Mickey Mouse Horror Trailer Drops Right After Steamboat Willie Hits Public Domain
On January 1, numerous works entered the public domain, most notably the first iteration of Disney's Mickey Mouse from "Steamboat Willie." This doesn't mean anyone can do whatever they want creatively with the Mouse, but an upcoming horror movie — "Mickey's Mouse Trap" — will test those boundaries.
Similar to how "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" capitalized on the beloved children's character entering the public domain, Mickey will soon go on a murder spree of his own, or at least a guy wearing a Mickey Mouse mask will. A trailer dropped on YouTube appropriately on January 1, and it appears to go all in on the Mouse's newly more lenient status. The trailer fully utilizes "Steamboat Willie," including having some clips of the cartoon play off a projector until a madman wearing a Mickey mask starts terrorizing a group of friends at an arcade.
The "Blood and Honey" director had to tiptoe around Disney's copyrights to avoid a lawsuit, but with Mickey being the company's mascot, it'll be interesting to see if any legal trouble materializes from the film. Will "Mickey's Mouse Trap" become a sardonic entry into the horror genre, or will Disney try to put up a legal fight to prevent it from seeing the light of day?
The Mickey Mouse horror movie turns Steamboat Willie into Steamboat Killie
"Mickey's Mouse Trap" is definitely a low-budget affair, no doubt done in an effort to be the first out of the gate with a Mickey Mouse horror movie. Plenty of horror aficionados lent their talents to the production, including director Jamie Bailey, who's worked as a director, producer, and cinematographer on various horror projects over the years. Suffice it to say, "Mickey's Mouse Trap" will be his highest-profile work to date. He also brought on Simon Phillips to portray the movie's Mickey. He's also no stranger to the horror genre, having previously starred in "Deinfluencer" and "Blood Harvest," but he also has credits in more mainstream fare like "The Witcher."
The trailer on YouTube doesn't mention when or where the movie will be available for viewing. There's also the question of whether Disney could put up a legal fight to prevent a release. In December 2023, CNN received word from a Disney spokesperson that the company plans to protect its brand in regards to "Steamboat Willie" being in the public domain. The trailer goes to great lengths to showcase the "Steamboat Willie" version of Mickey, and Bailey and crew aren't the only ones trying to show off a new side of the Mouse.
January 1 also saw the release of the "Infestation 88" trailer, a horror video game that sees players try to exterminate a rodent problem spearheaded by Mickey himself, who's even wearing his Steamboat Willie hat. If more Mickey Mouse horror projects are to follow, might we suggest a flick that actually takes place on a steamboat? That setting just kind of seems to make sense.