Since famous Disney characters like (a version of) Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh have entered the public domain, the beloved children’s icons have found a place in the horror genre. For reference, the public domain refers to creative materials like characters and stories that are not protected by intellectual property laws. Properties in the public domain are free for public use and creatives don’t need to adhere to copyrights and trademarks. This means that some children’s characters, particularly those from the Disney studio, have become the subject of horror films.

In 2024, The Mouse Trap was released. A Canadian slasher film, it follows a young man who wears a Mickey Mouse mask and goes on a bloody rampage at an arcade amusement park. It’s worth noting that the film was originally called Mickey’s Mouse Trap, but the name was changed because Disney still owns the exclusive rights to the character. Nonetheless, Mickey is a slasher in The Mouse Trap, and the results aren’t pretty. In fact, they reflect a frustrating trend with public domain Disney characters finding their way into horror movies.

The Mouse Trap Needlessly Makes Mickey A Horror Villain

He’s Really Just A Serial Killer Wearing A Mickey Mask

There’s an important caveat to The Mouse Trap, and any other media outside of Disney’s use of Mickey Mouse. The only version of Mickey Mouse that is in the public domain is Mickey’s depiction in the 1928 short film, Steamboat Willie. This means that no one can use the red shorts and yellow shoes version of Mickey without having to pay any royalties to Disney.

Case in point: The Mouse Trap. The film shows the film two characters watching Steamboat Willie on a projection screen. That’s the first appearance of Mickey in the film, and then one of those characters dons a Mickey mask and starts stabbing people. Yes, that’s the movie in a nutshell. The only thing it adds is having the villain wear a Steamboat Willie-era Mickey Mouse mask.

Aside from The Mouse Trap taking place in an amusement arcade, and the villain wearing a Mickey mask, the movie is just kind of your basic slasher only with the villain wearing a Mickey mask. It doesn’t add anything new or really poke fun at Mickey or Disney nor is there any real commentary on Mickey’s impact as a childhood icon — it just uses him as a mask. It’s almost as if the film is using Mickey’s image to mask its lack of originality.

Disney-Centered Horror Films Are A Cheap Cash Grab

These Movies Don’t Do Anything Interesting With The Characters

Films like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, The Mouse Trap, and a host of other Steamboat Willie horror films don’t have much substance. In a way, these films are only meant for shock value. Producers and the creatives behind these films are taking beloved children’s characters and making them horror villains at the center of basic slasher films just to get the public talking because the idea is so absurd.

Both Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and The Mouse Trap don’t comment on childhood nostalgia or the broader meaning of these characters. They slap a mask onto a generic slasher killer without ever giving these characters any depth. The films would certainly be more interesting, or at the very least, not be seen as cash grabs, if the stories and characters were more inventive and not merely relying upon Disney’s popularity.

There’s a sense that these Disney-centered horror films are just being made for shock value. Whenever one of these movies is announced, they garner a bit of social media buzz, but that’s it. It’s a good marketing strategy, but films are best when they’re telling unique stories with compelling characters and not based on shock value or other gimmicks.

Using Disney Characters For Horror Movies COULD Work

Disney Characters In The Public Domain, Of Course

One Disney character/story that would work perfectly for horror is Pinocchio. The animated version of the character is entering the public domain within the next few years anyway, so it makes sense to bring the wooden puppet back to the big screen. Creatives could tell the Pinocchio story found in the Disney film, which is already dark, and twist it to make it much more frightening and ultimately a great horror film, but one that isn’t a basic slasher with the killer hiding behind a Pinocchio mask.

There’s a delightfully creepy scene in Pinocchio where Pinocchio’s friend Lampwick gets turned into a donkey that’s basically made for horror. All Hollywood would need to do is extend the creepy moments in the movie like that and examine Pinocchio’s inner conflict about becoming a real boy, and there could be a poignant horror film that delivers on thrills and heart.

Another Disney character headed into the public domain is Peter Pan, who could also be the subject of a great horror film. All a potential Peter Pan slasher needs to do is make it explicitly clear that Peter Pan is kidnapping the kids, which is an element found in the original film, and a great psychological horror film could be born.

Disney Horror Films: The Floodgates Are Opening

A Disney Horror Cinematic Universe Is Coming

A horror film called Poohniverse: Monsters ᴀssemble is in the works and will feature other Disney characters entering the public domain, like Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty. The film is the brainchild of Jagged Edge chief Scott Chambers, who was behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. All the characters featured in Poohniverse will have their own standalone horror movies leading up to the crossover film, much like The Avengers series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Those standalone films include Bambi: The Reckoning, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Pinocchio Unstrung, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, and its sequel (via New York Post). It’s worth noting that Bambi and Peter Pan entered the public domain back in 2022. Disney’s older characters and stories are set to enter the public domain within the coming years. So, for now, the Mouse House’s more recent outings like Frozen and Moana, are safe from the horror treatment.