Willie is free and he wants his Steamboat back…
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
What once was a joyous black and white cartoon directed by WaltDisney, has turned into a bloody and jumpy horror flick about a slashing mouse on a boat. That’s right, Steamboat Willie has been remade into a horror movie, and the first teaser is finally here.
The teaser opens with a happy little steamboat chugging away on a sunny spring day, but as the camera pans down into the water and up again, we see another vessel, which this time is dark, bloody, and ransacked. As the camera reveals the inside of the ship, we see body parts strewn around and a creepy old television playing a variation of the original Steamboat Willie cartoon, then in a classicFive Nights at Freddy’spop-up style, a shadowy figure of a mouse emerges from the dark. Creepy. Watch the full teaser below.
From the teaser alone it seems as though the flick is a direct horror take on the original Steamboat Willie, an animated short film released in 1928 that first introduced audiences to Disney’s very own Mickey Mouse. The cartoon follows little Mickey piloting a steamboat down an unknown river until he runs into Pete, the grumpy captain, and comical chaos ensues. Down the line, he meets Minnie Mouse and starts to make music with inanimate objects around him.
The Return of Steamboat Willie is the latest project taking advantage ofthis version of Mickey Mouse now being in the public domainafter another Mickey-themed slasher flick titled Mickey’s Mouse Trap was announced earlier this year. That’s not all, as more beloved animated characters enter the public domain, they are being turned into horror movie villains, includingCinderella, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, andPinocchio.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
Elvis and Dune 2 star Austin Butler to play Patrick Bateman in Challengers director Luca Guadagnino’s American Psycho remake
Andrew Garfield says he’s “disappointed” he couldn’t do Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, but Jacob Elordi “needed it more” than him
Dev behind new Doki Doki Literature Club-style psychological horror says it’s not “for those with weak hearts,” but with 98% positive Steam reviews, I’m not sure I can stay away