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This article is about the original character. For other uses, seeWinnie-the-Pooh (disambiguation).
"Pooh Bear" and "Pooh" redirect here. For the musician, seePoo Bear.For other uses, seePooh (disambiguation).
"Winnie the Pooh (character)" redirects here. For the Disney franchise character, seeWinnie the Pooh (Disney character).

Winnie-the-Pooh
Pooh in an illustration byE. H. Shepard
First appearance
Created by
Based onWinnie the bear(name)
In-universe information
Nickname
  • Pooh Bear
  • Pooh
SpeciesTeddy Bear
GenderMale
HomeHundred Acre Wood

Winnie-the-Pooh(also known asEdward Bear,Pooh Bearor simplyPooh) is a fictionalanthropomorphicteddy bearcreated by English authorA. A. Milneand English illustratorE. H. Shepard.Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story commissioned by London'sEvening Newsfor Christmas Eve 1925. The character is inspired by astuffed toythat Milne had bought for his sonChristopher RobininHarrodsdepartment store, and a bear they had viewed atLondon Zoo.

The first collection of stories about the character was the bookWinnie-the-Pooh(1926), and this was followed byThe House at Pooh Corner(1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children's verse bookWhen We Were Very Young(1924) and many more inNow We Are Six(1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard. The stories are set inHundred Acre Wood,which was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood inAshdown Forestin East Sussex—situated 30 miles (48 km) south of London—where the Londoner Milne's country home was located.

The Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, includingAlexander Lenard'sLatintranslation,Winnie ille Pu,which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured onThe New York TimesBest Seller list.[1]The original English manuscripts are held atWren Library,Trinity College, Cambridge,Milne's alma mater to whom he had bequeathed the works.[2]The first Pooh story was ranked number 7 on the BBC'sThe Big Readpoll.[3]

In 1961,The Walt Disney Companylicensed certain film and other rights of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories from the estate of A. A. Milne and the licensing agentStephen Slesinger, Inc.,and adapted the Pooh stories, using theunhyphenatedname "Winnie the Pooh", intoa series of featuresthat would eventually become one of its most successful franchises. In popular film adaptations, Pooh has been voiced by actorsSterling Holloway,Hal Smith,andJim Cummingsin English, andYevgeny Leonovin Russian.

History

Origin

Christopher Robin's original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed toys, on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library (clockwise from bottom left:Tigger,Kanga,Edward Bear ( "Winnie-the-Pooh" ),Eeyore,andPiglet)Roowas also one of the original toys, but was lost during the 1930s

A. A. Milnenamed the character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear owned by his son,Christopher Robin Milne,on whom the characterChristopher Robinwas based. Shepard in turn based his illustrations of Pooh on his own son's teddy bear named Growler, instead of Christopher Robin's bear.[4]The rest of Christopher Milne's toys –Piglet,Eeyore,Kanga, Roo, andTigger– were incorporated into Milne's stories.[5][6]Two more characters,OwlandRabbit,were created by Milne's imagination, whileGopherwas added to the Disney version. Christopher Robin's toy bear is on display at theMain Branch of the New York Public Libraryin New York City.[7]

Harry Colebournand Winnie, 1914

In 1921, Milne bought his son Christopher Robin the toy bear fromHarrodsdepartment store.[8][9]Christopher Robin had named his toy bear Edward, then Winnie, after a Canadianblack bearWinniethat he often saw atLondon Zoo,and Pooh, a friend's pet swan they had encountered while on holiday.[10][11]The bear cub was purchased from a hunter forC$20 by Canadian LieutenantHarry ColebourninWhite River, Ontario,while en route to England during the First World War.[12]Colebourn, a veterinary officer with the Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment, named the bear Winnie after his adopted hometown inWinnipeg,Manitoba.[13][14]Winnie was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition asThe Fort Garry Horseregimental mascot. Colebourn left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo, as she had become a much-loved attraction there.[15]Pooh the swan appears as a character in its own right inWhen We Were Very Young.

Sculpture at London Zoo whereA. A. Milnetook his son Christopher Robin to see the amiable bear that inspired Milne to write the story[16]

In the first chapter ofWinnie-the-Pooh,Milne offers this explanation of why Winnie-the-Pooh is often simply known as "Pooh":

But his arms were so stiff… they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off. And I think – but I am not sure – thatthatis why he is always called Pooh.

