The beloved Winnie the Pooh and Piglet show their feral roots after being left by Christopher Robin for college in a new slasher movie, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. 

The eerie movie is set to release on Feb. 15, 2023. Essentially, Christopher Robin abandoned his friends to begin a new chapter in his life, leaving Winnie, Piglet, and Eeyore to fend for themselves. The once friendly animals become wild and dangerous. The director, Rhys Waterfield, describes it as “Christopher Robin is taken away from them, and he hasn’t given them food, he has made Pooh and Piglet’s life quite difficult.” After a reunion with Christopher, Winne and Piglet terrorize a group of girls staying in a remote house.

The movie stars Craig David Dowsett as Winne the Pooh and Chris Cordell as Piglet. The independent film started with a low-budget and low expectations for popularity. “Once it blew up to the extent it did, it was like, ‘OK, let’s try to make some further improvements, add some cooler bits in there and new scenes,’” says Waterfield.

Since the film is based on a nostalgic childhood story, it has received backlash. Victoria Richards from Independent Magazines shared, “It feels mean – or wrong, somehow – to see our national treasures (both Christopher Robin and Pooh have earned that moniker, as has their creator, A A Milne) bastardized and twisted, reduced to base caricatures of themselves with a sick twist; as we mourn our childhood heroes “gone bad” – that’s where we are, now.” As we all grow up, it is understandable that a story like this is hard to agree with; however, exploring different ways of making old stories new keeps movie lovers interested. 

The movie brings a strange twist to the story we know and love. It illustrates a different side of the story and shows us the wild side of these beloved cartoon characters.