One of the most hyped movies of 2023 came in Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s horror re-imagining of the classic children’s story Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne. This quite frankly butchered take would see the beloved honey loving bear join his friend Piglet on a bloody rampage through Hundred Acre Wood having been abandoned by Christopher Robin all these years and turning feral with extreme consequences. Despite the buzz, the film was critically panned receiving five Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture. This did not stave off the masses though who were swarmed up by their own curiosity to see this version, making a significant profit, do much so that not only has a sequel been released but the promise of a universe of warped retelling of classic children’s tales has been thrown into the mix entitled Poohniverse. Already there has been titles such as Bambi: The Reckoning; Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare; and Pinocchio: Unstrung.

So what of the sequel?

Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 was promised to be a crazier, more extreme take with a bigger budget to ramp up his vision.

One of the smarter decisions was to replace the actor Nikolai Leon with Scott Chambers (who recently impressed in Hammer’s Doctor Jekyll) as Christopher Robin bringing a lot more weight and vulnerability to the role.

If I have understood things correctly too, there’s a slight meta shift in perspective where although the events in the first film were true, it  is presented as a film within a film for the sequel here which picks up in the aftermath of that films success and the impact it is having on Christopher Robin’s social life. The people of Ashdown have turned against him and believe that he was responsible for the Hundred Acre Wood Massacre. Like Pooh, he has been ostracised from society and struggles to hold down a job as a result. He does however have a girlfriend, Lexy (Tallulah Evans) who willingly stands by his side throughout, and devout parents who share the burden of his struggles. What does come out in the tale is the disappearance of his brother some years ago which serves as a backdrop to his psychological breakdown and questionable character which added a little more depth to the proceedings.

And then there’s the neglected Pooh, who having lost his friend Piglet in the last movie, is joined by Tigger, a frenzied and wild beast; and deviously maliciously wise Owl who is the brains of the macabre outfit (another descent change from the predecessor). The trio have also been impacted by the first films release and are being hunted as a result. They want to seek revenge and destroy the citizens of Ashdown and embark on a bloody rampage.

The Prognosis:

It’s bigger, bloodier and unhinged as Frake-Waterfield endeavours to expand upon and lift the lid on his newfound success. In some ways its smarter too with its directorial choices but too often we’re left in swampy territory as the storyline trudges along. It’s almost like the score composer realises this too, delivering anarchic, pulsating sounds whenever Pooh and the gang go on atrack, as though to wake the audience out of their slumber.

Bigger does not necessarily mean better, as the movie still rests on the premise of the bloody re-imagining without focusing on the bones in which to form a descent structure.

– Saul Muerte