Have you ever imagined your beloved childhood characters as vicious, bloodthirsty monsters? Of course not, but director Rhys Waterfield has turned Winnie the Pooh into a live-action horror film, “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.” 

Disney removed the dashes from Winnie the Pooh’s name after they purchased the rights to him and his universe. The dashes are back in Winnie-the-Pooh’s name to differentiate from Disney’s Winnie the Pooh and to be more like the Winnie-the-Pooh who first appeared in A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh,” which was a series of short stories about the bear we know and love. 

In January 2022, the Winnie the Pooh universe, excluding Tigger, became public domain, which is why Waterfield is allowed to make his film. In 1961, Disney bought the permanent licensing rights to Winnie the Pooh and his extended universe. US copyright law states that the copyright expires 70 years after the author’s death or 95 years after publication. Its publication was 95 years ago, so Winnie the Pooh is now in the public domain. Public domain means that Disney has lost their copyright and exclusivity to Winnie the Pooh.  Anyone can legally do whatever they want with the Winnie the Pooh franchise, excluding Tigger who is still copyright protected. Tigger is copyright protected because he was first introduced in A.A. Milne’s second book, “The House at Pooh Corner” in 1928.. Therefore he is still copyright protected and cannot be used without a proper license. Along with Winnie the Pooh, Bambi became public domain around the same time. Disney may be in hot water soon because Mickey Mouse will be in the public domain starting January 1, 2024.

“Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” is going to be based on the premise that Christopher Robin grew up and left the Hundred Acre Woods, abandoning Winnie-the-Pooh (cannot forget the dashes) and Piglet (who is now a massive human-like hog). Feeling abandoned, they both became animalistic murderers ready for revenge. After Christopher Robin gets a girlfriend, he decides to take her back to the Hundred Acre Woods to meet his childhood friends. Christopher Robin and his girlfriend are left to deal with the rabid animals, especially after they start targeting people staying in a cabin in the woods. It is unclear what happened to the rest of the loveable Winnie the Pooh characters, but there is a clue in the trailer. In the trailer, you can see a gravestone for everyone’s favorite donkey, Eeyore.  

Now that all the background information is out of the way, the big question is: is this okay? Short answer: yes. Long answer: no, but also maybe yes? I know some people have strong opinions either way, but legally this is allowed. Turning beloved childhood characters into horror movies could be considered morally wrong and horrific. There is also the worry that young children will accidentally find this movie and be emotionally scarred.

Transforming one of my favorite childhood franchises into a slasher film is horrifying and laughable. Believe it or not, something similar to “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” has been done. The cast of MTV’s “Teen Wolf” and Funny or Die made “Charlie Brown: Blockhead’s Revenge” a horror/ comedy spoof. “Charlie Brown: Blockhead’s Revenge” was funny and had a horror feel despite being short. I thought it was a funny recreation of what I used to enjoy as a child, especially since the characters were teenagers instead of little kids like they are in the original “Charlie Brown” series. The characters being grown up is a common theme for horror movies that stemmed from child-marketed franchises because horror movies are not for children to watch. 

Like most media, nothing  can stop this from coming out on October 20, 2022. If you do not  like it, do not watch it. Maybe this movie could be a way for the grown-up generation to enjoy their childhood characters in a new format.

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