Fans of the sweet Winnie the Pooh, get ready to shed hot tears over your lost illusions: the children's favorite honey lover will turn into a bloodthirsty killer, in a new horror film that promises to slaughter the image little stuffed animal.
Far from the naivety of the tales of its creator, the Briton Alan Alexander Milne, or the cute glutton popularized by Disney, the character now appears as a dangerous psychopath in
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.
A true UFO, this low-budget production due out Wednesday in the United States promises to test the limits of copyright and trademark law.
And already arouses the ire of many fans, outraged by this shocking reinvention.
"
It's madness
", confided to AFP its director, Rhys Frake-Waterfield.
“
I have received petitions to arrest him.
I received death threats.
People told me they had called the police.
»
If the adventures of Winnie and his companions - Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger - are the subject of a license held by Disney for decades, the legal protection of the first books of Milne, released as early as 1926, has now expired.
The original character therefore fell into the public domain, allowing for this nightmarish adaptation.
The first images from the film, where an ominous Winnie and Piglet lurk in the dark behind a young woman lying quietly in a hot tub, quickly set the internet on fire last year.
Initially promised a very modest theatrical release, this gore production, produced with a minimal budget of 250,000 dollars, has turned into a phenomenon benefiting from a worldwide release.
The feature film is already on screens in Mexico, where it raised more than a million dollars in two weeks.
It could become one of the highest-grossing films in cinema history, according to some experts.
Read alsoFresh: what is the new horror film from Disney+ worth?
Its director hopes to dethrone the horror film
Paranormal Activity
, released in 2009 thanks to an investment of 15,000 dollars, and which launched a saga capable of garnering more than a billion box office receipts.
“
I really believed in this idea.
Others didn't believe it (...) and now it's working pretty well
,” smiles Mr. Frake-Waterfield.
Unhealthy overhaul
The expiration of the rights that allowed this unhealthy overhaul does not authorize all the extravagances.
Because the character of Winnie has evolved over time and only his very first version is in the public domain.
It is therefore impossible to dress up the gluttonous teddy bear in the red tunic he wears in Disney films.
Likewise, Tigger, who appeared only later in the books, does not appear in the film.
But beyond copyright, which prevents unlicensed copying of a creative work but is limited in time, the feature film plays with trademark law.
The license held by Disney, renewable indefinitely, prohibits anyone from releasing a product related to Winnie and which could be confused with the original.
"
It cannot be suggested that (...) the product is promoted by Disney or that it is affiliated or associated with it in any way, because Disney still enjoys strong trademark protection
, ”explains the lawyer specialist Aaron Moss.
In this specific case, the production seems protected by the absurd idea of turning Winnie into a horror movie villain.
"
Not family-friendly at all
", the feature film "
represents nothing of what (the spectators) could expect from Disney
", estimates the council, and makes any possible recourse of the American giant "
much more difficult to assert
”.
"
I want to get as far away from them as possible
," confirms Mr. Frake-Waterfield.
The director wants “
Winnie the Pooh to be big and menacing and scary and intimidating and horrifying.
I don't want him to be small and cuddly and cute.
»
The film therefore offers a dark scenario.
Abandoned by their friend Jean-Christophe, now an adult, Winnie and Piglet were left to their own devices and returned to the wild.
To the point of launching into a murderous madness.
Claimed, this bad taste nevertheless seems to make people disappointed.
During a screening in Mexico City this week, many spectators did not appreciate the film, noted an AFP journalist.
32-year-old Jonathan Ortiz found it "
very bad
".
However, the reception of the film is no longer important.
The hype is such that its director is already preparing a sequel, as well as other horror films inspired by
Bambi
and
Peter Pan
.