Disney still maintains the rights to the Winnie the Pooh characters created after 1926, including Tigger. If Tigger or any later character is used without permission, Disney may have a valid claim for infringement.
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.
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.
How is Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey not copyrighted?
But on January 1, 2022, Winnie-the-Pooh entered the public domain, as did the characters it contained, which gave writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield the legal permission to make his low-budget slasher Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. And nobody, not even Disney, can stop him.
Why is there no Tigger in Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey?
Tigger was absent from the first film as the character wasn't part of the public domain when Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey was in production. As such, filmmakers used A.A. Milne's classic 1926 children's book, which didn't include him. The only characters from the Pooh mythos that appeared were Winnie and Piglet.
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.
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.
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 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.
Mickey Mouse, Batman, Superman and Bugs Bunny all become public domain in the next 10 years. The Hundred Acre Wood has seen some pretty unsettling things over the years.
Copyright law in the United States dictates that works published after the 95th year of publication will no longer be affected by copyright. This means that characters such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Mickey Mouse, Captain America, and Batman will be entering the public domain within the next 15 years.
Disney still maintains the rights to the Winnie the Pooh characters created after 1926, including Tigger. If Tigger or any later character is used without permission, Disney may have a valid claim for infringement.
The children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 is in the public domain. This follows the general rule that any work published before 1923 is in the public domain. The film, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and directed in 1939 by Victor Fleming is NOT in the public domain.
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.
While Rabbit's fighting with the bugs, Eeyore thinks they're dancing at a party, so he dances on Rabbit's Bridge leading to the garden and his house in the hopes of joining in, but accidentally steps on his tail, pulling it off and tripping. Fed up with his tail, Eeyore decides to stop wearing it.
The copyright protection for Winnie the Pooh will expire in 2022. Disney has made billions over the years from author A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books since the company acquired the rights in 1961. While others can use the characters after the copyright expires, they can't just copy the Disney trademarks.
The beloved mouse that is nearly a century old will soon enter public domain — the original Mickey Mouse's copyright expires in 2024. This anthropomorphic mouse is recognizable even by the silhouette of his ears and, in some ways, has been the face of The Walt Disney Co. since his 1928 creation.
Why aren t owl and rabbit in Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey?
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey's opening scene confirms that the characters Owl and Rabbit were abandoned by Christopher Robin with Pooh and Piglet. Owl and Rabbit agreed to eat Eeyore in order to survive, while also taking the vow to never speak again.
Things take a dark turn, though, when Christopher goes to college, starvation sets in during winter and Pooh, Piglet, Owl and Rabbit kill and eat their buddy Eeyore. The incident essentially breaks them and they become enemies of mankind, making a pact to become feral and never speak like humans again.
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.
However, after being traumatized due to being forced to devour Eeyore due to starvation, Pooh was filled with anger and hatred - mainly towards Christopher Robin for "abandoning" him to starve as well as humanity as a whole.
