood Makes Good (1939)
 * 24) Gold Rush Daze (1939)
 * 25) Day at the Zoo, A (1939)
 * 26) Prest-O Change-O (1939)
 * 27) Bars and Stripes Forever (1939)
 * 28) Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939)
 * 29) Early Worm Gets the Bird, The (1940)
 * 30) Farm Frolics (1941)
 * 31) Sport Chumpions (1941)
 * 32) All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)
 * 33) Rookie Revue (1941)
 * 34) Wabbit Who Came to Supper, The (1942)
 * 35) Wacky Wabbit, The (1942)
 * 36) Foney Fables (1942)
 * 37) Fresh Hare (1942)
 * 38) Fox Pop (1942)
 * 39) Dover Boys at Pimento University (or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall), The (1942)
 * 40) Sheepish Wolf, The (1942)
 * 41) Tale of Two Kitties, A (1942)
 * 42) Ding Dog Daddy (1942)
 * 43) Case of the Missing Hare (1942)
 * 44) Pigs in a Polka (1943)
 * 45) Fifth-Column Mouse, The (1943)
 * 46) Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
 * 47) Corny Concerto, A (1943)
 * 48) Falling Hare (1943)
 * 49) Inki and the Minah Bird (1943)

Popeye the Sailor cartoons

 * 1) I'm in the Army Now (1936)
 * 2) Little Swee'Pea (1936)
 * 3) Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
 * 4) Paneless Window Washer, The (1937)
 * 5) Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937)
 * 6) I Never Changes My Altitude (1937)
 * 7) A Date to Skate (1938)
 * 8) Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939)
 * 9) Customers Wanted (1939)
 * 10) Me Musical Nephews (1942)
 * 11) Shuteye Popeye (1952)
 * 12) Big Bad Sindbad (1952)
 * 13) Ancient Fistory (1953)
 * 14) Floor Flusher (1954)
 * 15) Popeye's 20th Anniversary (1954)
 * 16) Taxi-Turvy (1954)
 * 17) Bride and Gloom (1954)
 * 18) Greek Mirthology (1954)
 * 19) Fright to the Finish (1954)
 * 20) Private Eye Popeye (1954)
 * 21) Gopher Spinach (1954)
 * 22) Cookin' with Gags (1955)
 * 23) Popeye for President (1956)
 * 24) Out to Punch (1956)
 * 25) Assault and Flattery (1956)
 * 26) Insect to Injury (1956)
 * 27) Parlez Vous Woo (1956)
 * 28) I Don't Scare (1956)
 * 29) A Haul in One (1956)
 * 30) Nearlyweds (1957)
 * 31) The Crystal Brawl (1957)
 * 32) Patriotic Popeye (1957)
 * 33) Spree Lunch (1957)
 * 34) Spooky Swabs (1957)

Looney Tunes

 * 1) To Duck or Not to Duck (1943)
 * 2) Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943)
 * 3) Daffy – The Commando (1943)

Universal Pictures
The films listed below were last owned by Universal Pictures when the time for their renewals came up.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Every short from and before has entered the public domain as of 2024.

National Periodical Publications
The films listed below were last owned by National Periodical Publications when the time for their renewals came up.

Superman cartoon series

 * 1) Superman (1941)
 * 2) Mechanical Monsters, The (1941)
 * 3) Arctic Giant, The (1942)
 * 4) Billion Dollar Limited (1942)
 * 5) Bulleteers, The (1942)
 * 6) Destruction Inc. (1942)
 * 7) Electric Earthquake (1942)
 * 8) Eleventh Hour (1942)
 * 9) Japoteurs (1942)
 * 10) Magnetic Telescope, The (1942)
 * 11) Showdown (1942)
 * 12) Terror on the Midway (1942)
 * 13) Volcano (1942)
 * 14) Jungle Drums (1943)
 * 15) Mummy Strikes, The (1943)
 * 16) Secret Agent (1943)
 * 17) Underground World, The (1943)

National Telefilm Associates

 * Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)

Walt Disney Productions

 * 1) The Mad Doctor (1933)
 * 2) Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952)

U.S. Government films
The films listed below are works of the United States government, which makes them public domain.

Source: Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain

Private Snafu (Warner Bros.)
Produced between 1943 and 1945.
 * 1) Booby Traps
 * 2) Censored
 * 3) The Chow Hound
 * 4) Coming! Snafu!
 * 5) Fighting Tools
 * 6) Gas
 * 7) Going Home
 * 8) Gripes
 * 9) The Home Front
 * 10) Hot Spot
 * 11) In the Aleutians
 * 12) The Infantry Blues
 * 13) The Goldbrick
 * 14) It's Murder She Says
 * 15) A Lecture on Camouflage
 * 16) Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike
 * 17) Rumors
 * 18) Secrets of the Caribbean
 * 19) Snafuperman
 * 20) Spies
 * 21) Target: Snafu
 * 22) The Three Brothers
 * 23) Operation: Snafu
 * 24) Outpost
 * 25) Pay Day
 * 26) No Buddy Atoll

Mr. Hook (Warner Bros.)
Produced between 1943 and 1945.
 * 1) The Good Egg
 * 2) The Return of Mr. Hook
 * 3) Tokyo Woes

Walt Disney Productions

 * 1) The Spirit of '43 (1943)

Other government films

 * Warner Bros.
 * 1) 90 Day Wondering (1956)
 * 2) Any Bonds Today? (1942)
 * 3) Drafty, Isn't It? (1957)
 * 4) A Hitch in Time (????)
 * 5) Point Rationing of Foods (????)
 * 6) So Much for So Little (1949)
 * All 1943–1944 Fred Brunish stop-motion instructional films for the U.S. Navy

Miscellaneous

 * All U.S.-based productions made prior to, including much of the Colonel Heeza Liar, Felix the Cat, Mutt and Jeff, Krazy Kat and Winsor McCay libraries, along with the earliest Walt Disney productions including Laugh-O-Gram Studio and Steamboat Willie.
 * Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid (1929) – the animated/live action short film by Harman-Ising Productions that would spawn the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series