The movie, Mickey’s Mouse Trap, follows Disney’s copyright defense of the “Steamboat Willie” variation of Mickey Mouse ended after 95 years.
A made-in-Ottawa motion picture is making waves as one of the year’s very first productions to depict Mickey Mouse in a manner not likely to satisfy the approval of Walt Disney. It most likely would have offered him the willies.
Mickey’s Mouse Trap is a live-action scary movie in which a homicidal bad guy in a Mickey outfit terrifies a group of good friends caught in an amusement game. Ottawa-based actor/filmmaker Simon Phillips launched the film’s cooling trailer on Jan. 1, the day the copyright ended on Steamboat Willie, the 1928 animated movie that’s thought about Mickey’s launching.
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Ninety-five years after its release, the Steamboat-era Mickey character is now in the general public domain, making it level playing field for creative developers. You might remember a comparable thing took place to Winnie the Pooh in 2015 when that character went into the general public domain, and quickly ended up being a feral killer in an independent slasher flick.
Phillips, a British expat who emigrated to Ottawa about 5 years back, stated he was influenced to take on Mickey after checking out a post in 2015 about the upcoming copyright expiration. He not just composed and produced the film, however likewise stars as the homicidal bad guy.
Why scary? With a number of scary flicks under his belt, consisting of 2020’s Butchers and 2022’s Deinfluencer, Phillips has experience with the category. Plus, he considered it a fascinating experiment to turn Mickey’s happy-go-lucky character.
“If, when Mickey Mouse got in the general public domain and I made some sort of funny or warm, fuzzy household motion picture about it, it’s not precisely breaking brand-new ground,” Phillips stated in an interview. “This is a chance to break brand-new ground, to do something that Disney would not have actually possibly finished with their character. That’s what being innovative remains in a continuously developing world.”
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The movie was shot after hours at Ottawa’s Funhaven, a place picked since of its size and visual appeal. Cast and team would get here after closing and work till dawn.
“It is an entirely Ottawa movie,” Phillips states. “The stars are from Ottawa, along with the production team, style group, cosmetics– all the cast and team are Ottawa-based. The only individual who was available in from Toronto was the director, Jamie Bailey.”
Born in Ireland, Phillips relocated to Ottawa with his sibling after he was familiar with the city while producing a television drama called No Easy Days. He invested 7 months in the country’s capital to shoot the program’s 10 episodes.
“Because I was here for such a long period of time, I fell for it a bit more as a location to live at a speed I kinda like,” he stated. “Ottawa is a huge town instead of a city, in my mind. It does not have the traffic of L.A. or Toronto however it has sufficient city for me.”
With his bearded countenance and enormous glare, the 43-year-old Phillips has actually acquired a track record as an efficient bad guy. He’s won awards for his representation of Santa Claus in scary Christmas films and has actually appeared in function movies along with action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Presently you can see him in the Netflix series, FUBAR, with Schwarzenegger, and season 3 of The Witcher.
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There are no Disney credits to his name– up until now– however do not understand that Phillips has some type of beef with the magic kingdom. He’s a huge fan of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and all the other Disney characters.
“People are questioning if this is vengeance versus Disney, and I’m like, ‘Not at all.’ I like Disney. I matured with Mickey Mouse. I enjoy anything Disney does,” he states. “There’s no vengeance here. We’re simply doing what Disney would motivate you to do: be imaginative and play.”
A complete release of Mickey’s Mouse Trap is anticipated by March.
lsaxberg@postmedia.com
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