Winnie the Pooh and Piglet Go on ‘Feral,’ Murderous Rampage in Upcoming Horror Movie (Yes, Really)
Move over, Leatherface and Michael Myers — the sweet and wholesome Winnie the Pooh is about to become your new favorite slasher.
An indie horror film called Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey — yes, based on the beloved yellow bear — is on the way later this year.
If you're wondering how Pooh, one of Disney's biggest characters, could possibly appear in let alone star as the villain in a gory horror flick, it's quite simple, really: Sans Tigger and Eeyore, the original cherished characters became public domain earlier this year.
“We’ve tried to be extremely careful,” director Rhys Frake-Waterfield explained to Variety about the upcoming film. “We knew there was this line between that, and we knew what their copyright was and what they’ve done. So we did as much as we could to make sure [the film] was only based on the 1926 version of [Winnie the Pooh].”
But "no one is going to mistake this [for Disney]. When you see the cover for this and you see the trailers and the stills and all that, there’s no way anyone is going to think this is a child’s version of it," Frake-Waterfield continued.
The film will be a “horror retelling of the famous legend of Winnie the Pooh.”
The independent director and co-producer revealed the main villains of the movie are indeed Pooh and his pal Piglet, who go on a hungry, murderous rampage after they're abandoned by Christopher Robin when he leaves for college.
“Christopher Robin is pulled away from them, and he’s not [given] them food, it’s made Pooh and Piglet’s life quite difficult,” Frake-Waterfield added. “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.”
Production on the project wrapped in early May. A first-look photo from the horror flick features evil Pooh and Piglet ready to attack a woman relaxing in a hot tub.
The crew managed to film the feature in just 10 days in the U.K. Ironically, they filmed near Ashdown Forest, which was the original inspiration for the Hundred Acre Woods in the famed children's story. While not a "Hollywood-level production," the film has already been picked up by ITN Studios for release, though a premiere date has not been announced.
Frake-Waterfield shared that the project is a mixture between horror and comedy. Case in point, in the film Pooh and Piglet apparently chloroform the woman in the jacuzzi and drive a car over her head. Horrifying, yes, but at the same time, there is a bit of comedy in seeing Pooh's face behind the wheel!