Blood Thirsty Children’s Hero … Macabre to the Max

Here we go down the rabbit hole (or more appropriate, the bear house in the tree) … This is a real story. I heard it yesterday so decided to investigate. It has finished filming, completed in ten days, shot in a lovely woods’ setting in England.

And as I ponder such a movie, I have to come to some conclusions, These kids will need therapy. By “These Kids,” I am referring to anyone who is going to watch, or even desires to watch the newest movie being produced featuring the snuggly characters created by A.A. Milne – Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. Include me in that list for I am interested in where this movie is going.

The story line starts simple. Christopher Robin has left for college. It’s a big day for him. But, things do not go so well back in the Hundred Acre Woods. In an interview, the director put it this way …

Christopher Robin is pulled away from them, and he’s not [given] them food,
it’s made Pooh and Piglet’s life quite difficult…
Because they’ve had to fend for themselves so much, they’ve essentially become feral.
So they’ve gone back to their animal roots. They’re no longer tame:
they’re like a vicious bear and pig who want to go around and try and find prey.

I have read they go out into the Hundred Acre Woods and have a homicidal rant with the purpose of killing every human that enters the woods. This makes me question if I should ever hike alone again – at least not without packing extra honey supplies to ward of wild and crazy bears and baby pigs.

How could this happen? Well, earlier this year, the copywriter protection expired on A.A. Milne’s work. And it didn’t take long for some entertainment smart guy who had a warped child hood decided to take the beloved character and make them dark, way dark.

Here are few take-aways …

• When they say don’t feed the wildlife. Listen to them. I mean, if Pooh had learned early on how to fend for himself, maybe Christopher’s departure wouldn’t have been so difficult.
• People are broken. The depravity of man is soooooooo obvious. We pretty much corrupt everything we can. Even something so beautiful as Winnie-the-Pooh is now a perfect example of that.
• Even making Winnie dark, the producers took caution to not infringe into Disney’s domain. They didn’t have the red short or a few other details. After all, being sued is a bigger concern for them.
• Sometimes young kids don’t realize the depth of impact they leave when they go off to college – to Pooh and to parents.
• WHAT I WISH: Can’t you just leave some things alone? Winnie is a feel good, lift me up, caring Ursa (Latin for bear). Why do you have to corrupt him and his little friend?
• WHAT I WISH: Don’t forget those who you’ve left behind. You impacted their life, often is so many good ways (like Christopher did to Pooh). So reach out, stay connected, send a message. Even little can make a difference.

In the end – we can work to make things better, brighter, kinder. We can do things that have positive influence, or negative. Let’s choose wisely.