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In 1961, The Walt Disney Company secured the rights to the classic A.A. Milne story of Winnie the Pooh. The stories and the characters were something Walt Disney had been interested in for decades and something he knew Disney could expand upon. In the more than sixty years since Disney obtained the rights, Winnie the Pooh has become one of the most popular franchises in the world, coming in behind Disney Princesses and Star Wars.
Credit: Disney
In 2022, the copyright on A.A. Milne’s original story expired, meaning that companies other than Disney could create their own stories about Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and the other residents of the Hundred Acre Wood. One of the studios that jumped in immediately was Amazon, which has now teamed up with Kartoon Studios to create its own Pooh franchise.
According to a report from Deadline, Amazon and Kartoon Studios are planning on releasing multiple movies and creating a brand-new series for the streaming platform.
Amazon will premiere an animated holiday movie, five holiday specials and 104 episodes of a series rolled out over four years through the subscription kids network Kartoon Channel, which is distributed through Prime Video Channels.
Credit: Kartoon Studios, Inc.
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But that isn’t all. Kartoon Studios is going all-in and has made a deal with a global distributor. The studio will be creating its own line of merchandise and creating what they are calling a “megabrand”.
“Capitalizing on the enormous equity inherent in A.A. Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh, the unique designs and storytelling, as well as the production efficiency by harnessing AI, Kartoon Studios’ new iteration of the timeless brand will have an exceptional array of attributes that we believe can lead to extraordinary profitability for the company,” said Kartoon Studios Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward.
Credit: Kartoon Studios, Inc.
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However, not everyone is as excited as Kartoon Studios about the new series.
The use of artificial intelligence has become a huge point of contention among creatives, companies, and fans. And while some fans might be excited to see a new Winnie the Pooh story come to life, others do not like the fact that the new characters have been created using artificial intelligence, unlike Disney’s hand-drawn animated characters.
Credit: Walt Disney Animation
In the announcement, Kartoon Studios shared some images of the new movie, and commenters were quick to point out that the AI images didn’t seem complete. They specifically pointed to the “character” in the background that does not appear to have a head.
I don’t think they put any care into this.
I don’t think they put any care into this. pic.twitter.com/FatK77NNyo
— Acry 💛✨ (@AcryWeaver) June 21, 2024
Others accused the company of trying to “leech” off characters that Disney had worked hard to bring to life for decades. They felt that the AI-generated characters were too close to Disney’s.
At first, I thought this was going to be a positive usage of Pooh entering the public domain – but upon reading that article, I’m worried that we may be about to see one of the biggest corporate IP vandalisms in a long time.
They’ve got a mega-franchise planned, they’re using AI, they’re working with merchandising retailers already, and much more. This doesn’t look like a playful reimagining to me, it seems like a company trying to leech maximum profits off the back of the Winnie the Pooh brand.
At first, I thought this was going to be a positive usage of Pooh entering the public domain – but upon reading that article, I’m worried that we may be about to see one of the biggest corporate IP vandalisms in a long time.
They’ve got a mega-franchise planned, they’re using…
— Sold (@SoldOfficial) June 21, 2024
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Some thought Tigger was still under Disney’s control, but Tigger — like Disney’s original Mickey Mouse — became part of the public domain on January 1, 2024.
While some commenters were excited to watch a new Winnie the Pooh movie, the majority were upset that the promotional images appeared to have been created almost entirely with AI. They felt that the company was going to do almost no animation and only fix mistakes in the AI images.
Credit: Disney
Production has begun on the new movie, called A Hundred Acre Christmas, and the film is slated to be released on December 25, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video.
What do you think of Amazon and Kartoon Studios’ new Winnie the Pooh movie? Let us know in the comments!
