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If copyright was perpetual from before Shakespeare's time, he wouldn't have been able to write a number of his plays (for example Hamlet).
This is an example of the derivative works having been determined to be of greater societal value then the original works.
Besides taking a story and rewriting/telling it in a different media, from a different point of view, with more detail, set in a different time or place or just done better can be described as a vital cultural tradition which should not be forbidden without serious need (see the history of the stories of King Arthur, Robin Hood, Merlin .... all the way back to Gilgamesh).
Walt Disney can stick to trademarking Mickey and keeping him pristine that way (it's likely to be more effective).
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