Are You Sick of Public Domain Steamboat Willie Yet? Movies Edition

Disney’s Steamboat Willie, originally released in animation in late 1928, recently entered the public domain. I am sure most reading this have already heard the news, probably sick of hearing about it too. Here are five attempts at using the character in something Disney probably never would have. Sadly, they are very similar as everyone goes for the easiest option.

Mickey’s Mousetrap Movie

When you think of Disney, many will think of amusement parks and such, Disney World and Disney Land (not you Euro Disney). That makes it interesting that one of the two horror movies based on Steamboat Willie are based in an amusement park. This adds a new angle to potential legal problems as the parks are not public domain.

I do have to say, at least they are trying something different with location. I am sure a river boat will find its way in as one of the locales (probably the lair of the bad guy).

As I mention that, I remembered the killer here is like the other horror movie on this list, detailed below. A killer dressed up in a Steamboat Willie costume. How original.

The setting for Mickey’s Mouse Trap is an arcade amusement park being broken into by a group of friends, I figure teens based on horror movie rules. They are unaware that a psycho dressed in a costume has been waiting on this exact scenario.

Currently Untitled Movie Using VERY Mickey Styled Willie

This one, there is precious little known yet. A single image and a sparse Wikipedia entry are all that exist so far.

Image Source: Forbes

Let’s talk about the premise here. The only highlight I see so far is they are at least not going with a psycho in a costume. Taking a cue from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), here, Willie is a mouse that mutates. Maybe this could have been an alternative outcome for Splinter? Imagine if that happened and the turtles were horrifying creatures ransacking the city. Don’t worry, when they hit the public domain, I am sure someone will do just that with them.

The setting here is a New York City ferry boat ride late at night. The passengers and crew must work together to survive.

I am not sure how big this ferry is but I figure they get pretty big, big enough to set a horror movie on one. I can guarantee, based on that single photo, Disney’s Lawyers probably know more about this one than the producers probably do.

Steamboat Willie

This trailer is short, but it shows a lot about what might come in the final film. We get a glimpse at a world of destruction, ruin, pain, and unsettling things. The clues are there that this is not a good world, or area anyhow.

The imagery is unsettling. It screams more of a horror movie based on Scooby Doo than Steamboat Willie though, at least to me. Not a lot more can be gleaned from this trailer.

That image of Willie is more disturbing than it deserves to be.

Now to see how they capitalize on this.

Return of Steamboat Willie

This film is interesting because it uses the Unreal Engine to create everything you see. That means a game might be incoming as well at a later point. The story is light here, at least so far.

The trailer lays out a steamboat setting where clearly something horrible has happened. Sweeping camara angles pan the outside of the boat, decks, then into the kitchen where we see a severed arm. A television turns on in the corner, playing Steamboat Willie, and well, this is where the horror begins so I won’t ruin the trailer for you.

This one piques my interest.

The Vanishing of S.S. Willie

This is probably the most original interpretation of the Steamboat Willie story and is disturbing (without using tired horror tropes). The premise is interesting and has many call backs to the Disney original without abusing that classic.

The Vanishing of S.S. Willie probably could have been done without Steamboat Willie becoming public domain. Only the word “Willie”, and setting of the Disney version are used here.

If you are a fan of silent films then The Vanishing S.S. Willie may be worth your time. It could quite possible by the only silent movie era style horror movie.

Did I mention The Vanishing S.S. Willie is a short film and is free to watch on YouTube? I embedded it above.

There you go, five movies based on the Steamboat Willie cartoon. One is quite good, another is at least an interesting twist, one is already disturbing, and two are what you would expect from public domain trolls. Which one has your interest? Let me know in the comments.

Next time I will look at some of the games based on Steamboat Willie.