- Written by Noor Nanji
- culture reporter
image source, mickey mouse trap
It’s Mickey, but we’ve never seen him before.
A trailer for a slasher movie featuring a masked killer dressed as Mickey Mouse was released on January 1, the day Disney’s copyright on an earlier version of the cartoon character expired in the United States.
“We just wanted to have fun,” said the film’s director.
A new Mickey-inspired horror game about a rodent covered in blood was also released on the same day.
Steamboat Willie, a 1928 short film featuring early non-speaking versions of Mickey and Minnie, entered the public domain in the United States on New Year’s Day.
This means that cartoonists, novelists, and filmmakers can rework and use earlier versions of Mickey and Minnie.
Photo of Mickey Mouse from the 1928 short film Steamboat Willie
In fact, anyone can use these versions without permission or cost.
Creators have been quick to take advantage of the new rules. trailer of Mickey’s Horror Movie (contains violent scenes), which will be released on the same day.
In the horror-comedy thriller called “Mickey’s Mouse Trap,” a young woman throws herself a surprise birthday party at an arcade. But things quickly take a turn for the worse when she and her friends encounter a knife-wielding killer dressed as Mickey.
“A place for fun, a place for friends, a place for hunting. The rats are out,” the trailer screams in red letters.
“I mean, Mickey Mouse in ‘Steamboat Willie’ is killing people. It’s ridiculous,” said director Jamie Bailey.
“We ran with it and we had fun doing it, and I think it showed.”
The release date of the movie itself has not been determined, but it is expected to be released in March of this year.
Not to be outdone, a new video game has been released that also features a 1928 version of Mickey.
According to game studio Nightmare Forge Games, the game, titled Infestation 88, is a survival horror game about a pest infestation that turns into something more deadly.
at the beginning of trailer“I thought it was just a rodent, but there’s something else here,” the man can be heard saying nervously.
A giant, blood-splattered Mickey then appears on screen, with mice running around him.
The game description states that players who take on the role of exterminators are tasked with curing a “mysterious epidemic caused by twisted versions of classic characters and urban legends.”
Mickey isn’t the first childhood character to receive the horror movie treatment.
U.S. copyright law states that rights to characters can be held for 95 years, meaning the Steamboat Willie character entered the public domain on January 1, 2024.
Disney has faced losing the copyright to original animation several times in the past.
The character was originally scheduled to enter the public domain in 1984, but Congress extended that period for 20 years.
An additional 20-year extension was passed before the next expiration date in 2004.
Disney’s efforts to protect the character also led to this law being called the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.” But the moment has finally arrived, with experts hailing it as “very symbolic”.
The company still holds separate trademarks for Mickey as a brand identifier and corporate mascot. This means there are still restrictions on how the public can use these images.
And Disney maintains that more modern versions of Mickey are still subject to copyright.
“Of course, we will continue to protect our rights in more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other copyrighted works,” the company said.
