Steamboat Willie: Blood on the Water

When I first saw the title Steamboat Willie: Blood on the Water, I hoped-just maybe-it would be something playful, inventive, or at least respectful of the legacy it's referencing. Instead, it's yet another lazy horror rehash that throws a beloved character into a generic nightmare setting for shock value and viral potential.

The plot (if you can call it that) involves some guy inheriting property and running into ghost stories about demonic rat-men and a haunted captain. It's the kind of setup you've seen a hundred times, just with a thin public domain paint job slapped on. Mickey Mouse-specifically the Steamboat Willie version-has so much historical and artistic value, and it's exhausting to see that reduced to jump scares and gore for the sake of a trend.

Why does every character that enters the public domain immediately get turned into horror fodder? It's uncreative and uninspired. I'm not against dark reinterpretations in theory, but at this point it's overdone and predictable. I keep hoping for someone to take these newly available icons and do something fun, smart, or even just entertaining with them-not this.

If you're genuinely a fan of Mickey Mouse, animation history, or storytelling in general, skip this one. It doesn't honor the spirit of Steamboat Willie-it exploits it.