First Mickey Mouse horror films in the works
The famous Disney character Mickey Mouse is no longer protected by copyright in the USA from the turn of the year. Two directors each announce their own horror vision at the same time. A sadistic mouse will be up to mischief there.
Less than 24 hours after the end of copyright protection for the first Mickey Mouse film ever made, the first directors have announced two horror films featuring the famous mouse. "Mickey's Mouse Trap" shows a murderer disguised as Mickey Mouse stalking a group of friends in an amusement park, while a sadistic mouse torments unsuspecting passengers on a ferry in an untitled horror comedy.
Copyright protection for the short black-and-white animated film "Steamboat Willie" from 1928 expired on January 1. This leaves the door open for remakes, spin-offs and adaptations by other artists. Theoretically, anyone can now copy, reuse and adapt "Steamboat Willie" and "Plane Crazy" - another Disney animated film from 1928 - as well as the original characters in it, such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
However, this is unlikely to be easy under the watchful eye of the Disney Group: It will continue to protect its "rights to the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright," the mighty corporation explained.
"Potential for pure, crazy horror"
"We just wanted to have fun with all of this," said director Jamie Bailey of "Mickey's Mouse Trap" in a trailer released on YouTube. "This is Steamboat Willie's Mickey Mouse murdering people. That's ridiculous. We just went for it and had fun with it and I think you can see that," he said. The low-budget horror comedy is expected to be released in March.
Filmmaker Steven LaMorte - known for the 2022 horror film "The Mean One" - is working on his own "twisted" version of Mickey. "'Steamboat Willie' has brought joy to many generations, but beneath the lighthearted surface lies a potential for pure, demented horror," LaMorte explained. Production for this movie is scheduled to begin in the spring.
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Following the end of Mickey Mouse's copyright protection, Walt Disney Company's dominance in the entertainment industry might face challenges with two independent horror film directors, Jamie Bailey and Steven LaMorte, planning to exploit the iconic character's darker side in their upcoming films titled "Mickey's Mouse Trap" and an untitled horror comedy, respectively. Despite Mickey Mouse's public domain status, Disney still retains copyright to its modern versions and related works.
Source: www.ntv.de
