Winnie the Pooh is a media franchise produced by The Walt Disney Company, based on A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh. It started in 1966 with the theatrical release of the short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
The tone, action, and plot of the franchise is made much softer and slower than that of any other Disney animated franchise, in order for it to appeal to a more preschool-oriented audience. It is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
History In 1930, producer Stephen Slesinger originally acquired sole and exclusive American and Canadian merchandising, television, recording and other trade rights to Pooh from A. A. Milne. Then as early as 1938, Walt Disney expressed interest in obtaining the film rights to the Pooh books by first corresponding with the literary agency Curtis Brown. In June 1961, Walt Disney Productions acquired the film rights from Milne's widow Dorothy, as well as the television and merchandising rights from Slesinger's widow Shirley Slesinger Lasswell. By 1964, Disney told his animation staff that he was planning to make a full-length animated feature film based on the books. A meeting was held with senior staff members to discuss the proposed film. However, during the meeting, Disney decided not to make a feature film, but instead a featurette that could be attached to a live-action film. Disney dropped the hyphens from the name and adopted Slesinger's red-shirted version of Pooh. To Milne's set of characters, Disney added Gopher to add a more traditional and relatable American creature to the mix. Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in 1966 was the first film in the series and the only to be released before Disney's death the same year.
A new rights agreement was signed in 1983 between Disney and the heirs of both Milne and Slesinger. In 1991, Slesinger Lasswell began a series of lawsuits against Disney for unpaid royalties, accusing the company of misreporting Pooh revenue, and sought to terminate all future rights. Then after the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 was passed, A. A. Milne's granddaughter Clare attempted to use the new law to terminate all future rights for the Slesingers so the Milnes could deal with Disney exclusively, but this was rejected by the US courts. In the midst of the lawsuits, analysts in 2003 believed Pooh was worth $3 billion to $6 billion of Disney's total annual sales of $25 billion. The Age thus concluded, "[l]osing control of the Winnie the Pooh franchise would be a disaster for Disney". In 2009, US District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled that the Slesingers had granted all Pooh trademarks and copyrights to Disney, but Disney must still pay royalties for all future uses of the characters. By 2022, the original Winnie-the-Pooh book entered into the public domain in the United States, since it had been 95 years since the story was first published. While Disney retains certain rights to their derivative works, the company no longer holds exclusive rights to the characters in the US. Disney still holds exclusive rights in the UK and other countries where they have different copyright expiration dates.
According to a 2013 Variety article, Winnie the Pooh is the third best-selling franchise in the world, after Disney's own Disney Princess and Star Wars. The New York Times said: "The stakes are high for Disney. Global sales of Pooh merchandise — books, plush toys, T-shirts, potty chairs — have fallen 12% over the last five years, but still account for a staggering $5.5 billion." It added that Pooh "remains Disney's second best-selling character after Mickey Mouse" and noted: "Branding experts say aging character franchises are among the most difficult to keep alive because they require continually walking a tightrope. '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,' said Matt Britton, a founder of Mr. Youth, a New York marketing firm." In a 2014 overview of Disney's top franchises, CNN wrote "Pooh may have been born in the 1920s in A.A. Milne's books. But the bear is still going strong via Disney movies and DVD's. Pooh Bear sells games, stuffed animals, clothing, and even iPhone and iPad apps. Pooh is also a favorite subject in books from Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world's largest publisher of children's books and magazines with more than 700 million products sold each year".
