If you pay attention to pop culture, maybe you’ve noticed the recent uptick in familiar characters wielding cleavers and drenched in blood. Yes, I am talking about Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, but I’m also talking about Bambi: The Reckoning and The Mouse Trap.
How are these recognizable characters suddenly horror movie stars? It’s all thanks to public domain.
Public Domain
Public domain describes creative works that are exempt from copyright. Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. A work enters public domain when the copyright period elapses. The time limit varies, but in the U.S. for works created after 1977, it is 70 years after the creator's death. Anyone can use the works in public domain (most commonly recognizable characters and music) for creative purposes. Basically, nobody holds exclusive rights to work in the public domain, which means everyone gets to play with them.
Fair Use
In contrast, fair use applies to works that are still protected by copyright. Fair use allows people to present copyrighted works within certain limits without needing permission from the creator. Fair use covers things like parodies, news broadcasts, academic research, and commentary. You cannot, however, pass off those works as your own.
Learn more>> U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index
Fair use is fun, but public domain is where things kick off. The nature of public domain essentially means nothing is off limits; people can get as creative as they want when they’re playing in the public domain sandbox.
Disney: Public Domain and Copyright
Disney is no stranger to public domain, whether that’s using works within it or trying to protect its own properties from entering. The most well-known Disney animated movies are based on works in public domain. Snow White, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Sleeping Beauty are just a few examples of Disney playing in the public domain sandbox.
In fact, at the beginning of 2024, a prominent Disney property's copyright expired. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit might have beaten him to the punch as the first Disney character, but he was quickly overshadowed by Mickey Mouse, the face (and ears) of Disney, entering public domain.
Sorta.
Actually, it’s one specific version of Mickey Mouse: 1928’sSteamboat Willie, the very first animated appearance of both Mickey and Minnie (yes, she’s in public domain now, too). He’s not the mouse you’re most familiar with, but that hasn’t stopped people from running with his image.
As of this writing, two horror movies featuring Steamboat Willie are in the works: The Mouse Trap and Mouseboat Massacre. Personally, I hope more are on the way.
In addition to Steamboat Willie, versions of Winnie the Pooh and Bambi have their very own horror movies. These aren’t the Disney versions of the characters (they’re based on the original properties; Pooh can't wear his iconic red shirt), but most people aren’t making that distinction.
I know what you’re thinking. Why, of all things, have people used horror for these characters’ first venture through the public domain sandbox?
In my opinion, the answer is shock value. You don’t think sweet little Bambi is going to charge you antlers-first, friendly honey-lover Winnie the Pooh isn’t on your list of potential slashers, and nobody expects Mickey Mouse (the face of Disney, beloved family entertainment titan) to suddenly wield a butcher knife.
What better way to generate viewership than offering people these iconic staples of childhood doing the Killer Walk after frantic victims? While the curiosity might be morbid, it’s hard to deny the effectiveness of the horror movie treatment in generating viewership.
Don’t worry too much, though. Horror isn’t the only way people use public domain. Characters in the public domain span across genres and mediums: Dracula appears in DC and Marvel comics, and BBC’s Merlin featured King Arthur and his court.
Did you know Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain? Everyone knows about BBC’s Sherlock, but have you ever wondered what it would be like if the original Sherlock Holmes traveled to the future to solve crimes? Well, thanks to public domain, the animated series Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century exists. Holmes travels to the future, Watson is now a cyborg, and it only gets wackier from there.
Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland is also in public domain. One of the most notable uses of Alice and Wonderland is in video game format: American McGee’s Alice (and its sequel Alice: Madness Returns). Alice suffers severe trauma, which is reflected in a broken and destitute Wonderland that she must put back together. The game has a macabre style and horror elements, really leaning into the “what if Wonderland was actually creepy and messed up” trope.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is in public domain, too. Beyond remakes like Disney’s animated version starring Jim Carrey, we also have the masterpiece of cinema that is The Muppet Christmas Carol. Award-winning Michael Caine stars as Ebenezer Scrooge while Muppets known and unfamiliar sing and dance around him. It’s great.
Are you curious about what else is in public domain? Well, HCPL has plenty of adaptations based on public domain works in its catalogue. Here’s just a few for you to browse:
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