Winnie the Pooh, the self-described bear of “very little brain” who charmed generations with his homespun and heartfelt wit, is turning 100.
The character of the beloved children was described in a 1926 book written by English author AA Milne and described by EH Shepard.
Now Disney, which acquired the rights to Pooh and Friends from the Hundred Acre Wood in the 1960s, is holding a yearlong celebration of the slow-witted bear, who can be found across the planet from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe.
“Winnie the Pooh is all of us,” said Kevin Kern, senior manager of research at the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California, where all manner of Pooh paraphernalia is neatly cataloged.
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“He shows all the emotions we show. He sees the things we see. He struggles just like us; whether he’s trying to climb a tree to get honey or understand his friends.
“He’s steeped in wisdom, he doesn’t always feel like he’s giving, and it’s timeless.”
Pooh for the president
Milne’s first book — published in Britain and the United States in October 1926 — was inspired by the author’s son Christopher Robin and his collection of stuffed animals: Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit and Kanga, and her baby Rooster.
Two years later, a booming Tigger joined the team for the second book, “The House at Pooh’s Corner.”
When Disney’s first animated short appeared in 1966, Pooh’s signature look — a very short red T-shirt and nothing underneath — was set.
Over the decades, books, plush toys, backpacks, lunchboxes, watches and movies in several languages, most recently the live-action “Christopher Robin” in 2018, starring Ewan McGregor as an adult Christopher Robin, who reunites with Pooh.
But the lovable bear’s adventures didn’t stop there: he ran for US president in 1972, staging a Disneyland ticker tape parade as a light-hearted alternative to the battle between Richard Nixon and George McGovern.
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In the 21st century, Winnie became another — albeit unintentional — Chinese critic of Xi Jinping who entered politics when he noted a resemblance between the country’s leader and a portly bear.
Communist Party censors worked to scrub the Internet of any mention of the character.
And after US copyright protections were lost in 2023, Vinny found himself advising kids on how to avoid a school shooter when a Texas school district pressed him for a pamphlet to warn them to “run, hide, fight.”
That same year, he played a knife-wielding villain in the low-budget slasher film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey,” which recouped its budget many times over with a dramatic run that surprised industry watchers.
Animator Mark Henn, who worked on the more family-friendly 2011 Disney film “Winnie the Pooh,” said he was thrilled to be able to draw the character he grew up watching.
“They definitely bring joy,” he told AFP.
“He’s very calm. Even when he’s upset, there’s a calmness to his demeanor that I think a lot of people are really attracted to.”
(With FRANCE 24 AFP)
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