I’m not one to police this stuff for others. For one, it’s pompous to stifle someone’s use of a royalty-free character. And two, it’s art. Not all creations are equal creatively, but that shouldn’t stop you from having fun. After all, I have ideas myself!
My issue’s in how limited and uncreative people are being, especially since so many lapsed IPs are children-centric. Winnie the Pooh, for example, may be a bear, but he’s a stuffed bear. He’s warm and fuzzy, he likes eating honey and he has a child’s curiosity. He’s meant to be an escape from reality for audience insert Christopher Robin. Like Bill Watterson’s famous plushie, Pooh Bear’s an 8 year-old’s imaginary comfort friend.
So then…why a horror film? And not any horror film, a child molesting one? I know Pooh and Piglet are based on animals, but come on! Really?! That’s the best we can do?
It doesn’t stop there! Mickey Mouse became public domain on January 1st, and within hours we had not one, but two horror announcements! One of these, the video game, has additional issues that I won’t discuss here, but the movie being a slasher is another example of taking something child-friendly and making it into horror because you can. I know the world’s our oyster now with the rodent, but be more creative!
Unfortunately, this is where creators often go when an IP’s copyright expires. I get it somewhat, I like testing the waters myself, but eventually it has to be called out. Especially since resorting to violent re-imaginings feels lazy. For example, Peter Pan’s world of Neverland, where he takes children to never age, is messed up, but only because J.M. Barrie witnessed several people he cared about die young. The world of Neverland was innocent, not some messed up reality where little kids are kidnapped! (I say that knowing this’ll probably be the premise of a Peter Pan horror film in the near-future.)
I’m being overly-negative, but only because we need to be more creative. Yes, these are public domain properties. Yes, being public domain isn’t inherently bad, especially given how draconian copyright laws are! But no, that doesn’t mean you should corrupt the innocence of these properties simply because you can. People, children in particular, deserve better.
Unfortunately, this is where creators often go when an IP’s copyright expires. I get it somewhat, I like testing the waters myself, but eventually it has to be called out. Especially since resorting to violent re-imaginings feels lazy. For example, Peter Pan’s world of Neverland, where he takes children to never age, is messed up, but only because J.M. Barrie witnessed several people he cared about die young. The world of Neverland was innocent, not some messed up reality where little kids are kidnapped! (I say that knowing this’ll probably be the premise of a Peter Pan horror film in the near-future.)
I’m being overly-negative, but only because we need to be more creative. Yes, these are public domain properties. Yes, being public domain isn’t inherently bad, especially given how draconian copyright laws are! But no, that doesn’t mean you should corrupt the innocence of these properties simply because you can. People, children in particular, deserve better.
I wouldn’t be so hesitant if these ideas weren’t rushed and lazy. It’s not like horror can’t work with children’s characters! Mickey Mouse had a dark short that Disney doesn’t like to acknowledge, one that, apparently, was really interesting! But examples like that are the exception. And they touch on concepts worth exposing to kids.
Making Winnie the Pooh a cannibal, or Peter Pan a child sex offender, is the opposite of that, especially when it’s done to be edgy. On the adult front, there are also alternatives. There was an update to a first-person shooter where the protagonist was made into Mickey Mouse. It sounds like another example of robbing a childhood IP of its innocence to be edgy, but this is a black-and-white game centring around a rodent cop in the 1930’s. And it evokes the style of cartoons from that era. Having Mickey Mouse as the lead fits that, and it has thought put into it.
If people make children-centric stories adult-centric, perhaps this is the answer. Because there’s plenty of potential there. I’m no expert in this, as I’m only one person, but we can come up with better ideas than “make it horror” each time. Like I said, the world’s our oyster! Let’s use the sandbox efficiently!
Making Winnie the Pooh a cannibal, or Peter Pan a child sex offender, is the opposite of that, especially when it’s done to be edgy. On the adult front, there are also alternatives. There was an update to a first-person shooter where the protagonist was made into Mickey Mouse. It sounds like another example of robbing a childhood IP of its innocence to be edgy, but this is a black-and-white game centring around a rodent cop in the 1930’s. And it evokes the style of cartoons from that era. Having Mickey Mouse as the lead fits that, and it has thought put into it.
If people make children-centric stories adult-centric, perhaps this is the answer. Because there’s plenty of potential there. I’m no expert in this, as I’m only one person, but we can come up with better ideas than “make it horror” each time. Like I said, the world’s our oyster! Let’s use the sandbox efficiently!
Outside of that, not every IP for children should be robbed of its innocence. For Winnie the Pooh, you can use the character to teach life lessons that are age-appropriate. That’s what one creator online is currently doing, and it shouldn’t be the only example. The world’s dark and cruel as is without corrupting classic tales. Doing so isn’t only lazy, it’s mean-spirited for the wrong reasons!
Perhaps I’m burnt out on “let’s make X property dark and gritty” being a trend. It’s why Michael Bay’s take on the Transformers and TMNT IPs felt wrongheaded, and it’s tainted their course corrections. I liked Bumblebee and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as movies, but that’s because they respected the audience and stayed true to their properties. They weren’t trying to be dull, edgy fodder for adults embarrassed to be seen liking stuff “for kids”, which is what “make it horror” with public domain properties feels like.
In the end, while there’s little I can do to stop it, I wish more thought would go into these re-imaginings. We’re in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime mass-expiration of IP patents, one I’d argue should’ve happened sooner. Corporations can be bypassed here, which saves a lot of financial headaches. We can do whatever we want, and no one can stop us! But when we keep resorting violence and cheap horror, then I have to wonder if it’s worth having these characters at all. Because I’d rather be the clown who’s lighthearted and fun than one who’s a serial killer, there’s less baggage that way…
Perhaps I’m burnt out on “let’s make X property dark and gritty” being a trend. It’s why Michael Bay’s take on the Transformers and TMNT IPs felt wrongheaded, and it’s tainted their course corrections. I liked Bumblebee and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as movies, but that’s because they respected the audience and stayed true to their properties. They weren’t trying to be dull, edgy fodder for adults embarrassed to be seen liking stuff “for kids”, which is what “make it horror” with public domain properties feels like.
In the end, while there’s little I can do to stop it, I wish more thought would go into these re-imaginings. We’re in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime mass-expiration of IP patents, one I’d argue should’ve happened sooner. Corporations can be bypassed here, which saves a lot of financial headaches. We can do whatever we want, and no one can stop us! But when we keep resorting violence and cheap horror, then I have to wonder if it’s worth having these characters at all. Because I’d rather be the clown who’s lighthearted and fun than one who’s a serial killer, there’s less baggage that way…
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