The public domain is, in a way, the great cinematic universe in the sky — the final resting place for all intellectual property where characters from all walks of life are legally allowed to encounter one another. Untouchables Entertainment sees a filmmaking opportunity in that. The banner has released the first trailer for “The Dark Domain: MVW Mickey-Vs-Winnie,” a horror imagining that sees the Mickey of Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” and Winnie-the-Pooh coming face-to-face and haunting a killable group of childhood friends.
The film, which bills itself as the “first public domain crossover film” and ventures to launch a “Dark Domain Universe,” takes place in the Hell Forest and introduces other monsters with names like The Stitcher, Hellshadowers and The Wickeds. They’re all along for the ride with Dark Mickey (Daniel Wilkinson) and Dark Winnie (Chris Boudreaux), going head-to-head in the horror tradition of Freddy and Jason, or the Alien and the Predator. Notably, the project’s unveiling does not refer to Mickey alongside his commonly-known Christian name, “Mouse,” as it’s only the “Mickey” character seen in Walt Disney’s 1928 “Steamboat Willie” short that has entered the public domain.
Glenn Douglas Packard directs “The Dark Domain: MVW Mickey-Vs-Winnie,” which was shot by “Little Bites” cinematographer Andy Patch and features makeup developed by Emmy-winning artist Daniel Phillips, whose credits include “The Hobbit” trilogy and “Oz the Great and Powerful.”
“I love that we can take these iconic childhood characters from A.A. Milne’s original Winnie-the-Pooh and the 1928 Steamboat Willie version of Mickey and create a whole new wicked universe,” Packard said in. statement. “Our film is like the Upside Down World, with these public domain icons getting into a horror smackdown akin to Freddy vs. Jason.”
The characters of Steamboat Willie and Winnie-the-Pooh have been swiftly scooped up by horror filmmakers, looking to find a darker edge to the kid-friendly nostalgic icons. In April, Iconic Events Releasing is putting out “Screamboat,” a horror imagining of the early Disney short with “Terrifier” series star David Howard Thornton as the killer mouse. Meanwhile, Jagged Edge Productions has already produced two entries in its “Winnie-the-Pooh” horror series “Blood and Honey,” with a third in development.
Packard is represented by MTA. Boudreaux is represented by HRI Talent. Wilkinson is represented by TMH Management.
