Slashed freed from Disney’s copyright as of Monday, the enduring character from “Steamboat Willie” is already the main target of two horror movies. On Monday, simply hours after the 1928 brief entered the general public area, a trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” dropped on YouTube. One other yet-to-be-titled movie was introduced Tuesday.
“Steamboat Willie” featured early variations of each Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, it was the third cartoon that includes the duo they made however the first to be launched. In it, a extra menacing Mickey, bearing extra resemblance to rat than mouse, captains a ship and makes musical devices out of different animals.
It’s maybe becoming, then, that the primary initiatives introduced are seemingly low-budget and campy slasher films — and never unprecedented. Winnie the Pooh — sans purple shirt — entered the general public area in 2022; scarcely a yr later, he was notching up a heavy physique rely in the microbudget “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.”
Within the trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap,” directed by Jamie Bailey, what seems to be a human in a comically small Mickey masks terrorizes a gaggle of younger folks at an arcade.
“A place for fun. A place for friends. A place for hunting,” textual content flashed through the trailer reads. “The mouse is out.”
“We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it’s Steamboat Willie’s Mickey Mouse murdering people,” director Jamie Bailey mentioned in a press release cited by commerce publications. “It’s ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows.”
No launch date has been set.
The second film is from director Steven LaMorte, who beforehand directed a horror parody of “The Grinch,” which isn’t within the public area (the film is thus known as “The Mean One”).
“A late-night boat ride turns into a desperate fight for survival in New York City when a mischievous mouse becomes a monstrous reality,” is the logline for the untitled movie, per a submit on LaMorte’s Instagram.
“Steamboat Willie has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror,” LaMorte mentioned in a launch cited by the trades. The film has but to start manufacturing.
With the expiration of the 95-year copyright, the general public is allowed to make use of solely the preliminary variations of Mickey and Minnie — not the extra acquainted character designs.
“We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright,” Disney mentioned in a press release forward of the characters coming into the general public area.
LaMorte told Variety that the producers of his movie are working with a authorized group in order to not run afoul of Disney, and can name their raging rodent Steamboat Willie as a substitute of Mickey Mouse.
“We are doing our due diligence to make sure there’s no question or confusion of what we’re up to,” he mentioned.
