Steamboat Willie Hits the Public Domain, Immediately Becomes a Serial Killer
After just one day in the public domain, Steamboat Willie (a.k.a. OG Mickey Mouse) is already the subject of multiple horror movies. If you absolutely need to see a person in a giant Mickey Mouse costume annihilate someone with a kitchen knife, 2024 is your year.
The 1920s iteration of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain on January 1, 2024, as copyright protections lapsed for a pair of early Walt Disney animated short films released in 1928: Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy. This means that any ol’ person can use imagery of Steamboat Willie as they wish, without concern for copyright law. Regular Mickey Mouse remains property of the Disney company proper.
In addition to the upcoming horror game Infestation 88, Steamboat Willie’s likeness is the main event in two indie horror movies arriving this year. The first trailer for Mickey’s Mouse Trap was released on January 1—the same day that Steamboat Willie hit the public domain—and features a person in a Mickey Mouse-like mascot costume murdering people:
The production value is about what you’d expect from a movie that was obviously hellbent on being the first out of the gate to capitalize on Steamboat Willie’s public domain debut. Here’s a synopsis describing the plot of Mickey‘s Mouse Trap: “It’s Alex’s 21st birthday, but she’s 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.”
Mickey‘s Mouse Trap does not have a release date yet, but The Hollywood Reporter notes that producers are aiming for March.
Variety has the deets on another Steamboat Willie horror movie, this one an untitled horror comedy from Steven LaMorte, who previously directed The Mean One, a horror parody featuring the Grinch. LaMorte is aiming for a spring production start on the Steamboat Willie movie, which also doesn’t have a release date.
You might recall that Winnie the Pooh also inspired a low-budget horror movie upon entering the public domain. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was released in 2023, and grossed over $5 million on a $100,000 budget. It doesn’t really matter whether or not the product itself is any good; if you put an iconic children’s character in a horror movie and make them do very un-kid-friendly things, people will see it. It’s the movie equivalent of those car stickers featuring Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes peeing on a brand logo.
Put it this way: if you can get your hands on $100,000 (a fraction of the cost of a home in the United States), grab a beloved character who just entered the public domain, and write a coherent 80- or 90-page horror script, you could make millions of dollars (and buy more than one home in the United States).
(featured image: Public Domain)
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