On Jan. 1, 2022, numerous works entered the public domain, including A.A. Milne's original Winnie-the Pooh stories. Although Disney's version of Pooh is protected by copyright, the company no longer exclusively owns the rights to Winnie the Pooh.
Well, the studio had no choice. That's because the 1926 storybook, titled Winnie-the-Pooh, which introduced the titular character, passed into the public domain at the start of 2022, voiding its copyright, and thus Disney's media exclusivity over the character.
Walt Disney Co. has controlled the rights to Winnie-the-Pooh since 1961 and kept depictions of Milne's talking animals true to the spirit of the family-friendly material. The copyright expired in January 2022. Since then, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends have been available to the public for other purposes.
Why is Disney allowing Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey?
That means that Milne's original story, as well as illustrator E.H. Shepard's drawings of Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin, all became fair game for any and all types of adaptations following the end of the 95-year copyright protection term.
Disney's decision not to sue Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey shows how significant the movie is and challenges their reputation for protecting their intellectual property.
By 2022, the original Winnie-the-Pooh book entered into the public domain in the United States, since it had been 95 years since the story was first published. While Disney retains certain rights to their derivative works, the company no longer holds exclusive rights to the characters in the US.
In 1928, copyrights lasted for 28 years, with the option for renewal of another 28 years. As of 2023, Mickey Mouse was published almost 95 years ago. The copyright of the original Mickey Mouse character – as it appeared in “Steamboat Willie” – expires on January 1, 2024.
The reason, as writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield told us earlier this year, was that Tigger wasn't a part of the public domain when the first movie was in production. The filmmakers pulled exclusively from A.A. Milne's classic 1926 children's book, which Tigger wasn't present in.
Does Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey have inappropriate scenes?
Sex & Nudity (2)
A young woman's top comes off while attacked; her breasts are visible for several seconds. A young woman is dressed in a bikini posing for photos on a very sexual way in a hot tub.
In this adaption, Piglet alongside his closest friends Pooh, Owl, Rabbit and Tigger become barbaric serial killers after being abandoned by Christopher Robin, forcing them to devour their friend Eeyore. Piglet would assist Pooh in kidnapping, torturing and murdering anyone who enters Hundred Acre Woods.
Disney acquired the copyright to Winnie the Pooh books and its characters in 1961. The characters first appeared in books by A.A. Milne in 1926, and under the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, a company's copyright is protected for 95 years after its first publication.
Disney No Longer Has the Exclusive Rights to Winnie the Pooh, But He Isn't Going Anywhere. On January 1, 2022, Winnie-The-Pooh — written by A.A. Milne and published in 1926 — officially entered the public domain — which means that Disney no longer has exclusive rights to the material.
Thanks to copyright term extensions over the years, Disney still owns the rights for Milne's books and characters published after 1926 — including Tigger — as well as later materials published by the company using Milne's characters.
Tigger first appeared as a character in A.A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner in 1928. The character was named after a stuffed tiger belonging to Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne. The character first appeared on film in the 1968 Disney film Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.
In 2002, Forbes ranked Winnie-the-Pooh as the most valuable fictional character. Later, in 2005 Winnie-the-Pooh generated $6 billion, a figure only surpassed by Mickey Mouse. The net-worth of AA Milne is unknown. However, analysts believe the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise to be worth $3bn-$6bn.
Without him around to feed them, and with the arrival of winter, the creatures went into starvation. In order to survive, they settled on killing and eating Eeyore, which developed in them a hatred for humanity. They vowed to return to their feral instincts and never speak again.
In this film, they're ruthless killers. When Pooh, Piglet, and the other Hundred Acre Wood residents are abandoned by Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon), they struggle to fend for themselves. While suffering extreme starvation, Pooh makes the decision to kill and eat Eeyore.
But in “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” a new microbudget R-rated horror film, Pooh wades into far darker territory than even Eeyore could have ever imagined.
What happened to the owl and Rabbit in Blood and Honey?
Owl and Rabbit are seen with young Christopher Robin, and they are shown to have starved and eaten Eeyore with Pooh and Piglet. However, they are not seen again in Blood and Honey when Christopher (Nickolai Leon) returns to the Hundred Acre Wood.
The absence of Owl and Rabbit suggests they may have escaped the Hundred Acre Wood to avoid the violent Pooh and Piglet, which opens up possibilities for their return and alliances in the sequel.
Why is Tigger not in the Winnie-the-Pooh theme song?
When the original song was written, Tigger did not appear in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, hence his exclusion from the song. In the 2011 Winnie the Pooh film, Tigger was added in the lyric, "and Kanga, and little Roo (and Tigger too!)"
In January 2024, the copyright on the first story that ever featured Mickey Mouse will expire. This means that nearly 95 years after the first animated short film featuring Mickey Mouse, Disney's most iconic character will enter the public domain.
Disney is owned by many shareholders, as it's a publicly traded company. According to CNN Business News, the Vanguard Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder of Walt Disney Co. with a 7.49% stake.
2024 will specifically pull “Steamboat Willie, “The Barn Dance,” and that original design of Mickey Mouse into the public domain in terms of copyright law.
