- Title: Mickey Mouse turns film boogeyman as Steamboat Willie falls out of copyright
- Date: 2nd January 2024
- Summary: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (JANUARY 2, 2024) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, JAMIE BAILEY, SAYING: "Well we're trying to stay very true to Steamboat Willie, so that we're not breaking the copyright rule so we're trying to have him physically look like that character, we constantly refer to him as Steamboat Willie throughout the movie as well so we're trying to keep
- Embargoed: 16th January 2024 23:19
- Keywords: Horror Mickey Mouse Mickey's Mouse Trap Slasher Steamboat Willie
- Location: TORONTO/OTTOWA, ONTARIO, CANADA; BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM; CHESSY, FRANCE; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS;
- City: TORONTO/OTTOWA, ONTARIO, CANADA; BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM; CHESSY, FRANCE; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS;
- Country: US
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA004943402012024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: On Monday (January 1), Disney's early Mickey Mouse animation from 1928's 'Steamboat Willie', entered the public domain as the copyright expired according to US law after 95 years.
Wasting no time, on Tuesday (January 2), a trailer for new horror film, 'Mickey's Mouse Trap', was released, showing the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse as a knife-wielding killer.
Director Jamie Bailey told Reuters "Steamboat Willie is now in public domain so anyone, including ourselves, gets to play with the character, so that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to take this really big iconic character that we all grew up with and put it to where it started and do something fun with it that Disney would never do so that's kind of what we did."
In 2023, Winnie the Pooh's copyright also entered public domain, and that character also became a horror figure in 'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey'.
Writer and actor Simon Phillips in 'Mickey's Mouse Trap' said, "For all those good characters, horror is the diametrically opposed. That's the exact opposite of what it is and that's what makes it so fun and we're creatives so we're constantly reinventing the wheel a little bit and so this is mine and Jamie's chance to have as much ridiculous fun as we had."
The iconic character started life as the star of 'Steamboat Willie', a short cartoon released in 1928.
Bailey said "We're trying to stay very true to Steamboat Willie, so that we're not breaking the copyright rule so we're trying to have him physically look like that character, we constantly refer to him as Steamboat Willie throughout the movie as well."
Conceived by illustrator and entrepreneur Walt Disney, Mickey is the enduring symbol of the multibillion dollar brand.
Over the last 90 years, numerous Disney theme parks have popped up worldwide, and Mickey Mouse has become a world famous character, appearing on clothing, housewares and even food.
Modern versions of the character are still fully covered by copyright, which the Walt Disney Company vows to vigorously defend.
As Mickey Mouse is such a big part of the Disney business, are the filmmakers of 'Mickey's Mouse Trap' concerned about being sued?
"Are we concerned? Yeah," said Bailey, adding "We've taken every precaution. We've consulted lawyers and the like to make sure that we follow the letter of the law and we're trying to make a parody movie. We're not trying to confuse our Mickey Mouse with their Mickey Mouse so we're trying to do everything correctly."
Phillips said if they do get issued legal papers, he said "We could be a David and Goliath type scenario, couldn't it?"
"I believe we're doing the right thing. We're playing where we're allowed to play and I don't think Disney can tell us how to play," he added.
'Mickey's Mouse Trap' is expected to be released in March 2024.
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