{"id":1900,"date":"2025-04-02T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2025-04-07T14:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T14:38:58","slug":"meet-the-horror-icon-and-disney-fan-reinventing-mickey-mouse-as-a-serial-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/meet-the-horror-icon-and-disney-fan-reinventing-mickey-mouse-as-a-serial-killer\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the horror icon and Disney fan reinventing Mickey Mouse as a serial killer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"David\t<\/div>
Screamboat paints the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse in a grisly new light (Picture: Sklae Lorand)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the copyright expired on January 1, 2024, to the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse, one of the most iconic characters in the worl<\/a>d \u2013 and one on which the Walt Disney<\/a> Company had built its studio, brand and fortune \u2013 no time was wasted.<\/p>\n

The very next day, comedy-horror<\/a> Screamboat was announced by writer-director Steven LaMorte, a parody (or you could say, mickey take) of that classic 1928 animated feature which introduced the world to Mickey.<\/p>\n

In Screamboat though, there\u2019s a lot more blood, guts and cannibalism than found in the original, with the action moved to a late-night ride on the Staten Island ferry from New York<\/a>, where unsuspecting commuters are targeted by a menacing mouse on a murderous rampage.<\/p>\n

It’s not the first horror reinterpretation of Disney<\/a>, following 2023 British indie flick Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey<\/a> after A.A. Milne’s original 1926 book entered the pubic domain<\/a> in the US<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

But this time, it’s Mickey Mouse, founder Walt Disney’s own creation – or this first version of him, at least (although The Mouse Trap still manged to be first<\/a> over the line here).<\/p>\n

The key ingredient to this new 18-rated slasher would of course be the actor chosen to play Willie \u2013 and horror legend David Howard Thornton, who\u2019d already built himself a reputation in the genre by playing Art the Clown in the Terrifier franchise<\/a> \u2013 was \u2018pretty much in it from the start\u2019.<\/p>\n

