How to save Pippi from becoming a bloodthirsty murderer?

« Winnie the Pooh. Blood and Honey » (2023), « Mickey Mouse Trap » (2024) and « Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare » (2025) all three have in common: they are horror films where famous figures are mainly aimed at children have been transformed into monsters and murderers. Since copyright has expired, there is nothing that relatives of the author or anyone else can do about it. From now on, only the morals set the boundaries.

The trend is clear and in early April it was the American bio premiere for the new addition « Screamboat » about Musse Pigg. The lead role as a murderous mouse is played by David Howard Thornton, known for his role as clown Art in the extremely bloody « terrifies » films, whose latest extension was described as « Violent Pornographic Fullwriting » by DN’s reviewer.

In Sweden is the copyright As in the United States and the United Kingdom, 70 years after the author’s death. Since 2024, for example, it has been free to let Elsa Beskow’s aunt brown, aunt green and aunt Gredelin show up as child -eating witches on the white cloth.

Fredrik Beskow, grandchildren’s children of Elsa and Natanael Beskow, as well as representatives of their estate, can usually accept travestier and parodies, but it all comes to the purpose.

He exemplifies with the comedian and mental ill-health influencer Henrik Wahlström who a few years ago replaced texts in books by Elsa Beskow in what he called the « Beskow parade ». In that case, it was left out because the intention was basically well meaning.

– Parodied and travested you have always done, but I have a hard time accepting that you do it with making money as a sole purpose, says Fredrik Beskow.

With time comes even Figures such as Pelle Svanslös and Pippi Longstocking to be free quirky for horror film directors. Especially Astrid Lindgren’s work, which is known internationally, then risks being used in morally questionable contexts.

In Sweden, however, there is classic protection, a section in the Copyright Act whose purpose is to protect artistic works where copyright has expired against public reproduction that « violates the interest of spiritual cultivation ». The action is then brought in the Patent and Market Court. Exclusive right of speech, depending on the area, has the Swedish Academy, the Musical Academy and the Academy of Art. The section was enrolled in the Copyright Act as early as 1960.

However, the protection has only been tried in court on one occasion, when the Swedish Academy protested against the right extremist Nordic Resistance Movement published known Swedish poems on its website. The Academy lost the target. In 2021, the loss caused a letter from the Academy to the Ministry of Justice, in which a modernization of the protection was proposed. Among other things, you want to see that the exclusive right of speech would be abolished. Instead, you want the opportunity to be given to interest organizations. Today, four years later, the Ministry still cannot notify DN about whether they intend to proceed with the letter.

Mats Nordenborg, lawyer at However, the Patent and Registration Office, points out that the judgment from 2021 does not mean that the current classic protection does not work as intended.

– The protection has only been interpreted once and the Academy did not appearance to the Patent and Market Court. The judgment therefore has a relatively weak precedent value, he says.

Like many laws, he continues, the protection plays some function only by being.

– Sometimes people refrain from doing things because they know it’s forbidden. Then it is possible to ask whether the rules create morality or if it is the other way around.

However, the fact that copyright has expired does not mean that everything is allowed, recalls Mats Nordenborg. For example, the rights to a certain version of a fictional figure may still be protected. An example is Nalle Puh. In that case, Disney’s cartoon version – Nalle Puh with its characteristic little red sweater – is still protected.

Olle Nyman, daughter’s son to Astrid Lindgren and chief lawyer at Astrid Lindgren Aktiebolag, writes in an e -mail to DN that classic protection is not a current issue, since the copyright for Lindgren’s work will be expired only in 2072. However, he points out that « the right to parody and travetera is an obvious and important part of the freedom of expression in a democratic society. »

For Sagogränd, who manages and owns the rights to Gösta Knutsson’s work, the issue is considerably closer. The rights to Pelle Svanslös expire already in 18 years.

Sagogränd is a subsidiary of No Tail AB owned by Parks and Resorts, Mattias Banks, Christer Fogelmarck and then this summer also by author Camilla Läckberg. She has also taken over the baton when it comes to writing new books about Pelle Svanslös.

However, Sagogränder’s CEO Christer Fogelmark does not want to answer DN’s questions about how they view the possibilities of protecting Gösta Knutsson’s work in the future. « Bad timing, » he says.

What he means by that he leaves open to interpretation. Maybe it has to do with the first book signed Camilla Läckberg, « Pelle Svanslös and the tail hunt », will be released in May. To then discuss a potential future where a murderous cat is sneaking around Uppsala’s alleys and mums students who were the streams you can suppose can harm the brand.

Also in Finland Is it 70 years after the author’s death that the rights stop valid. This means that Tove Jansson’s Moomin Trollet in 2071 will be free of quarrels.

But that thing does not worry Roleff Kråkström, CEO of Moomin Characters who hold the copyright to Tove and brother Lars Jansson’s creations.

– I understand that there may be survivors that can perceive it offensive if you do a travesty, but in Finland we are very pragmatic. When the copyright has expired, it has expired, you do not think anyone can take it badly after so long, he says.

Of course, that horror film directors capitalize on beloved figures like Peter Pan and Nalle Puh, he obviously finds because there is a shock effect in replacing honey with blood.

– We live in a society where we have decided what is mentally healthy for children. That the family’s kind labrador suddenly eats up the children is not considered to be.

Read more:

Now the early Musse Pigg is free to use – bloody play is planned

Musse Pigg becomes murderer in new film

The Swedish Academy loses in court against NMR and Nordfront