'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' Finally Gets A Release Date

Halloween may be over, but it’s still such a great time to be a horror film. Granted, Disney isn’t necessarily known for producing horror films and this film in particular is not even a Disney production, but because it features one of Disney’s most beloved characters we’ve been following it since it was first announced.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming Winnie the Pooh adaptation titled Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has finally gotten a release date. Although it was originally rumored to be released this Halloween, the film is actually slated to hit theaters for one night only on February 15, 2023.

Fathom Events will oversee the film’s release in the United States, while the international chain Cinemex will release more concrete details about the film’s release in the U.K. and Mexico at a later date.

THR also states that there are plans for the film to be released in other international territories too, but, again, right now America is the only one with an actual date set.

Now, it should be noted that the film is not connected to Disney in any way, shape, or form, however it has garnered strong interest from fans in both the horror and Disney communities.

The film’s IMDB page indicates that the film is a “horror retelling of the famous legend of Winnie the Pooh”, however it’s unclear if the killers will be dressed up as the character and his friends or if they will just be anthropomorphic creatures that come out and kill people.

Despite not being connect to Disney, it is interesting that, even after 2018’s Christopher Robin, someone found a way to make a darker film with those characters.

The character was first created b A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard in the 1920s. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Disney gained exclusive access to use the characters and subsequently created numerous projects with them at the center. Similar to how Dracula and Frankenstein were originally based off characters in popular books and now there are countless iterations of them everywhere, this film is only possible because the character of Winnie the Pooh is now public domain.

Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only character Disney has entering public domain in the near future. Mickey Mouse is expected to enter the public domain in 2024. Does that mean we’ll eventually see the character become a horror icon too? Who knows? But we’re certain it’s a day that the company is dreading – mostly for branding reasons.

SOURCE: THR