‘Is nothing sacred?’ Winnie the Pooh fans have mixed reactions to horror film starring bear as killer

Pooh Bear and Piglet will ‘try to find prey’ in a nightmarish reimagining of children’s characters

Fans have both praised and criticised the concept of the forthcoming horror film, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

The usually cuddly children’s character is being reinterpreted in a sinister way in Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s violent cinematic movie.

Instead of the Winnie the Pooh with a jolly outlook and vibrant red t-shirt that many will be familiar with, this version of the animated bear has a dark agenda and can be seen wearing a checked shirt with suspenders.

The classic children’s story character, created by AA Milne, entered the public domain earlier this year. This means that Pooh, and his friend Piglet, are available for use without permission of the author’s estate and can be interpreted in any creative work.

According to Frake-Waterfield, who wrote, directed and co-produced the film, the plot explores what Winnie the Pooh and Piglet get up to after their human friend, Christopher Robin, leaves for university.

“Christopher Robin is pulled away from them, and he’s not [given] them food,” he explained to Variety. “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… 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 in horror film ‘Blood and Honey’ (Jagged Edge Productions)

The cast includes Craig David-Dowsett as Winnie and Chris Cordell as Piglet.

Since stills from the film were released online, people have shared their views on this nightmarish interpretation. Some have celebrated the character being released from Disney copyright and being made available for common use.

“Winnie the Pooh is being made into a R-rated horror film. Yes, really. This is why I love the public domain,” one supporter tweeted.

However, others are not as excited about this drastic change.

Tweets reacting to Winnie the Pooh (Twitter)

“Everything don’t gotta be tampered with in the entertainment industry,” a sceptical Twitter user exclaimed. “Turning Winnie the Pooh into a horror movie??? Is nothing sacred????”

“WHO WATCHED/READ WINNIE THE POOH AS A CHILD AND THOUGHT ‘You know what? This will make a compelling horror film one day’?!” asked another.

Meanwhile, another Pooh fan claimed that it simply goes against the character’s nature to act in a violent manner.

They wrote: “Pooh Bear would not kiII anyone he is two apples tall and he loves honey.”