AA. Milne's original "Winnie the Pooh" stories only entered the public domain five months ago, but the pudgy little cubicle has already made its foray into slasher movies. “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” ended earlier this month, and the first images showing a demonic Pooh and Piglet about to pounce on a scantily clad young woman relaxing in a hot tub have already set the internet ablaze.
"Because of all the press and all that, we're going to start ramping up editing and moving into post-production as fast as we can," Waterfield said. “But also, making sure it stays good. It's going to 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...crazed" after they are dumped by Christopher Robin, who turns to colleague. "Christopher Robin has been taken from them, and he hasn't given them any food, he has made life quite difficult for Pooh and Piglet."
"Because they've had to fend for themselves so much, they've essentially gone feral," Waterfield continued. “So they have returned to their animal roots. They are no longer tame: they are like a vicious bear and pig who want to run and try to find prey."
The film was shot in 10 days in England, not far from Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for Milne's imaginary Hundred Acre Wood in the "Winnie the Pooh" stories. Although Waterfield declined to reveal the slasher film's budget, he said audiences "shouldn't expect this to be a Hollywood-level production." Jagged Edge Productions, which Waterfield runs with co-producer Scott Jeffrey, made the film and ITN Studios has already signed on to distribute it.
Given the premise, the biggest challenge, Waterfield said, was balancing the line between horror and comedy. “When you're trying to make a movie like this, and it's a really crazy concept, it's very easy to go down a route where nothing is scary and it's really ridiculous and really stupid. And we wanted to go between the two.”
As an example, Waterfield explained the setup behind the still image (above) of a girl relaxing in a hot tub with Pooh and Piglet ominously standing near her. "She's enjoying herself and then Pooh and Piglet come up behind her, inject her with chloroform, take her out of the hot tub and then put a car over her head," Waterfield said. "It's scary, but there are also funny parts because there are shots of Winnie the Pooh in a car and seeing him with his little ears behind the wheel and slowly going there."
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 early stories are no longer copyrighted, Disney retains exclusive use of his interpretations of Pooh Bear and his friends. “We have tried to be extremely careful,” Waterfield said. “We knew there was a line between that, and we knew what their copyright was and what they had done. So we went to great lengths to make sure [the film] was only based on the 1926 version."
That's why Pooh Bear from Waterfield has changed the red shirt for a lumberjack outfit and Piglet is dressed in black. That's also why other characters that are still in copyright, like Tigger, won't appear, although there is a scene showing the tombstone of Eeyore, the miserable donkey who was eaten by the hungry Pooh and Piglet.
"No one is going to confuse this," Waterfield said. "When you see the cover of this and you see the trailers and the stills and all of that, there's no way anyone would think it's a kid's version."
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