American writerWilliam Safiresurmised that the Milnes' invention of the name "Winnie the Pooh" may have also been influenced by the haughty characterPooh-BahinGilbert and Sullivan'sThe Mikado(1885).[17]

Ashdown Forest: the setting for the stories

A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard memorial plaque atAshdown Forest,East Sussex, south-east England; it overlooks Five Hundred Acre Wood, the setting for Winnie-the-Pooh

The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set inAshdown Forest,East Sussex,England. The forest is an area of tranquil open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of theHigh Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beautysituated 30 miles (50 km) south-east of London. In 1925 Milne, a Londoner, bought a country home a mile to the north of the forest atCotchford Farm,nearHartfield.According to Christopher Robin Milne, while his father continued to live in London "...the four of us – he, his wife, his son and his son's nanny – would pile into a large blue, chauffeur-driven Fiat and travel down every Saturday morning and back again every Monday afternoon. And we would spend a whole glorious month there in the spring and two months in the summer."[18]From the front lawn the family had a view across a meadow to a line ofaldersthat fringed theRiver Medway,beyond which the ground rose through more trees until finally "above them, in the faraway distance, crowning the view, was a bare hilltop. In the centre of this hilltop was a clump of pines." Most of his father's visits to the forest at that time were, he noted, family expeditions on foot "to make yet another attempt to count the pine trees on Gill's Lap or to search for the marsh gentian". Christopher added that, inspired by Ashdown Forest, his father had made it "the setting for two of his books, finishing the second little over three years after his arrival".[19]

Many locations in the stories can be associated with real places in and around the forest. As Christopher Milne wrote in his autobiography: "Pooh's forest and Ashdown Forest are identical." For example, the fictional "Hundred Acre Wood"was in reality Five Hundred Acre Wood; Galleon's Leap was inspired by the prominent hilltop of Gill's Lap, while a clump of trees just north of Gill's Lap became Christopher Robin'sThe Enchanted Place,because no-one had ever been able to count whether there were 63 or 64 trees in the circle.[20]

The landscapes depicted inE. H. Shepard's illustrations for the Winnie-the-Pooh books were directly inspired by the distinctive landscape of Ashdown Forest, with its high, open heathlands of heather, gorse, bracken and silver birch, punctuated by hilltop clumps of pine trees. Many of Shepard's illustrations can be matched to actual views, allowing for a degree of artistic licence. Shepard's sketches of pine trees and other forest scenes are held at theVictoria and Albert Museumin London.[21]

The game ofPoohstickswas originally played by Christopher Robin Milne and his father on the wooden footbridge,[22]across the Millbrook,[23]Posingford Wood, close to Cotchford Farm. In the stories Pooh plays the game with the other characters, Christopher Robin, Tigger, and Eeyore.[24]The location is now a tourist attraction, and it has become traditional to play the game there using sticks gathered in the nearby woodland.[22][25]When the footbridge had to be replaced in 1999, the architect used as a main source drawings by Shepard in the books, and retained its precursor's original style.[26]

First publication

Winnie-the-Pooh's debut in the24 December1925London Evening News

Christopher Robin's teddy bear made his character début, under the name Edward, in A. A. Milne's poem, "Teddy Bear", in the edition of 13 February 1924 ofPunch(E. H. Shepard had also included a similar bear in a cartoon published inPunchthe previous week[27]), and the same poem was published in Milne's book of children's verseWhen We Were Very Young(6 November 1924).[28]Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name on 24 December 1925, in a Christmas story commissioned and published by the London newspaperEvening News.It was illustrated by J. H. Dowd.[29]

The first collection of Pooh stories appeared in the bookWinnie-the-Pooh.TheEvening NewsChristmas story reappeared as the first chapter of the book. At the beginning, it explained that Pooh was in fact Christopher Robin's Edward Bear, who had been renamed by the boy. He was renamed afteran American black bear at London Zoocalled Winnie who got her name from the fact that her owner had come fromWinnipeg, Canada.The book was published in October 1926 by the publisher of Milne's earlier children's work,Methuen,in England,E. P. Duttonin the United States, andMcClelland & Stewartin Canada.[30]The book was an immediate critical and commercial success.[31]The children's author and literary criticJohn Rowe TownsenddescribedWinnie-the-Poohand its sequelThe House at Pooh Corneras "the spectacular British success of the 1920s" and praised its light, readable prose.[32]

