Disney has just lost exclusivity to one of its iconic characters and everything is already going wrong. The first unusual projects were not long in coming.
All good things must come to an end, even the best ideas in the world. We’ve known it for a while, but Disney has lost its mascot, or at least what it once was. That’s how it is with almost everything: there comes a time when names, licenses or even fictional characters enter the public domain. And generally then we see little things arrive.
Disney just lost its mascot… well, not completely
Yes, Disney no longer has the exclusive rights to Mickey, at least not to its original late 1920s version that first appeared in Steamboat Willie, a short silent film. Good old Mickey (Steamboat version) has been a true icon of the brand for almost 100 years and is now in the public domain, meaning anyone can use the brand and image to implement their own projects. However, it is worth noting that the youngest Mickey, of course, remains Disney property, like everything that surrounds him.
In any case, the first version of the mascot is now available to everyone and we already have the right to numerous projects. Two big ones, actually, and they decided to ruin our childhood once and for all. Like Winnie the Pooh, Mickey is transformed into a completely insane serial killer in two productions: a film and a video game.
Mickey already has other projects and things go wrong
We start with the feature films Mickey’s Mousetrap, a slasher (among many others) in which the killer will wear a mask… precisely of Mickey, since this is now completely allowed. Several young people will be stuck in a large complex dedicated to the famous mouse and will be decimated one by one. We expect it to be bloody, but in any case the trailer doesn’t show much at the end. Mickey’s Mousetrap will be available later this year.
A second film is also in the pipeline and will be directly inspired by Steamboat Willie. We don’t know much except that it will be another horror film with an assassin Mickey, who is miles away from his Disney version, and will attack the passengers on a ferry. We leave you the only image currently available below. It’s a little opportunistic (a lot), but why not. Horror films sometimes surprise, such as the Winnie the Pooh-inspired film, which, while not cult, is gory enough to distract.
A video game in addition to movies
Another horror project, but this time on the video game side Infestation 88. It is a cooperative and terrifying game in which you have to play against a team of exterminators. Wearing orange protective gear, as if you were coming from the back rooms, you will have to explore various extremely dark environments in order to eliminate all the creatures that appear there. Abominations inspired by urban legends, terrible monsters or even iconic characters are completely possessed here. You see it coming, this is where Mickey comes into play. The big-eared mouse will be part of the bestiary and should have some significance elsewhere. For the rest, we don’t know much about the game. It will soon be released in Early Access on Steam and intends to find a place alongside other trending co-op and horror games like PhasmophobiaLethal Company or the various titles Backroom Exactly.
If Mickey is and will remain forever the symbol of Disney, an iconic silhouette that immediately takes us back to childhood, we have to say that the mouse will be found in every bizarre project from now on. Plus, this isn’t the only character from our childhood that’s now in the public domain. Peter Pan, created by JM Barrie in 1904. Perhaps we’ll soon be entitled to a horrific version of the story with a chainsaw-armed Tinkerbell and a Peter Pan possessed by his shadow. Who knows.
