Outrageous Slasher Comedy On Tubi Is Equal Parts Magic And Maniacal
If there’s one thing I love more than a good horror comedy, it’s one that’s made in direct defiance of Walt Disney’s wishes thanks to Steamboat Willie becoming a public domain property in 2024. Jumping on the opportunity to make a Mickey Mouse based slasher, writer Simon Phillips and director Jaime Bailey announced their intent to produce The Mouse Trap, and released a trailer on January 1, 2024, the same day copyright laws would no longer apply to the intellectual property as if they were waiting for this moment for their entire lives. The end result is a teen slasher film in which the antagonist bears a striking resemblance to the Steamboat Willie iteration of Mickey Mouse, as later depictions of the character are still protected under copyright law.
Getting The Legal Mumbo Jumbo Out Of The Way
Before The Mouse Trap gets into its gory action, a massive disclaimer slowly scrolls across the screen, informing audiences that “This production is not sponsored, endorsed by or affiliated with Disney, The Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies and/or third party licensors.” The disclaimer continues for a comical amount of time, letting everybody know that they made several phone calls to confirm that Disney wants absolutely nothing to do with this movie, “legally or emotionally,” but only before acknowledging that the disclaimer itself is a “generic space scroll … not to be confused with Lucas films and its subsidiary companies or third party licensors.”
Sure, this entire intro to The Mouse Trap is a joke in and of itself, but obviously there was some fear of legal repercussions going into the project, so why not be totally tongue-in-cheek when given the opportunity?
The Mouse Trap’s Framework
The events depicted in The Mouse Trap are told in hindsight from a prison cell occupied by Rebecca (Mackenzie Mills), the sole survivor of an amusement center massacre. Tight lipped at first, Rebecca is reluctant to indulge detectives Cole (Damir Kovic) and Marsh (Nick Biskupek) on what happened before she was locked up because she fears for her life. In order to prove her innocence, Rebecca has to walk the detectives through her night because at this point in time she’s the primary person of interest, as she’s the only person who made it out of the amusement center alive.
It’s worth noting, however, that Rebecca’s story is dubious at best because her recollection of events includes exchanges that happened when she allegedly wasn’t present.
Story framing aside, The Mouse Trap jumps back and forth from Rebecca’s interrogation, to Funhaven, the amusement center where Alex (Sophie McIntosh) and Jayna (Madeline Kelman) work. Approaching the end of their shifts, Alex and Jayna are approached by their boss, Tim (Simon Phillips), who asks them to stay a few hours late due to a last minute booking. Disappearing into the back office, Tim pours himself a drink and watches Steamboat Willie on his projector until he gets distracted by his collectible Mickey mask, which taunts him in a demonic voice, prompting him to wear it.
Tim Wanders off laughing, and that’s the last time he’s seen … or so everybody’s supposed to think.
Commence The Bloodbath
Unbeknownst to Alex at the time, the party due to arrive consists of her friends who I will not listing off because you know going into The Mouse Trap that nobody makes it out alive, so why get attached? Meanwhile, what appears to be Tim, still wearing the Mickey Mask, chains and padlocks all of the doors, ensuring that nobody will be able to escape Funhaven.
Now, if you’ve seen even just one slasher, you pretty much know where The Mouse Trap is heading at this point. One by one, the murderous Mickey, who inexplicably has teleportation powers, slaughters everybody in his path while letting out a high-pitched giggle with each stab and slash.
From this point forward, The Mouse Trap shamelessly carries out every classic slasher trope you could think of with style.
That couple wandering off to the jungle gym to make love? Don’t get too attached. The utterance of the phrase “I’ll be right back,” immediately becomes a death sentence. And of course, of course everybody’s cell phone is placed in a bag so everybody can live in the moment instead of doom scrolling. Except in this case, not being able to doom scroll at a birthday party pretty much seals everybody’s fate.
Magical And Maniacal
GFR SCORE
The Mouse Trap doesn’t set out to reinvent the slasher genre, but rather celebrates the familiar beats that we’ve all seen before in the most ridiculous way possible. While I initially wished I didn’t see Tim mask up at the beginning of the film, which implies that he’s the only person who could possibly be the killer, going into this film without the faintest hint of mystery somehow makes it even more enjoyable.
The Mouse Trap isn’t supposed to make you think, and there isn’t a big reveal.
In fact, five minutes into the movie, you know exactly what’s going to happen (by design), which allows you to mindlessly enjoy the violence knowing what’s going to happen as a spectator while everybody else is completely unaware.
You can stream The Mouse Trap for free on Tubi at the time of this writing, and I strongly suggest you invite your friends over to witness the spectacle that is Mickey Mouse on a murderous rampage.
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