Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey director finally unveils his take on the viral Miami incident

In a surreal turn of events, the seemingly innocent world of Winnie the Pooh collided head-on with horror when a fourth-grade teacher in Miami accidentally screened Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey to a classroom full of unsuspecting youngsters on October 2. In the wake of the Miami mishap, Rhys Waterfield opened up about the dark world of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

As the sequel draws near, fans can anticipate a nightmarish journey into the abyss of horror, with more blood, more gore, and more creative killings. Despite the challenges of production and maintaining continuity with fur-clad characters, the film promises to be a visual nightmare, beckoning us all to embrace the darkness in February 2024. Let’s dive into the director Rhys Waterfield's thought process, the mega mind behind this macabre version of everyone's favorite bear.

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Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey in Miami Springs

Fourth-grade students at a K-12 charter school in Miami Springs received an unexpected and unsettling Halloween surprise when their teacher inadvertently screened the horror movie Winnie the Pooh: Honey and Blood. Despite the title, this film is far from suitable for children, as it takes Winnie (Craig David Dowsett) and Piglet (Chris Cordell) on a bloodthirsty rampage after Christopher Robin abandons them.

The movie was shown at the Academy of Innovative Education on October 2. The movie continued to be played for 20 to 30 minutes before being halted, even as students pleaded to stop watching it. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was released without a rating, possibly contributing to its selection as a viewing option for the fourth graders.

Rhys Frake Waterfield expressed his astonishment at the Miami incident in an interview with Variety. He said,

“It’s mad, isn’t it? I think it’s crazy. Because when you watch the film there is no way you can mistake it for a child’s film, literally in the first 10 minutes, crazy stuff’s happening. And [the characters] look scary. So I don’t know how — because they said it went on 20 to 30 minutes — I don’t know how it went on that long. I don’t know if the teacher put it on and just walked out and left them or if the kids tricked them or something. Hopefully we haven’t ruined these kids’ childhoods.”

In the wake of the event, the school administration implemented measures to ensure the students' safety and well-being. Mental health counselors and principals met with concerned students.

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More about Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Sequel

While Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey took the internet by storm and quickly gained a following for its macabre narrative. The upcoming sequel promises to be an even more intense nightmare.

Waterfield, also known for his film The Area 51 Incident, explains that the sequel has pushed the boundaries further into the realm of horror. With a tenfold increase in budget, the movie unleashes an unhinged world with gruesome deaths and harrowing massacres.

Certain alterations were made in the first film to avoid copyright conflicts with Disney, such as replacing Pooh Bear's red shirt with lumberjack attire and excluding copyrighted characters like Tigger. Waterfield explains that using Tigger wasn't an option before because he was not in the public domain, but the character is confirmed in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.

The movie is set to be released in February 2024.