PremiumA new teaser features Mickey Mouse slash his way through a gaming arcade, thanks to its latest migration into public domain
Mickey Mouse's earliest versions are now in the public domain, and creative heads of films and games are making quite unique, if a tad too gory, adaptations of the beloved children's character.
Last Updated: 10.48 PM, Jan 02, 2024
Unlike India’s Copyright laws, under which cinematic and literary classics enter the public domain 60 years after the demise of its creator, in the United States, the rule is applicable for 95 years after the last surviving author’s demise. According to that, as January 1 is International Public Domain Day, the original versions of Disney’s Mickey Mouse, including Steamboat Willie (a 1928 short film) entered the public domain.
They are now accessible for filmmakers, writers, artists, game developers, and other creative individuals to reuse and rework as they please, without besmirching the modern, more familiar versions of Mickey Mouse, as those are still protected and owned by Disney. In that spirit, on January 1, 2024, itself, two films and a video game announced their adaptive intentions.
Though one of the films is yet untitled, the video game and another film has already dropped teasers, intriguing viewers despite their initial distaste. Nightmare Fore Games Studio’s new survival game, Infestation 88 features a sinister premise of a vermin outbreak gone very wrong. But when gamers, roleplaying as exterminators, show up they get more than what they bargained for.
However, Mickey’s Mouse Trap, an upcoming slasher horror, which is currently in post-production, took the opportunity to drop its teaser to avoid any legal repercussions. The teaser encapsulates a simple enough plot, a group of friends throw a surprise party for Alex at her workplace, who is on a late shift at the amusement arcade on her birthday.
However, things take a turn for the worse, when a knife wielding killer shows up in a mickey mouse mask. The worst part? The Mickey Mouse impersonator is setting up his own twisted hunting games with his victims, toying around, playing upon their fears before slicing right through them. The film has not been given a release date yet, but it is speculated to drop sometime in March 2024.