Christopher Robin has stopped feeding his beloved friends. Pooh’s getting hungry,
but “hunny” just isn’t going to cut it anymore. What happens next? Keep watching
to find out how Winnie-the-Pooh is getting more terrifying than you ever realized.
“Uh, tell me about it tomorrow.”
Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh is a comforting character for many people all around the world.
For much of the character's 98-year history, he was simply known as a cuddly bear with
a love for "hunny," whose kindhearted thoughtfulness is reflected in his friendships with other
creatures in Hundred Acre Wood. In the unlikely case that you’re unaware, Pooh is an anthropomorphic
teddy bear belonging to Christopher Robin, and the character first appeared onscreen
in the 1966 Disney short, "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree."
“Yum, yum!”
Residing in the Hundred Acre Wood, which other anthropomorphic creatures also call home,
Pooh spends most of his time eating honey and bonding with his friends, including Piglet,
Tigger, Eeyore, and others.
“Say, ain’t you that stuck-up bear? Mmm, I still think I can blast you out of there.”
Sometime in January 2022, the Winnie-the-Pooh universe entered the public domain — except
for Tigger's character, which is still copyright protected — meaning anyone can take the
essence of the character and transform it into anything they deem fit, as long as the
resulting work is itself original. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield has injected a macabre
aspect into his upcoming slasher horror, "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey," which imagines
sweet, cuddly Pooh as a monstrous killer.
First-look images from the film feature an individual wearing a frightening Pooh mask,
and a rather messed-up version of Piglet, who seem to be stalking a group of people
for nefarious ends.
While Pooh is remembered as a charismatic, lovable teddy bear, has there always been
a subtly macabre touch to the classic animated woodland creature? Possibly. You may remember
how the classic 1977 anthology movie “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” saw
Pooh exercising in the mirror while breaking into song, abruptly rotating his head all
the way around while casually stitching himself up after his fur gets ripped while doing squats.
There's something off-putting about a sentient teddy bear putting himself back together as
his fur rips, especially considering that the adventures at Hundred Acre Wood are meant
to symbolize Christopher Robin's vibrant imagination — none of the creatures are real.
Perhaps it is not too surprising that Pooh has been reimagined as a feral killer, as
the internet has been home to numerous Winnie the Pooh creepypastas way before the conception
of Frake-Waterfield's horror slasher. And don’t forget Pooh’s appearance on Adult
Swim’s long-running series “Robot Chicken”:
“Pooh? Hello! What should we play to –” “Ooo, this tastes surprisingly delicious!”
Frake-Waterfield spoke to Variety about the slasher reimagining of the classic characters,
describing Pooh and Piglet as "the main villains going on a rampage" after being abandoned
by an adolescent Christopher Robin. He said:
"Christopher Robin is pulled away from them, and he's not [given] them food, it's made
Pooh and Piglet's life quite difficult. Because they've had to fend for themselves so much,
they've essentially become feral. So they've gone back to their animal roots. They're no
longer tame: they're like a vicious bear and pig who want to go around and try and find
prey."
"Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" seems to be keeping the animated roots of the characters
in mind, and expanding on a trajectory in which things go horribly wrong, as the film's
premise sounds extremely dark - especially compared to the tone of the cartoons.
“Just resting and thinking and humming to myself.”
Variety reports that "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" wrapped filming earlier this month,
and is currently in post-production along with four other films directed by Waterfield.
Filming was done in England, near Ashdown Forest, which served as the original inspiration
for A. A. Milne's original idea of the Hundred Acre Wood.
While there has been ample room for reinterpretation due to "Winnie the Pooh" being in the public
domain, Waterfield has altered the appearance of the characters drastically, adding an ominous
tint to the familiar creatures. While Pooh dons a lumberjack-like attire with suspenders,
Piglet wears all-black, as opposed to the usual pink the character is known for.
While the limits of human imagination are boundless, turning a bear who is clearly a
symbol of friendship and kindness into a frightening killer indulging in weird, twisted shenanigans
surely does push boundaries in terms of artistic liberty.
A release date has not been revealed for "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" at the moment,
but the slasher is expected to release sometime this year.
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