The next Mickey Mouse horror movie to be released in theaters isScreamboat, which gives a deadly twist to the classic Disney animated shortSteamboat Willie– however, the first official look at the villain shows it’s repeating the most disappointing element fromWinnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey, but there’s a twist that can save it. A popular yet controversial trend in horror that keeps gaining force is adaptations of children’s characters and stories. While theTwisted Childhood Universekeeps building its own world, other studios aren’t wasting the chance to give a touch of horror to once-innocent characters.
One character who has been very popular among horror filmmakers is Steamboat Willie, who has already gotten a couple of horror movies with more in development. The next horror take on Steamboat Willie to be released in 2025 isScreamboat, directed by Steven LaMorte and written by him and Matthew Garcia-Dunn.Screamboatwill take the audience to New York City, where a late-night ferry ride will turn into a nightmare. Ahead of its April 2025 release, thefirst look atScreamboat’s villain has been revealed, but it repeatsBlood & Honey’s biggest mistake.
Screamboatis not part of The Twisted Childhood Universe, and thus has no connection toWinnie-the-Pooh: Blood & HoneyandPeter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
Screamboat’s Villain’s Look Repeats Blood & Honey’s Masks Mistake
Screamboat’s Villain Doesn’t Look Menacing At All
The 1928Steamboat Willieblack and white animated short film entered the public domainin January 2024, allowing anyone to use the character for various works. The horror genre has seized this chance and made a couple of movies withSteamboat Willieas inspiration, one of themScreamboat. The project was announced in April 2024 and teased to be a horror comedy with the famous mouse as the villain. Unlike other horror versions ofSteamboat Willie,Screamboat’s villain is a miniature mouse, described as “mischievous” and one who can unleash “murderous mayhem.”
To achieve this,Screamboatmixes practical effects, miniatures, and prosthetic makeup, with David Howard Thornton playing the mouse. Though the release date ofScreamboatis still a couple of months away, the first official full look at the murderous Mickey Mouse has been released… and it’s a strange one. The mouse is certainly a tiny one and wears the outfit ofSteamboat Willie, butit’s very clearly a man dressed like a mouse– and it’s disturbingly and unfortunately reminiscent of the appearance of Winnie the Pooh and company inWinnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.
It was very hard to take them seriously as deadly threats with those looks.
Pooh’s popular horror movie was heavily criticized and laughed at for the appearance of its villains,who were wearing plastic masks of a horror version of Pooh and a pig(for Piglet, of course). However, the characters weren’t humans wearing masks (like inThe Mouse Trap, for example), and were actually anthropomorphic creatures. It was very hard to take them seriously as deadly threats with those looks, but luckily, the sequel fixed this. Unfortunately,Screamboatis now at risk of experiencing the same problem.
Screamboat’s Disappointing Villain Look Can Be Justified In 1 Key Way
Screamboat Can Make 1 Important Adjustment
As mentioned above,Screamboatwas described as a horror comedy, even if the first teaser was more horror and no comedy. Surely, it’s possible that the tone ofScreamboatchanged once it entered production, butit’s the comedy side that can justify Mickey Mouse’s appearance. The only image released so far of this evil Mickey Mouse isn’t exactly a scary one, more so when remembering he’s the size of a mouse. Simply put, the design ofScreamboat’s Mickey Mouse isn’t threatening at all.
However, leaning more toward the comedy side can be what savesScreamboatfrom going through the same problem asBlood and Honeyand its plastic masks.Screamboatcould acknowledge the non-threatening appearance of Mickey Mouse and make fun of it, only for the tiny mouse to show it’s absolutely capable of killing many, many people. The scare factor ofScreamboat’s Mickey Mouse will be his actions, not so much its look, which fits a horror comedy vibe if that’s still the movie’s tone.
Screamboat’s Villain Has One Big Strength That Can Save The Movie
This Is Screamboat’s Secret Weapon
Despite its design flaws,Screamboat’s Mickey Mouse has one big strength: its actor.David Howard Thornton is no stranger to the horror genre, and he’s best known as Art the Clownin all threeTerrifiermovies so far and the character’s TV appearances. Thornton also played a horror version of The Grinch inThe Mean Oneand will appear as a zombie in the upcomingNight of the Living Dead II. Thornton, then, knows how to bring to life some truly horrifying characters, even if their design isn’t exactly nightmare-inducing.
Screamboat’s keys to success can be embracing its comedy side through its villain and also Thornton’s performance. It’s going to be interesting to see Thornton as a miniature mouse who’s out to kill everyone on a ferry, andhis performance is what can make this Mickey Mouse disturbing and terrifyingdespite its underwhelming and strange look.
Screamboat
A late-night boat ride in New York City becomes a harrowing battle for survival as a mischievous mouse morphs into a monstrous danger.
