Prepare to see Mickey Mouse like never before! A chilling trailer for a slasher film, featuring a sinister killer donning a Mickey Mouse disguise, was unleashed on January 1st, coinciding with the expiration of Disney’s copyright on the earliest renditions of this iconic cartoon character in the United States.
The film’s producer explained, “Our aim was to create something entirely different from the norm.”
Simultaneously, a fresh horror-themed video game inspired by Mickey, portraying the beloved rodent smeared with bloodstains, also made its debut.
Steamboat Willie, the 1928 silent short film featuring the initial, voiceless Mickey and Minnie incarnations, officially entered the public domain in the US on New Year’s Day, granting cartoonists, novelists, and filmmakers the liberty to reinterpret and employ these early renditions without the need for permission or payment.
Capitalizing on these new opportunities, creative minds promptly seized the moment, unveiling a trailer for a Mickey-themed horror-comedy thriller titled “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” on the same day. In this spine-tingling tale, a young woman celebrates her birthday at an amusement arcade, only for festivities to take a nightmarish turn when she and her friends encounter a knife-wielding assailant disguised as Mickey Mouse.
The trailer ominously declares, “A place for fun, a place for friends, a place for hunting. The mouse is out.” Writer and producer Simon Phillips, who also portrays the masked antagonist, emphasized the movie’s intention: “People should not take it too seriously; we made a fantastically fun film.”
While the film’s exact release date remains unconfirmed, it is anticipated to hit theaters in March.
Not to be outdone, a new video game has been introduced, also featuring the 1928 rendition of Mickey. Developed by Nightmare Forge Games, the game, titled “Infestation 88,” plunges players into a survival horror scenario where a vermin infestation spirals into something more sinister. In the trailer’s eerie opening, a character nervously exclaims, “I thought it was just rodents, but there’s something else in here.” Suddenly, a blood-splattered Mickey looms on the screen, with mice scurrying about him.
A spokesperson from Nightmare Forge Games shared, “The entry of Steamboat Willie into the public domain allowed us to incorporate our own interpretation of the film’s iconic character into our game, seamlessly fitting as an antagonist causing a nightmarish infestation.”
Mickey Mouse is not the first beloved childhood character to undergo a transformation into a horror movie figure. When Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain, the endearing bear was reimagined in the R-rated horror film “Blood and Honey,” which was one of the lowest-rated films of the previous year.
According to US copyright law, character rights can be maintained for up to 95 years, which means that the characters from Steamboat Willie entered the public domain on January 1, 2024. Disney has previously safeguarded its characters’ copyrights through various extensions, earning the nickname “the Mickey Mouse Protection Act” for its efforts. Nevertheless, this momentous event was seen as “deeply symbolic” by experts.
Disney continues to hold separate trademarks for Mickey as a brand emblem and corporate mascot, imposing certain restrictions on how the public can utilize these images. Disney has also clarified that contemporary versions of Mickey Mouse are still subject to copyright protection, ensuring their continued legal protection.
