Disney Rumored to Be Working on New Winnie the Pooh Project

Daniel Richtman recently shared on his Patreon page that Disney is working on a new Winnie the Pooh project.

Winnie the Pooh has been a favorite character for a long time. The stories come from A. A. Milne’s books and E. H. Shepard’s drawings. Disney brought Pooh to life on screen starting in 1966 with the short film Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. The franchise is known for its soft, simple stories made especially for young kids.

The path to Disney’s version of Pooh started back in 1930 when Stephen Slesinger bought the merchandising and TV rights in the U.S. and Canada. Walt Disney first showed interest in Pooh as early as 1938 but only got the film rights in 1961.

Instead of making a full movie, Disney chose to make a short film and gave Pooh his famous red shirt, which wasn’t part of the original books. Disney also added characters like Gopher to make Pooh more relatable to American audiences.

Over the years, there were some legal fights about Pooh’s rights. In 1991, the heirs of Stephen Slesinger claimed Disney wasn’t paying royalties correctly and tried to take back some rights. Then, in 2009, a judge decided Disney owned the trademarks and copyrights but still had to pay royalties.

In 2022, the original Winnie-the-Pooh book entered the public domain in the U.S., meaning anyone can use the original stories there, but Disney still owns rights to its versions and in other countries.

Winnie the Pooh is a huge money-maker for Disney. A 2013 Variety report said Pooh is the third best-selling franchise worldwide after Disney Princess and Star Wars. The New York Times mentioned that even though sales have dropped a bit, Pooh is still Disney’s second best-selling character after Mickey Mouse. A marketing expert said, “With Winnie the Pooh, Disney is going to continue to struggle with the tension of remaining relevant to kids versus maintaining a love-mark brand that parents trust.”

Pooh has appeared in many films over the years, starting with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1977, and more recently in Christopher Robin in 2018. The character has also been featured in short films, TV shows, and specials. Currently, the animated series Me & Winnie the Pooh is still running.

It’s not clear if the new project will be a movie or a series, but with Disney moving forward on it, Pooh’s story will likely continue for a long time. Fans will need to wait for more details.

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