A Disney-inspired horror film sees a monstrous Mickey Mouse kill princesses in a new trailer, released this week.
Screamboat, set for release April 2, features David Howard Thornton as killer Steamboat Willie who begins targeting passengers on the Staten Island Ferry.
When a group of drunk girls, Cindi, Bella, Jazzy, Arianna and Rory – a play on the Disney princesses – board the boat, their night soon descends into chaos.
As the trailer opens a voiceover promises a ‘journey like no other’ before the creepy mouse is seen boarding.
A synopsis reads: ‘Be our guest on a New York City ferry ride that turns into a hilarious nightmare when a mischievous mouse named Steamboat Willie becomes a monstrous reality.
‘As passengers set sail, their trip turns deadly when the tiny terror unleashes murder and mayhem. Packed with big kills, big laughs, and a miniature menace, Screamboat is a cinematic thrill ride that reimagines Steamboat Willie like never before!’
Disney-inspired horror film, Screamboat, sees a monstrous Mickey Mouse – played by David Howard Thornton – kill princesses in a new trailer
When a group of drunk girls, Cindi, Bella, Jazzy, Arianna and Rory – a play on the Disney princesses – board the boat, their night soon descends into chaos
Disney original Steamboat Willie was released in 1928 and became the first film starring Mickey and Minnie to be distributed.
The short film became one of the most popular cartoons of all time and led Walt Disney to International fame.
Copyright for Steamboat Willie expired last January and media from the 1928 film are now available in the US public domain.
The expiration means that Steamboat Willie can now be legally shared, performed, sampled, and more.
Other copyrights which expired last year included Minnie Mouse and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.
Although this appears to be a long-awaited moment in the entertainment industry, it could lead to media ventures that would possibly become ‘a political lightning rod in pop culture.’
According US copyright law, rights to works like Steamboat Willie expire 95 years after the original publication was released or registered by officials if the projects were released before 1978.
One dark truth behind it all is how seriously that copyright law has been taken in the past and how it’s affected the Mickey Mouse character.
As the trailer opens a voiceover promises a ‘journey like no other’ before the creepy mouse is seen boarding
A synopsis reads: ‘Be our guest on a New York City ferry ride that turns into a hilarious nightmare when a mischievous mouse named Steamboat Willie becomes a monstrous reality’
It adds: ‘As passengers set sail, their trip turns deadly when the tiny terror unleashes murder and mayhem’
Disney original Steamboat Willie was released in 1928 and became the first film starring Mickey and Minnie to be distributed
Copyright for Steamboat Willie expired last January and media from the 1928 film are now available in the US public domain
Disney has a long history of battles with the copyright law that have caused problems for cartoonists like Dan O’Neill.
The company sued O’Neill for copyright infringement after the artist published a 1971 comic book that featured Mickie Mouse smuggle drugs and performing oral sex on Minnie Mouse.
O’Neill agreed to not draw Mickey again after an eight-year court battle and told Variety last month that if he draws the character, he will owe Walt Disney ‘a $190,000 fine, $10,000 more for legal fees, and a year in prison.’
It’s even led for Disney to support a bill called the Sony Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.
The act, known as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act, being implemented was what saved Steamboat Willie for being in a public domain 20 years ago.
YouTuber and DSNY Newscast host Jack Kendall gave insight the copyright and what Steamboat Willie can become because the law in a YouTube video.
He thinks the characters that are now in the public domain because of the law via BBC might get the horror movie treatment.
An example of this was the 2023 slasher film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – a box-office success that received poor reviews from critics.
‘Take away the Pooh and Piglet stuff, and you have a ho-hum stalker thriller that treats its one-dimensional characters as punchlines for gory scenes its budget can’t fully deliver on,’ wrote Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com.
In 2023 slasher film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey only made $5.2 million worldwide
Kendall also believes that Disney would want to avoid legal fights but that ‘they also want to protect their two most identifiable characters.’
Despite doing well at the box-office, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey only made $5.2 million worldwide.
If it weren’t for the film’s $100,000 budget, it would’ve had a big chance of becoming a box-office bomb.
Disney still benefits from the current copyright laws.
The law states that copyright protection for works created after January 1, 1978 lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.
Because of this, more recent works like Fantasia are not in public domain and will not be free to use by the public.
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