Films Feature films Crew/detail Animated films Live-action film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(1977) The Tigger Movie(2000) Piglet's Big Movie(2003) Pooh's Heffalump Movie(2005) Winnie the Pooh(2011) Christopher Robin(2018) Director(s) John LounsberyWolfgang Reitherman Jun Falkenstein Francis Glebas Frank Nissen Stephen AndersonDon Hall Marc Forster Producer(s) Wolfgang ReithermanWalt Disney (uncredited) Cheryl AboodJennifer BlohmRichmond Homie Michelle Pappalardo-Robinson Jessica Koplos-Miller Peter Del VechoClark Spencer Brigham TaylorKristen Burr Writer(s) Larry ClemmonsRalph WrightVance GerryXavier AtencioKen AndersonJulius SvensdenTed BermanEric Cleworth Jun FalkensteinEddie Guzelian Brian Hohlfeld Brian HohlfeldEvan Spiliotopoulos Burny MattinsonStephen AndersonClio ChiangDon DoughertyDon HallKendelle BoyerBrian KesingerNicole MitchellJeremy Spears Tom McCarthyAlex Ross PerryAllison SchroederGreg BrookerMark Steven Johnson Composer(s) Richard M. ShermanRobert B. ShermanBuddy Baker Harry Gregson-Williams Carl Johnson Joel McNeely Henry Jackman Jon BrionGeoff Zanelli Editor(s) Tom AcostaJames Melton Makoto AraiRobert Fisher, Jr. Ivan Bilancio Robert Fisher Jr.Nancy FrazenAnthony F. Rocco Lisa Linder Matt Chessé Production companies Walt Disney Productions Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Television Animation Walt Disney PicturesDisneytoon Studios Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Pictures2DUX2 Distributor Buena Vista Distribution Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Runtime 74 minutes 77 minutes 75 minutes 68 minutes 63 minutes 104 minutes Released March 11, 1977 February 11, 2000 March 21, 2003 February 11, 2005 July 15, 2011 August 3, 2018
Animated feature films The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a 1977 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. The film consists of three previously released shorts that have been edited together. The ending scene is based on the final chapter of A. A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner.
Sebastian Cabot narrates the adventures of joyous bear Winnie the Pooh as he seeks out and deals with complications from his search for honey, weathers a terrible wind storm and subsequent flood, endures the foibles of the hyperactive tiger Tigger, and celebrates Eeyore's birthday. Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger round out the menagerie in a 1977 American comedy film.
Sterling Holloway voices Pooh, one in many characters he is associated with.
The Tigger Movie (2000) The Tigger Movie is a 2000 American animated musical comedy drama film co-written and directed by Jun Falkenstein. Part of the Winnie-the-Pooh series, this film features the rambunctious tiger Tigger in his search for his family tree and other Tiggers like himself. The film was the first feature-length theatrical Pooh film to not be a collection of previously released shorts.
Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Rabbit are preparing a suitable winter home for Eeyore, the perennially dejected donkey, but Tigger's continual bouncing interrupts their efforts. Rabbit suggests Tigger go find others of his kind to bounce with, but Tigger thinks "the most wonderful thing about tiggers is" he's "the only one!" Just in case though, the joyous tiger sets out to see if he can find relatives.
Piglet's Big Movie (2003) Piglet's Big Movie is a 2003 American animated musical adventure comedy-drama film produced by Disneytoon Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 21, 2003. It is based upon the characters in the Winnie-the-Pooh books written by A. A. Milne. It is the second in the series of theatrically released Winnie the Pooh films which were not produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, preceded by The Tigger Movie (2000) and followed by Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005). The film features songs by Carly Simon.
Piglet becomes fed up after being excluded from a honey-thieving scheme, so strikes out on his own to do some thinking. But when the inhabitants in the Hundred Acre Wood discover he's missing, the only clue they have to go on is a scrapbook he left behind.
Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) Pooh's Heffalump Movie is a 2005 American animated musical comedy film produced by Disneytoon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, featuring characters from A. A. Milne's classic stories. This film features songs by Carly Simon.
Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Roo search for a mysterious and fearsome creature that has entered the Hundred Acre Wood, but Roo discovers that the creature is not what it seems. Winnie the Pooh (2011) Winnie the Pooh is a 2011 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired by A. A. Milne's stories of the same name, the film is part of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, the fifth theatrical Winnie the Pooh film released, and Walt Disney Animation Studios' second adaptation of Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
Upon learning that Eeyore has lost his tail, the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood start a contest to see who can find a new one for the melancholy donkey — with a pot of honey going to the winner. Amid the goings-on, Owl mistakenly relates the news that Christopher Robin has been abducted by a monster called The Backson.
Live-action/animated feature films Christopher Robin (2018)
A live-action movie and contribution based on A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories and characters titled Christopher Robin, directed by Marc Forster and written by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy and Allison Schroeder. The film centers on an adult Christopher Robin, who returns to the Hundred Acre Wood to spend time with Pooh and the gang. Ewan McGregor stars as the title character and Hayley Atwell as Robin's wife Evelyn. Jim Cummings reprises his voice roles of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Brad Garrett and Nick Mohammed respectively voice Eeyore and Piglet, and Sophie Okonedo, Peter Capaldi and Toby Jones respectively voice Kanga, Rabbit and Owl. The film was released on August 3, 2018.
Direct-to-video films