The latest, public domain horror film Mickey Vs. Winnie is currently in production.
When Disney’s 1928 short Steamboat Willie entered public domain earlier this year, the rush began for horror films utilizing Mickey Mouse — or at least that particular version of the character — to enter production, offering a diabolical twist on the long-beloved character. The same thing happened when Winnie-the-Pooh entered public domain and now, the trend is going to the next level. On Wednesday, Mickey Vs. Winnie, a new horror pitting the two character against each other was announced. Production is currently underway in Michigan.
Mickey Vs. Winnie comes from Glenn Douglas Packard, an Emmy nominated choreographer turned filmmaker (Pitchfork) who will direct the project from an original script. He will also produce under his Untouchables Entertainment banner alongside creative partner Rachel Carter. Anthony Pernicka, founder of genre blog iHorror, is producing.
“Horror fans call for the thrill of witnessing icons like the new Aliens and Avengers sharing the screen,” Packard said in a statement. “While licensing nightmares make such crossovers rare, Mickey Vs. Winnie serves as our tribute that thrilling fantasy.”
Pernicka added, “We’re thrilled to unveil this unique take to horror fans. The Mickey Mouse featured in our film is unlike any iteration audiences have encountered before. Our portrayal doesn’t involve characters donning basic masks. Instead, we present deeply transformed, live-action horror renditions of these iconic figures, weaving together elements of innocence and malevolence. After experiencing the intense scenes we’ve crafted, you’ll never look at Mickey the same way again.”
Here’s how Mickey Vs. Winnie is described: “In the 1920s, two convicts escape into a cursed forest only to be dragged and consumed into the depths of the dark forest’s muddy heart. A century later, a group of thrill-seeking friends unknowingly venture into the same woods. Their Airbnb getaway takes a horrifying turn when the convicts mutate into twisted versions of childhood icons Mickey Mouse & Winnie-The-Pooh and emerge to terrorize them. A night of violence and gore erupts, as the group of friends battle against their now monstrous beloved childhood characters and fight to break free from the forest’s grip. In a horrific spectacle, Mickey and Winnie clash, painting the woods in a gruesome tableau of blood—a chilling testament to the curse’s insidious power.”
Why Did Steamboat Willie Enter Public Domain?
The earliest versions of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse entered the public domain on January 1st thanks to current copyright law. Currently, that law states that characters and stories are protected for 95 years after publication with those characters becoming “free game” for interpretation on the 96th year after publication. That means that both Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy, two animated shorts produced and released by Walt Disney in 1928, are both now in Public Domain.
This is far from the first time a beloved character has entered the public domain and quickly gotten the horror movie treatment. In 2022, Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain — and soon after got its own horror film, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. That film has since gotten a sequel and a third film is on the way. As for Mickey, he has already gotten horror films made as well. Mickey’s Mouse Trap and The Vanishing of S.S. Willie being just two of them.
