Summary

• Steamboat Willie is now in the public domain and a Mickey Mouse horror film is announced.
• Director Steven LaMorte is developing a horror-comedy based on the classic short.
• The announcement comes one day after Steamboat Willie entered the public domain.

Just one day after Mickey Mouse’s Steamboat Willie enters the public domain, a horror film adaptation of it is announced. Released in 1928, Steamboat Willie is a Mickey Mouse Disney short featuring the classic mouse character as a ship captain. The copyright on Steamboat Willie has just expired, and the version of the character is now in the public domain as of January 1, 2024.

Per Steamboat Willie’s entrance into the public domain, director Steven LaMorte announces the development of a horror-comedy based on the short. The horror adaptation does not yet have a title, but its plot is said to follow a sadistic mouse who tortures a group of ferry engers. The production is set to begin filming in the spring, with LaMorte expressing grand enthusiasm towards the project:

Steamboat Willie has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror. It’s a project I’ve been dreaming of, and I can’t wait to unleash this twisted take on this beloved character to the world.

Could Steamboat Willie Break a Bad Mascot Horror Streak?

LaMorte is no stranger to the increasingly popular subgenre of “mascot horror.” This genre refers to horror content that transforms childhood iconography, or “mascots,” into sadistic killers. This style is witnessed in films like Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, and also The Mean One, a horror adaptation of The Grinch which LaMorte also directed.

Rather than reinvent the wheel by providing a sinister lens to an otherwise benign product, the Steamboat Willie horror adaptation can work within existing themes of the Disney short, which could make the film far stronger.

Despite their growing popularity, public domain horror films have so far fared poorly among critics. Though a surprise box office hit for its low budget, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey holds a rotten 3% on the critic's aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes. LaMorte’s The Mean One did not fare much better critically, holding a 22% Tomatometer. Five Nights at Freddy’s can also be considered part of the mascot horror genre, and that film was also a critical flop with a 32% Tomatometer, but was a box-office success.

While the huge rush to make a Steamboat Willie film is certainly not a great sign of the film’s quality, there are factors to the Mickey Mouse short that make it more promising than some of its companions in the genre. As the internet has been quick to point out, Steamboat Willie already has elements of horror in it, as Mickey tortures and even murders animals in it. Rather than reinvent the wheel by providing a sinister lens to an otherwise benign product, the horror adaptation can work within existing themes of the Disney short, which could make the film far stronger. The Steamboat Willie film will likely heighten those existing themes as Mickey takes on a hoard of unsuspecting engers.

Source: Variety