The unfortunate A.A. Milne’s entry into the public domain is honored by this unfunny, inept faux-spoof.
The copyright protection for British writer A.A. Milne’s most famous works ended, and he was forced to release or, in some cases, committing them into the open domain. The most obvious (and hopefully the most damaging) result of this development will be “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey,” an uninspiringly bad film which fails to live up to the fundamental expectations set by its gimmick concept.
But that gimmick together with a few early videos and images, helped propel the wildly popular micro-budget venture ITN Studios’ latest project to a cult following, resulting in the first theatrical release following a reported 700+ titles in 32 years. Fathom Events is handling U.S. distribution, and other regions in the process of being added (it’s already in Mexico) as well as the home formats being held until the limited run has been completed. A sequel is being planned. While it’s wonderful if the windfall from this film increases the quality of producers’ future endeavors the flimsy pop-culture awareness isn’t likely to happen in the future, and definitely not among those who will be disappointed to have spent money to watch an amateur film.
The gentle whimsy and characters from Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood are so popular with generations of people that you could forget the source of all this is two books “Winnie-the-Pooh” (1926) and “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928) as well as some poems. Naturally, the books (and the visual templates provided through creator E.H. Shepard’s drawings) have been greatly popularized by other media, in particular after Disney gained the rights to the book in the 1960s.
In all the versions There’s been a definite consistency to the spirit but not to the tenor of the stories from the beginning that reflect their problem-solving and comforting tenor, as the preschooler Christopher Robin imagines his stuffed animals’ private lives to be. There’s a certain subversive appeal to the idea of a sweet, self-contained universe changing to adult-themed pulpy goals.
However, the main (though not the only) negative aspect in “Blood and Honey” is that it doesn’t do much to rehash or play with the rules in the Pooh universe. The only thing we see is an actor wearing an adorable halloween “bear” mask (Craig David Dowsett) and another wearing an “pig” mask (Chris Cordell) It’s difficult to determine at first the difference between them — and he’s out there killing people. The film could as could be titled “Michael Myers-Type Unstoppable Killing Machine And His More Texas Chainsaw-ish Pal Run Amok.” The only reason that we connect the film with Milne’s universe is that the film constantly tells us to follow the instructions.
In fact, the narrator begins with a description of how Christopher Robin befriended a group of “crossbreeds, abominations” (as opposed to the toys of nursery school) as a young boy who kept them in check and fed from the family’s food supply. When he left for college but they turned wild, eating poor Eeyore entire during one brutal winter. They then took revenge on the patron they had left behind and all humanity.
This story is told with an extremely simple line drawing animation that’s not very engaging however it turns out to be the most enjoyable feature “Blood and Honey” has to provide. We then have a grown-up live action Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) returning in the woods to show his old friends and his new wife (Paula Coiz). The reunion doesn’t happen as planned.
We then get to meet Maria (Maria Taylor) she’s suffering from PTSD due to being snatched by a creepy lover. Following a suggestion from a therapist Maria seeks peace through the country getaway of a rental property weekend with five of her female acquaintances. One does not even make it to the cottage, while others don’t have identities other than Bitchy Blonde, One With Glasses, Lesbian Couple, and so on. In the end, additional characters appear just to add to the number of bodies.
It’s terrible enough that the film does not have the wit to actually mock its inspiration source. However, it does not actually slasher stereotypes, despite not having the necessary skills to seriously. In an 84-minute period the scenes are briskly paced with blackouts separating them. The majority of speech seems to be improvised by actors who have no talent for it, which is why we hear a myriad of variations on “Oh my god” and “Why do we have this taking place? !”
Logic gaps can be sloppy, even when you consider the very liberal standards that you’d expect to see in the film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.” This kind of film is designed (and in this instance, being sold) for fun, either intentionally or not — when the other options fail let the drinking games begin. But writer-director-producer Rhys Frake-Waterfield makes it damnably hard to have much fun, no matter how low you’re willing to go.
In an age where technology has made the most shoestring-like features look impressive, this one is worthy of to be praised for the few aspects of the same level of quality. These comprise Andrew Scott Bell’s original music and a few from Vince Knight’s large-screen photographs. If the mix of the music is not always good enough to obscure dialogue music, it could help the dialogue. Also, if the images are often dimly lit it is likely that they obscure the gore-based FX and stunts not suitable for display in a clearer manner.
The performers aren’t to blame for their pathetic overall results They aren’t equipped with the knowledge or the guidance needed to make a difference. Since “Blood and Honey” is almost certain to earn significant profits from the smallest investment and one can only pray that Frake-Waterfield and his crew will benefit from that success to reduce the pace. As a producer, he’s released 14 movies in the past year as well as the four films he wrote himself were released in the past four months. There’s a thin line between thrifty business and turning trash into more rubbish.
The possibility of Bambi along with Peter Pan (as well as some more Pooh) being the next movies on his agenda It’s not excessive to request -even if it’s for the sake of beloved deceased authors who did not ask for such treatment to put a bit of effort put into. Even those who want nothing more than a handful of dumb people deserve more than this kind of boring trash.
