A new Winnie the Pooh series is on its way with a mighty production team. And the best part: Disney has no involvement whatsoever.
Now that the beloved yellow bear is in the public domain, studios have been jumping at the opportunity to adapt it how they want without Disney’s iron hand. Most recently, the world bore witness to the horror movie Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Though not financially successful, the studio behind it is still moving forward with a sequel, as well as other horror films based on Disney IPs entering the public domain.
Most likely, they’re doing so simply because they can.
Now A.A. Milne’s famous series is getting another adaptation, The Hundred Acre Wood’s Winnie-The-Pooh. Like Blood and Honey, it’s completely free of Disney’s influence.
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Deadline reported that animation company Kartoon Studios unveiled the first trailer for the series at the Sundance Film Festival. The series is expected to launch at the end of 2025. It will feature 200 6-minute episodes and 5 holiday specials. It will also be “yarn-based animation style, blending AI and hand-drawn characters and backgrounds.”
All that’s missing currently is a cast.
The Winnie the Pooh series will debut on the Kartoon Channel, which is distributed through Prime Video channel options and subscriptions. Knowing Amazon is involved might raise a few red flags. However, they’re not involved in the show’s production. Amazon will merely be the distributor. In other words, they will have no say over what goes in the show.
The studio and people who are actually involved have much more credibility.
Winnie The Pooh’s New Studio
Kartoon Studios is an animation company that primarily makes children’s cartoons. Titles on its roster include Rainbow Rangers, Llama Llama, Secret Millionaire Club and Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab. All these and more have been relatively successful in regards to children’s entertainment, especially when aimed at younger demographics.
Winnie the Pooh in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), Walt Disney Productions
There also appears to be no hidden agendas in Kartoon Studios’ shows. That alone is a good sign. They clearly know how to cater to children properly.
The People
Besides the studio, members of the team also have good credentials in children’s entertainment.
The head writer is Sam Morrison, who previously wrote for Peppa Pig on Nickelodeon. That show is extremely popular among small children. Even people without children recognize the title.
The director is Michael Maliani. His credentials include niche children’s cartoons that earned cult followings, including Mummies Alive and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century. He worked on several adaptations of Strawberry Shortcake, Inspector Gadget, Madeline, Sabrina and Archie. He was also heavily involved in Liberty Kids, Carmen Sandiego and The Smurfs. More recently, Maliani directed several episodes of two Kartoon Studios shows: Shaq’s Garage and Rainbow Rangers.
Winnie the Pooh in Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (2011), Walt Disney Animation Studios
In short, his resumé bodes extremely well for this new Winnie the Pooh series.
For now, we can’t say for certain whether or not this series will be good. We can, however, surmise that it will be good for children, free of agendas and unnecessary nonsense.
What are your thoughts on Winnie the Pooh without Disney? Let us know in the comments below.
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Funniest sh*t would be if the Chinese would take it and make a show…
so there is an actual chance it will be truly child friendly? good
Just because Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey exists doesn’t make it canon.
This is easy logic to use when talking with people who think Star Trek garbage is canon.
Star Wars is easier because you can prove that in Disney, the Force is male because it can impregnate women.