One of the stars of the disturbing new Winnie The Pooh horror movie claims it is so twisted that cast and crew have been getting death threats.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is a soon-to-be-released film which shows the famous bear and his timid companion Piglet in a very different light.
Danielle Ronald, 32, is one of the victims in the British production which offers a very contrasting take on the much-loved children’s stories by A.A. Milne.
It has experienced viral success with millions around the world watching the trailer - but that has already come at a cost.
Danielle told YorkshireLive that there are downsides to appearing in the movie, due out next month.
She portrays Zoe, one of five friends who decides to spend a weekend getaway in a cabin in the woods before Winnie and side-kick Piglet arrive - and all hell breaks loose.
Danielle, who's preparing to take the film on a global tour, said: “I thought it would get a bit of attention but never in the way it has. It’s been in every paper and magazine, all around the world.
“I thought it was a bit bonkers, I just didn’t expect anything like this at all. It is a bit mad, Winnie-the-Pooh running around killing people. We’ve had a lot of hate, I’m not going to lie. But the haters have definitely made it what it is because they’re all talking about it.
“The director and producer have had a lot of direct emails saying they should die, the worst stuff you can imagine. They say ‘It’s an abomination!’.
“People have said to me ‘you’re ruining our childhood dreams’. But nobody ‘has’ to watch it.”
The adorable bear and his friends went into the public domain on January 2022, meaning anyone can adapt the stories without copyright issues since it's over 100 years old.
According to the movie's IMDb page, the film is a grisly retelling of the Winnie the Pooh "legend" and a synopsis reads: "It follows Pooh and Piglet as they go on a rampage after Christopher Robin abandons them."
After seeing the first look images, fans immediately took to Twitter to comment and they were certainly divided about the upcoming flick.
One person said: "The Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie is here to ruin your childhood."
Another joked: "The Winnie the Pooh horror movie looks like a rip off of the purge."
A third person tweeted: "Now this is a Winnie the Pooh I can get behind!" and a fourth added: "Can't believe there's going to be a Winnie The Pooh horror movie, omg."
The film, directed and written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield for Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios, was filmed in Ashdown Forest in East Sussex over the course of a week.
Danielle said: “The mood on set was constant giggles. It was terrifying being chased by Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet screaming at you. But then as soon as the cameras cut, it would be back to absolute giggles.
“They couldn’t really see very well in their masks so they were walking into things. During a running scene, they’d have to run really slow, while we’re running for our lives, because they were trying not to trip up!”
