The Mouse Trap (film)

The Mouse Trap
Poster with original title
Directed by	Jamie Bailey
Written by	Simon Phillips
Produced by	Mem Ferda
Starring	Sophie McIntosh Callum Sywyk Allegra Nocita Ben Harris Mireille Gagné Mackenzie Mills James Laurin Kayleigh Styles Jesse Masmith Madeline Kelman Damir Kovic Nick Biskupek Simon Phillips
Cinematography	Jamie Bailey
Edited by	Jamie Bailey
Music by	Darren Morze
Production companies	Into Frame Productions Bailey Phillips Productions
Distributed by	Gravitas Ventures
Release date	August 6, 2024 (2024-08-06)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

The Mouse Trap is a 2024 Canadian comedy horror film directed by Jamie Bailey and written by Simon Phillips. It is a horror reimagining of Walt Disney's 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie, the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, and stars Phillips as a masked killer in a Mickey costume who terrorize a group of friends trapped inside an amusement arcade after it closes.

Originally titled as Mickey's Mouse Trap, the film was announced on Janaury 1, 2024, the same day Mickey's Steamboat Willie version went into the public domain. Due to The Walt Disney Company retaining exclusive rights to the depictions of the character from their own franchise, the film changed its title to The Mouse Trap in July 2024.

The Mouse Trap was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release in March 2024 but suffered several delays that made it be released through video on demand in the United States on August 6, 2024, by Gravitas Ventures. A sequel, The Mouse Trap: Welcome to the Mickeyverse, is scheduled to be released in 2025.

Plot

Detectives Cole and Marsh attempt to interview Rebecca, a survivor of a recent massacre at an amusement arcade, so that they can learn who was behind the murders. Rebecca is reluctant and claims that they all will be killed if she tells them, but eventually begins to explain what happened.

Some time before, arcade employees Alex and Jayna are told by their boss Tim Collins to stay on a late shift due to a last-minute booking. Whilst watching a copy of Steamboat Willie on a film projector, Collins enters in a trance. He finds a Mickey Mouse mask that begins speaking to him and puts the mask on.

After Jayna leaves the arcade, Alex witness Collins wearing the Mickey mask as he chains up one of the exits. Worried, Alex attempts to flee but stumbles upon her boyfriend Marcus and her friends—Ryan, Paul, Jackie, Gemma, Danny, Marie, and Rebecca— as the booking was arranged by them to celebrate a surprise birthday party for Alex.

As the party gets into full swing, Ryan gathers everyone's phones in a bag and leaves them on a counter. Meanwhile, Paul and Jackie head into a jungle gym to have sex, where Mickey appears and attacks them with a knife. The rest of the group learn that the exits have been chained shut, and the phones have been stolen. They split up to look for Paul and Jackie, while Rebecca encounters Mickey, whom is now able to teleport but is easily scared off by flashing lights.

Mickey wounds Marie, but she manages to escape before he can kill her. She informs Alex and Marcus, believing Ryan is the one who attacked her since he is nowhere to be found. Alex then discovers that the lights and phone lines are down before she, Marcus, and Marie find the corpses of Paul and Jackie. Alex activates the arcade's fire alarm in order to alert emergency services but Mickey kills Gemma and Danny, teleports into the laser tag arena and slits Rebecca's ankle.

Alex sees Jayna returning to the arcade, but is unable to warn her about Mickey before he teleports and kills her. She finds Marcus and Marie interrogating Ryan, making them realize he is innocent when Mickey appears and attacks them. Alex uses a flashlight to distract Mickey as Marcus knocks him down with a baseball bat but Mickey teleports away before they can finish him off.

The survivors realise that they can use Mickey's light phobia against him. They lure him into the jungle gym and activate the strobe lights, disorienting Mickey as they beat him down. However, Mickey manages to turn off the lights with telekinesis and teleports away; he reappears behind Alex and decapitates her before disappearing.

Back in the present, the detectives refuse to believe Rebecca's story and leave her locked inside her cell. In a post-credits scene, Mickey arrives at the police station, opens Rebecca's cell and tells her that there are "many people" he wants her to meet. Rebecca smiles at Mickey and leaves her cell.

Cast

• Simon Phillips as Mickey Mouse / Tim Collins
• Sophie McIntosh as Alex
• Madeline Kelman as Jayna
• Ben Harris as Ryan
• Callum Sywyk as Marcus
• Mireille Gagné as Gemma
• James Laurin as Paul
• Kayleigh Styles as Jackie
• Mackenzie Mills as Rebecca
• Jesse Masmith as Danny
• Allegra Nocita as Marie
• Damir Kovic as Detective Cole
• Nick Biskupek as Detective Marsh

Production

The original Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse entered into the U.S. public domain in 2024, but any elements that would be unique to later depictions of the character had to be avoided.

On January 1, 2024, the first animated short film starring Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willie, entered into public domain. The day the copyright lapsed, the film—then titled Mickey's Mouse Trap—was revealed to the public as the film's first trailer was released online along with several other works based on the short, such as Infestation: Origins, a Mickey-themed independent horror game.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, director Jamie Bailey stated: "We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it’s Steamboat Willie‘s Mickey Mouse murdering people. It's ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows. Bailey also expressed surprise that there were not more similar projects and that they were among the first to create such a film, as the crew "thought we'd be lost in the shuffle, to be completely honest". The film avoids referring to the titular villain as "Mickey Mouse" while ensuring that "it's very clear who it's supposed to be".

Principal photography took place in Funhaven, an amusement arcade in Ottawa, Canada, over the course of 8 days in Summer 2023.

Release

The Mouse Trap was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in March 2024 before being postponed for unknown reasons. It was later rescheduled to be released in the United States by Gravitas Ventures via video on demand on August 6, 2024, with a Blu-ray release following on August 13.

See also

• Works based on a copyright-free Mickey Mouse
• Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a similar horror film whose original character entered into the public domain

External links

• The Mouse Trap at IMDb 
• The Mouse Trap at Rotten Tomatoes