As Disney’s 1928 short film Steamboat Willie enters the public domain, a trailer has been released for a horror comedy titled Mickey’s Mouse Trap, featuring children’s beloved Mickey Mouse character as the antagonist. Steamboat Willie showcases early non-speaking renditions of Mickey and Minnie and is acknowledged as the pivotal moment that elevated Disney’s success. With the expiration of Disney’s copyright, the images of these iconic characters are now accessible to the public in the US. This signifies that artists, including cartoonists, have the liberty to reinterpret and incorporate the earliest iterations of Mickey and Minnie into their creative works without seeking permission or incurring costs.
However, as per BBC, Disney emphasises that contemporary iterations of Mickey still remain under copyright protection.
Talking about the upcoming horror film – Mickey’s Mouse Trap whose trailer release date coincides with Steamboat Willie going public, the film revolves around a girl named Alex’s 21st Birthday. Alex is stuck at the amusement arcade on a late shift so her friends decide to surprise her, but a masked killer dressed as Mickey Mouse decides to play a game of his own with them which she must survive.
In the trailer, a person in a Mickey Mouse costume, resembling a hockey jersey without letters, attacks a victim and stalks others in a Chuck E. Cheese-like setting. The trailer also includes the words: “A place for fun, a place for friends, a place for hunting. The mouse is out."
The trailer of the film, shared by actor Simon Phillips also reiterates, “THIS IS NOT NOT A DISNEY FILM OR PRODUCTION. IT IS NOT TO AFFILIATED OR ENDORSED BY DISNEY IN ANY WAY."
Watch it here:
Directed by Jamie Bailey, the film reportedly aims to embrace the absurdity of Mickey Mouse being a killer, expressing a desire to have fun with the concept, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
The cast includes Sophie McIntosh, Callum Sywyk, Allegra Nocita, Ben Harris, Damir Kovic, Mackenzie Mills, Nick Biskupek, and Simon Phillips. Producers include Paul Whitney, Mark Popejoy, Alexander Gausman, and Andrew Agopsowicz, with Filmcore’s Mem Ferda co-producing.
Although the release date is uncertain, the producers target March, and details about distribution and platforms remain unclear. This film follows the trend set by last year’s Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a slasher film, created after A.A. Milne’s original work entered the public domain.
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