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Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Everett\/REX\/Shutterstock (14208479mj) TERRIFIER 2, David Howard Thornton, 2022. ? Bloody Disgusting \/ Courtesy Everett Collection Everett Collection - 2022\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The man behind Terrifier’s Art the Clown has donned the mouse ears to play Mickey\/Willie in this gory horror flick (Picture: Everett\/Rex\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thornton, 45, relished the \u2018wonderful\u2019 freedom of the film as a parody \u2013 and free of any copyright \u2013 because \u2018you can get away with so much\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also a huge fan of the animation house, identifying as \u2018a Disney brat since basically day one\u2019. Taking on his own version of Mickey as this steamboat\u2019s \u2018Willie\u2019 seemed almost destined to be.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My first stuffed animal was Winnie the Pooh. My first film I ever saw in the theatre was The Fox and the Hound. My first voice I ever did was Goofy in first grade, and the first starting role I ever had was playing Mickey Mouse in A Mickey’s Christmas Carol in middle school \u2013 and that’s what started my love of being on stage and making people laugh,\u2019 he tells <strong>Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>An avid movie-watcher and visitor to <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/03\/23\/huge-fire-walt-disney-world-forces-hundreds-evacuate-22774379\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the theme parks in Orlando, Florida<\/a> when growing up as well, he only has the fondest of feelings towards Disney.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I’ve had a lifelong love of Disney, so I was excited to do something with Disney but in a unique way. And who knows, they might hate me now, but I hope that’s not the case. I would love to actually work with the company in a professional sense.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_246052535-4166.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22839153\" alt=\"Mandatory Credit: Photo by Janet Mayer\/REX\/Shutterstock (14767646bq) David Howard Thornton 'Terrifier 3' New York Premiere, USA - 08 Oct 2024\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Thornton identifies as a ‘Disney brat’ and describes Screamboat as ‘a love letter to the company’ (Picture: Janet Mayer\/Rex\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He confirms that there\u2019s been no word from the Disney camp yet, so his parkgoer status remains unblemished, adding: \u2018I hope that they embrace [it] and I hope they understand that what we did was actually a love letter to the company.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true that Screamboat is stuffed full of references to Disney \u2013 from the obvious, like the Disney princess-adjacent costumes a group of entitled party girls wear, to the more niche, like a nod to the Main Street Electrical Parade from the parks.<\/p>\n<section class=\"metro-comment-cta\">\n<div class=\"metro-comment-cta__inner\"><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text-wrap\"><title>Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Are you planning on seeing Screamboat?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>In terms of what Screamboat\u2019s Willie looks like\u2026 it\u2019s pretty horrifying. This Willie has matted grey fur, pointed rodent teeth and claws on the end of his be-gloved fingers. But there\u2019s no denying who he\u2019s meant to be, especially with the big circular ears.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I saw very different designs of the character, especially the face,\u2019 Thornton reveals. \u2018They were trying to go between the line of the actual cartoon version and the more realistic version of what a mutant rodent would look like, and I think they found a nice blend of the two.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_246052229-069a.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22839128\" alt=\"David Howard Thornton holding a giant-sized pin as Willie in Screamboat.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>His Willie went through many designs before landing on the chosen one, which balanced cartoon with realism (to some extent) (Picture: Sklae Lorand\/Signature Entertainment)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018You\u2019ve got to have the big ears, it’s one of the most iconic silhouettes in history,\u2019 he points out.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s also a more realistic quality to this Willie\u2019s design (if you can say that of a knee-high, blood-thirsty cannibal mutant rodent prone to cutting off body parts), Thornton argues, in his build, even if his clothes remain the cartoonish and recognisable hat, shoes and shorts of Steamboat Willie.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We didn’t want him to just look like Sci-Fi Channel, horror movie camp, but we wanted it to actually have some realistic qualities to it,\u2019 he reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The actor definitely felt the pressure to serve Disney fans with enough of what they\u2019d expect from a Mickey-esque figure, as well as to \u2018stay as true to the character in his own way\u2019, as Thornton had created his Willie to be.<\/p>\n<p>For him, that meant the \u2018animalistic\u2019 sounds that \u2018organically\u2019 started coming out of him on set, which even surprised Thornton, as someone used to playing silent characters \u2013 but director LaMorte was keen to keep them in too. But there\u2019s also plenty of (creepy) whistling, something indelibly linked with Steamboat Willie while he\u2019s seen steering the boat at the start of the famous Disney short.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BBgghnQF6E4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In terms of movement like Willie\/Mickey, Thornton was also keen to reflect the musicality of the original character.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018In the old shorts there was a boppiness because everything was music based, and so you usually have the characters walking around to the beat of the music that’s playing. That’s something I wanted to focus on too, is his jauntiness,\u2019 he explains.<\/p>\n<p>Thornton admits that this was sometimes inhibited by his \u2018cumbersome\u2019 costume though, one which would see him go through four to five cooling vests a day underneath.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Every time they took them off, there would just be water [everywhere]. They would open my costume and you would just see steam escaping from me \u2013 in July, which shows how hot it was inside that costume!\u2019<\/p>\n<p>But he was happy to deal with the issue and find a way to work around it, the same as with Willie\/Mickey\u2019s famous white gloves.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"474\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1911351072.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22839813\" alt=\"Copyright Protection Expires On Earliest Version Of Mickey Mouse\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The 1928 version of Mickey Mouse, as seen in Steamboat Willie (pictured), entered the public domain in the US on January 1, 2024, paving the way from Screamboat (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018Because those were big, cartoonish, four-fingered gloves, that kind of changed what I could grip \u2013 but we worked on things so they were big enough for me to actually handle.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The film relies a lot on forced perspective and separate shots to film Thornton \u2013 a human man supposed to be mouse-sized(ish) \u2013 alongside his human co-stars, which helped with this.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A pin that is our size would be much bigger to Willie, and so they could actually make the props bigger, so I was able to grab them and manipulate them the right ways.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>However, he also identifies this as the biggest challenge of filming, not being on set with his fellow actors and having to \u2018just pretend that there’s a giant person in front of me that I’m trying to stab or something like that\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"253\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_246052231-6860.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22839122\" alt=\"Allison Pittel as Selena holding a knife and Amy Schumacher as EMT Amber holding her hands over her mouth, both looking terrified, in Screamboat\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Screamboat is set on a ferry between New York City and Staten Island, where passengers are terrorised and killed in a bloodbath courtesy of Willie (Picture: Sklae Lorand\/Signature Entertainment)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot in Screamboat that will shock and delight fans (Disney and horror alike), but one of Thornton\u2019s personal favourite parts is the ending \u2013 which suggests a sequel could be in store too.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I just love the big climax with where you find out what’s really going on with him, why he’s doing what he’s doing. It adds an extra layer to the character. This character is not totally evil, he’s got a heart behind him. He’s just had a bad life, you know? And he needs a little therapy!\u2019 Thornton laughs.<\/p>\n<p>Although that therapy could interfere with a second film\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Screamboat is in Vue cinemas in the UK from today.<\/em><\/strong> <em><strong>It’s also in cinemas in the US now.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >Screamboat paints the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse in a grisly new light (Picture: Sklae Lorand) When the copyright expired on January 1, 2024, to the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse, one of the most iconic characters in the world \u2013 and one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1900"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1908,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions\/1908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}