Commentary: Do public domain characters have potential as horror characters?

Wholesome children’s story characters such as Winnie-the-Pooh and Steamboat Willie, a version of Mickey Mouse, recently entered the public domain. This means that artists who do not own these characters can use them anyway they want to. As a result, horror films are now being released using these characters. Are these films just horrifying for the sake of making a beloved children’s character horrifying or do they have potential?

“Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 1, 2, and 3”: “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 3%. I thought the idea of a Winnie-the-Pooh horror movie was ridiculous and am not surprised with the low score. However, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the director of “Winnie-the-Pooh:Blood and Honey” is seemingly unphased by this critique because he produced a “Blood and Honey” sequel, which debuted in March. “Blood and Honey 2” has a vastly improved Rotten Tomatoes score of 52%, with an audience score of 81%. I’m surprised that “Blood and Honey 2” did as well as it did when the first film flopped significantly. I feel like Waterfield may have found his footing and could improve even more if he keeps going in this direction.“Blood and Honey 3” was announced shortly after the release of the Blood and Honey sequel. It has been given a bigger budget and will include Heffalumps and Woozles, A.A Milne’s Story.

“Poohniverse Monsters Assemble”: “Poohniverse” will be about the villains from the “Blood and Honey” Franchise, “Peter Pan Neverland Nightmare,” “Bambi: The Reckoning,” “Pinnocchio” and other notable public domain villains getting revenge on their victims that survived last time. Production has not begun but Jagged Edge Productions anticipates a 2025 release date. I feel like this would be a good horror comedy to watch with friends because they are clearly parodying Avengers with that title, and the concept of villains joining forces to get revenge on their victims, who survived the initial film, sounds interesting.

“Bambi: The Reckoning”: The synopsis for this movie states, “Inspired by the animated movie Bambi, it will transform the innocent deer we know into a killing machine.” Not much is known about this movie because it was recently announced. According to IMDB, the expected release date of this film is October 31, 2024, though Rotten Tomatoes Trailers released a short trailer for this upcoming Bambi movie. I’m not sure how Bambi will fare as a horror character because his Disney version is adorable. Though after seeing screenshots from the film “The Ritual,” I think “Bambi: The Reckoning” is supposed to be an homage to that film. I’ve seen people writing that they liked the ritual, so if that’s any indication with Bambi’s potential I think Bambi might pull off being a horror movie icon.

Other upcoming horror films with public domain characters:
Some other upcoming horror films that are set to debut are “Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare,” “Pinocchio: Unstrung,’, “Steamboat Willie” and “Mickey’s Mousetrap.” There isn’t much information out about these movies yet, but some of them sound like they have potential and others sound more comical than horrifying. I think “Peter Pan Neverland Nightmare” has the best potential out of all the wholesome children’s characters because even the original tale of “Peter Pan,” though marketed to children, was still creepy. “Pinocchio: Unstrung” production was foreshadowed during the end credits of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. It is set to go into production in the summer and has an intended release time of late 2024. Pinocchio has good potential for a horror movie. “Steamboat Willie” was announced as soon as Mickey Mouse entered the public domain. Not much is known about the production but I believe it will be more of a horror comedy than horror film. “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” is set to be released during 2024.

I didn’t have much faith in the “Winnie-the-Pooh” franchise at the start because of its not surprisingly low score during the first film. However, it seems as though the company behind “Winnie-the-Pooh” has found its footing and is improving with each film, though time will tell with later productions. I’m honestly not too sure what to think of “Bambi: The Reckoning” because my gut reaction is to say this is a horrible idea for a horror movie, but that was my initial reaction to the “Winnie the Pooh” franchise and that seems to be picking up. “Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare” is the one I have the highest hopes for because I feel like creators can go in a multitude of directions for a “Peter Pan” horror film. “Pinocchio: Unstrung” has a 50/50 chance of being a good horror movie because there was already a horror movie done in 1996 that received a 24% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the concept of a killer puppet is similar to the killer doll concept which is a classic horror trope. I feel like “Steamboat Willie” and “Mickey’s MouseTrap” have the least potential to succeed because the antagonist is Mickey Mouse and he is the epitome of a wholesome children’s character.