When Winnie the Pooh fell into the public domain in January 2022, writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield wasted no time creating a film to capitalize on the loss of Disney. In May of that year, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was in development and was scheduled to be released in October. Thanks to the frenzied media discussions about “nightmare fuel” and “ruining our childhood”, the film went viral even before it was finished, which led to additional funding from the studio and subsequent additions and retakes. It was the right choice, because Blood and Honey grossed more than five million at the box office and already has a sequel with five times the budget in the pipeline. Hopefully this means that we will see more of Christopher’s old friends in the next movie, including Tigger — he couldn’t be in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey because he only appeared in AA Milne’s childhood classics in 1928.La House at the corner of the Bear Cub.
So, Winnie the Pooh: Is blood and honey scary? Hardly, as evidenced by the abysmally low score of the Rotten Tomatoes movie. No, the movie about everyone’s favorite silly old bear turned murderous psychopath probably won’t scare most, but it does feature blood and brutality that may make some viewers disgusted. Pooh and Piglet have gone wild, after all, and they crush, slice and behead in their quest for revenge.
Bear Cub and his Friends go wild
Blood and Honey opens with one of its scariest moments. Using simplistic ink illustrations, the narrator explains the tragic backstory that led Pooh and Piglet to become murderous maniacs. As a child, Christopher Robin used to visit the Hundred Acre Wood to feed his woodland friends. When he grew up, however, he abandoned animal/human hybrids and left them to fend for themselves. Hungry and apparently without any other option, Bear Cub, Piglet, Rabbit and Owl cannibalize Eeyore; the act is enough to make them all crack up and swear revenge against humanity, especially Christopher Robin. And, in case you forgot about the death of the depressed donkey, Blood and Honey reminds you of it by showing his raw tombstone in the background.
The Locals Can’t Help
While running away from Pooh and Piglet’s compound, Maria and Jess meet a group of local men and frantically try to tell them what happened. It’s no use, however, because Pooh arrives and the locals decide that they have to face him despite the warnings. The four mercilessly beat the bear, but that’s nothing for this woodland creature; Pooh dispatches the would-be saviors with ease.
With a quick movement, Pooh removes half of his face, leaving behind only his skinless musculature before falling dead. Pooh dismembers the second with ease, karate chopping his hands before crushing his head underfoot like a watermelon. He defeats the third, and, to kill the fourth, Pooh reveals another of his powers: he can control the bees. The monster sends a horde of insects after the last man, so confident in their ability to kill that he doesn’t even bother to look back.
