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Credit: DisneyOswald the Lucky Rabbit is the next Disney character to get the horror movie treatment – but he isn’t the only one.
This month saw several Disney icons enter the public domain, meaning that for the first time ever, Disney isn’t the only company that can exert their creative control over the characters.
The most famous is, of course, Mickey Mouse. Within hours of the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, entering the public domain, both a horror movie and video game were announced. Mickey’s Mouse Trap (2024) is set to debut later this year, giving audiences their bloodiest, most twisted look at Walt’s beloved creation yet.
But Mickey isn’t the only Disney icon out in the open now. Mickey’s predecessor, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – who was famously snatched from The Walt Disney Company by Universal in the 1920s, only to be repurchased by Disney CEO Bob Iger in 2006 – is also technically public property since the copyright expired on some of his earlier cartoons.
Now, unsurprisingly, Oswald is meeting the same fate as Mickey. According to PR Newswire, November 11th Pictures will start production in the spring on Oswald Down the Rabbit Hole.
Described as a cross between Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and supernatural slasher film Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the film is set to release a teaser trailer for the film later this month.
More interesting than the horror element of the film is the fact that Who Framed Roger Rabbit is named as an influence. The film notoriously brings together cartoon characters from all kinds of different studios, which seems like an inevitability for Oswald Down the Rabbit Hole, too.
It’s safe to assume that Mickey will be one of the characters making an appearance in the film. However, other public domain cartoon characters who could cameo alongside Oswald include Felix the Cat, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye. We’ll have to wait to see who makes the final cut – but, if it’s anything like other films made using beloved cartoons in the public domain – namely Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) – we may give this one a skip.
How do you feel about beloved cartoon characters being used in horror films? Let us know in the comments!