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AA Milne’s original Winnie the Pooh stories only became publicly available five months ago, but the fat little boy has already made his foray into slasher movies.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which was completed earlier this month, and the first stills showing a demonic pooh and a piglet about to pounce on a scantily clad young woman wearing a Jacuzzi relaxed, have already set the internet on fire.
In conversation with diversityDirector Rhys Waterfield, who is in post-production on four other films including Firenado and Demonic Christmas Tree, said the reaction to the stills was “absolutely insane.”
“Because of all the press and stuff, we’re just going to start accelerating the edit and getting it through post-production as quickly as possible,” Waterfield said. “But make sure it’s still good. It will be a high priority.”
According to Waterfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” will see Pooh and Piglet as “the main villains…who rage” after being abandoned by a college-bound Christopher Robin. “Christopher Robin is being pulled away from them and he’s not [given] eat them, it made life pretty hard for Pooh and Piglet.”
“Because they had to fend for themselves so much, they essentially went feral,” Waterfield continued. “So they went back to their animal roots. They’re not tame anymore: they’re like a vicious bear and pig that want to run around and try to find prey.”
The film was shot in England in 10 days, not far from Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for Milne’s imaginary Hundred Acre Wood in the Winnie the Pooh stories. Though Waterfield declined to reveal the budget for the slasher flick, he said audiences “shouldn’t expect this to be a Hollywood-grade production.” Jagged Edge Productions, which Waterfield runs with co-producer Scott Jeffrey, directed the film and ITN Studios has already committed to distribute it (release date to be announced).
Given the premise, Waterfield says the biggest challenge was balancing the line between horror and comedy. “When you’re trying to make a film like this and it’s a really crazy concept, it’s very easy to go down a path where there’s nothing scary and it’s just really ridiculous and really stupid. And we wanted to go between the two.”
Jagged Edge Productions
As an example, Waterfield explained the setup behind the still (above) of a girl relaxing in a hot tub while Pooh and Piglet stand menacingly nearby. “She’s having a good time, and then Pooh and Piglet come up behind her, give her chloroform, get her out of the hot tub, and then kind of run a car over her head,” Waterfield said. “It’s scary, but there’s also funny parts because there’s footage of Winnie the Pooh in a car and seeing him with his little ears behind the wheel and what it’s like to drive slowly there [to kill her.]”
The only concern, especially with all the newfound publicity, is whether Disney will have anything to say about Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Although Milne’s earliest stories are now out of copyright, Disney retains exclusive use of her renditions of Pooh Bear and Friends. “We tried to be extremely careful,” Waterfield said. “We knew there was a line in between, and we knew what their copyright was and what they were doing. So we did as much as we could to make sure [the film] was only based on the 1926 version.”
Which is why Waterfield’s Pooh Bear swapped the little red t-shirt for a lumberjack suit and why Piglet is dressed in black. It’s also why other in-copyright characters, like Tigger, won’t appear – although there is a scene with Eeyore’s tombstone, the miserable donkey being eaten by a starving Pooh and Piglet.
“Nobody will do this wrong [for Disney]’ Waterfield said. “When you see the cover for it and you see the trailers and the stills and all that, no one is going to think that this is a kid’s version of it.”
