Daily Mail: Mickey Mouse slasher film trailer debuts as it enters public domain

Story from Daily Mail:

The earliest known version of Mickey Mouse enters public domain today, and there is already a movie coming out which features the iconic character as a serial killer.

A new indie horror film called Mickey Mouse's Trap is eyeing a March 2024 release, with the first trailer arriving on New Year's Day.

United States law allows a copyright to be held for 95 years, with January 1 of every year bringing a new wave of intellectual property that can be used by anybody.

This has paved the way for Mickey Mouse's Trap, with the trailer (via actor Simon Phillips' YouTube) making it crystal clear this is not a Disney production.

'Steamboat Willie's Mickey Mouse entered public domain on January 1st 2024. No copyright infringement of later versions of Mickey Mouse or trademark infringements,' the disclaimer ends.

Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie was released in 1928, the first appearance of both Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, who also enters public domain on New Year's Day.

Any newer version of the beloved mouse is still protected under copyright laws, but for the first time since the Mouse's creation, a version of him will be in public domain.

This indie film Mickey Mouse's Trap is seemingly the first to take advantage of the character in public domain, with Phillips playing Mickey, a demented killer dressed as Mickey Mouse.

The mask Phillips uses clearly features a depiction of the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse, and not more modernized versions.

The trailer shows that the story is set inside an amusement park, where a group of friends are terrorized by the killer in the mouse mask.

The trailer even features the original Steamboat Willie cartoon being projected onto a screen before the killer springs into action.

Director Jamie Bailey said in a statement, 'We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it’s Steamboat Willie‘s Mickey Mouse murdering people.'

He added in the statement, 'It’s ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows.'

The film also stars Sophie McIntosh, Callum Sywyk, Allegra Nocita, Ben Harris, Damir Kovic, Mackenzie Mills and Nick Biskupek and Simon Phillips.

The film was produced by Paul Whitney, Mark Popejoy, Alexander Gausman and Andrew Agopsowicz, with Filmcore’s Mem Ferda co-producing.