Loveable honey bear Winnie the Pooh has been turned into a murderous villain in his own slasher film after the character entered Public Domain on January 1, this year. The A.A. Milne character, who has become a cartoon icon, saw its copyright and "protected status" run out in 2022 - meaning anyone can now take his image and place him in some pretty weird and wonderful situations.
Other characters from the beloved children's tale who are also now in the public domain, include Christopher Robin, Owl, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. While Tigger's copyright will not expire until 2024.
The new horror film, titled 'Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey' sees Pooh and his best friend Piglet as you've never seen them before, as they go on a rampage after Christopher Robin abandons them. The film has been made by Jagged Edge Productions - a UK-based indie film studio and they recently released some stills from the upcoming slasher on Instagram.
Read more: Winnie the Pooh and Bambi enter Public Domain as copyright expires
In an article by Huffpost, the film is described as turning the Hundred Acre Woods into the 'Hundred Acre "Cabin in the Woods"'. The film's director, Rhys Waterfield, also said that he wanted to make something original, away from the werewolves, ghosts, vampires and zombies usually found in the genre and notes that he was inspired by 'Wrong Turn' for the film.
In a synopsis, he described how Pooh and Piglet "experienced a drastic drop in food as Christopher [Robin] grew up, so over the years [they] became increasingly hungry and feral." He added: "Eventually they had to eat Eeyore to survive. Christopher returns and discovered his old feral friends are no longer what they seem.
"Upon seeing Christopher, Pooh and Piglet go on a rampage and eventually target a rural cabin, where a group of girls from university are staying.” The filming wrapped earlier this month but, due to the excitement generated already by the stills online, it's hoped the movie will be released in a month or two.
Back in January, Bristol Live wrote an explainer around what it means for characters - and works in general - entering the public domain, as well as why Disney's version of Winnie the Pooh (with his red top) probably won't be reimagined any time soon, especially not in slasher form anyway (like A.A. Milne's now is). We also listed some of the other characters you might begin to see taking on a new persona.
In the past we have had the works (and characters) of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen reimagined. Their expired copyright is the reason we've already witnessed a zombie version of Pride and Prejudice, Star Trek Klingons reciting Hamlet and an abundance of films based on stories told by these icons of English literature.
Just think of teen rom-com '10 Things I Hate About You', which came out in 1999 and starred the late Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles - this is basically a retelling of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Even Disney's 'The Lion King' (1994) is a reimagining of 'Hamlet' - we bet you didn't know that, did you?
But which other characters might we see in wacky slasher films to come?
Well, the original tale of Bambi (written by Felix Salten in 1923) lost its copyright this year, so we may very well see a Bambi re-telling in the future. And even Mickey Mouse may end up in a world outside of Disney, when he enters public domain in 2024 - the first depiction of the famous black and white mouse appeared in the 1928 short cartoon 'Steamboat Willie'.
And, depending on how the events of this Winnie the Pooh slasher unfold for Pooh and Piglet, by the time Tigger enters public domain, also in 2024, Jagged Edge Productions could very well have another character for a sequel or even series of horror takes on the friends of the Hundred Acre Wood. Could you imagine Tigger bouncing around wielding a knife and singing 'The wonderful thing about Tiggers' - it could be the stuff of dreams for horror fans, though will any of us be able to look at Pooh the same way again?
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