Oh, bother. The first trailer for “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” has been released, revealing more of the slasher makeover of everyone’s favorite honey-obsessed bear.
The movie stars Craig David Dowsett and Chris Cordell as Winnie and his best friend Piglet, who go on a rampage after Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) abandons them for college. Without the influence of their human friend, the two turn feral, seeking prey and stalking the humans near their homes. The trailer showcases the characters on their rampage, revealing more of the twisted interpretation of A.A. Milne’s beloved characters.
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As director Rhys Waterfield revealed in an interview with Variety, the film was shot over the course of 10 days near the Ashdown Forest in England, the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Woods as depicted in Milne’s original stories, which only entered the public domain this year. To avoid copyright issues with Disney — which owns the interpretations of the character as seen in various films and television shows — certain elements were changed, including swapping Pooh Bear’ red shirt for lumberjack gear and omitting characters like Tigger who are still under copyright.
Describing the tone of the movie, Waterfield told Variety that the slasher will balance the absurdity of the premise with genuine terror as the legendary stuffed animals embark on their rampage.
“When you try and do a film like this, and it’s a really wacky concept, it’s very easy to go down a route where nothing is scary and it’s just really ridiculous and really, like, stupid,” Waterfield said. “And we wanted to go between the two.”
Waterfield produces “Blood and Honey” with Scott Jeffrey via their studio Jagged Edge Productions. ITN Studios will distribute the pic, which is set to release later this year. Watch the trailer below.
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