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The first official trailer for the bizarre and unexpected horror flick Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has just been released by Jagged Edge Productions. The film, which is able to exist due to the beloved title character entering the public domain earlier this year, will follow demented versions of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet who seek revenge against Christopher Robin and his friends for leaving them behind.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and stars Craig David Dowsett and Chris Cordell as the villainous Pooh Bear and Piglet. Amber Doig-Thorne, Maria Taylor, and Danielle Scott round out the rest of the cast. The film currently does not have an official release date, but Frake-Waterfield has spoken with Variety about getting the film out faster than initially expected, saying, “Because of all the press and stuff, we’re just going to start expediting the edit and getting it through post-production as fast as we can. But also, making sure it’s still good. It’s gonna be a high priority.”
The batty trailer opens with an older Christopher Robin and his girlfriend embarking into the Hundred Acre Woods where the young man used to play with his pals Pooh and Piglet. However, Christopher finds that Pooh and Piglet have gone feral after being abandoned. As the trailer goes on, a group of Christopher's friends show up at his place ready for a party but get a massacre committed by scorned mutant animals instead. The trailer indicates that the film will contain a certain hardcore slasher feel that was prominent in the 2000s, but with an absurd set-up. However, the film seems to be playing it straight for the most part, which is surprising considering its central plot.
While Winnie the Pooh and Piglet are now in the public domain, other characters from the original Winnie the Pooh lore, like Tigger, are still under copyright. Pooh Bear and Piglet may be the only beloved Disney characters to be featured in this film, but at the beginning of the trailer, viewers can spot a piece of cardboard that reads "Eeyore R.I.P.," acting as a tombstone. Frake-Waterfield further discussed the motivations of his takes on the beloved characters, saying, "Christopher Robin is pulled away from them, and he’s not [given] them food, 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. 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.”