Appearance

The original drawing of Pooh was based not on Christopher Robin's bear, but on Growler, the teddy bear belonging to Shepard's son Graham, according to James Campbell, husband of Shepard's great-granddaughter. When Campbell took over Shepard's estate in 2010, he discovered many drawings and unpublished writings, including early drawings of Pooh, that had not been seen in decades. Campbell said, "Both he and A. A. Milne realised that Christopher Robin's bear was too gruff-looking, not very cuddly, so they decided they would have to have a different bear for the illustrations."[33]Campbell said Shepard sent Milne a drawing of his son's bear and that Milne "said it was perfect". Campbell also said Shepard's drawings of Christopher Robin were based partly on his own son.[33]

Character

Pooh listening to Christopher Robin,Winnie-the-Pooh(1926); illustration by E. H. Shepard.

In the Milne books, Pooh is naive and slow-witted, but he is also friendly, thoughtful, and steadfast. Although he and his friends agree that he is "a bear of very little brain", Pooh is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense. These include riding in Christopher Robin's umbrella to rescue Piglet from a flood, discovering "the North Pole" by picking it up to help fish Roo out of the river, inventing the game ofPoohsticks,and getting Eeyore out of the river by dropping a large rock on one side of him to wash him towards the bank.

Pooh at Owl's house; illustration by E. H. Shepard

Pooh is also a talented poet and the stories are frequently punctuated by his poems and "hums". Although he is humble about his slow-wittedness, he is comfortable with his creative gifts. When Owl's house blows down in a windstorm, trapping Pooh, Piglet and Owl inside, Pooh encourages Piglet (the only one small enough to do so) to escape and rescue them all by promising that "a respectful Pooh song" will be written about Piglet's feat. Later, Pooh muses about the creative process as he composes the song.

Pooh and a honey ( "hunny" ) pot, E. H. Shepard illustration fromWinnie-the-Pooh(1926)

Pooh is very fond of food, particularlyhoney(which he spells "hunny" ), but also condensed milk and other items. When he visits friends, his desire to be offered a snack is in conflict with the impoliteness of asking too directly. Though intent on giving Eeyore a pot of honey for his birthday, Pooh could not resist eating it on his way to deliver the present and so instead gives Eeyore "a useful pot to put things in". When he and Piglet are lost in the forest during Rabbit's attempt to "unbounce" Tigger, Pooh finds his way home by following the "call" of the honeypots from his house. Pooh makes it a habit to have "a little something" around 11:00 in the morning. As the clock in his house "stopped at five minutes to eleven some weeks ago", any time can be Pooh's snack time.

Pooh is very social. After Christopher Robin, his closest friend is Piglet, and he most often chooses to spend his time with one or both of them. But he also habitually visits the other animals, often looking for a snack or an audience for his poetry as much as for companionship. His kind-heartedness means he goes out of his way to be friendly to Eeyore, visiting him and bringing him a birthday present and building him a house, despite receiving mostly disdain from Eeyore in return. Devan Coggan ofEntertainment Weeklysaw a similarity between Pooh andPaddington Bear,two "extremely polite British bears without pants", adding that "both bears share a philosophy of kindness and integrity".[34]

Posthumous sequels

An authorised sequelReturn to the Hundred Acre Woodwas published on 5 October 2009. The author,David Benedictus,has developed, but not changed, Milne's characterisations. The illustrations, byMark Burgess,are in the style of Shepard.[35]

Harrodsdepartment store inKnightsbridge,London, where in 1921 Milne bought the stuffed toy for his son that would inspire the character. Pooh visits Harrods in the 2021 authorised prequelWinnie-the-Pooh: Once There Was a Bear

Another authorised sequel,Winnie-the-Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World,was published byEgmontin 2016. The sequel consists of four short stories by four leading children's authors,Kate Saunders,Brian Sibley,Paul Bright, andJeanne Willis.Illustrations are by Mark Burgess.[36]The Best Bear in All The Worldsees the introduction of a new character, Penguin, which was inspired by a long-lost photograph of Milne and his son Christopher with a toy penguin.[37][38]

In 2016,Winnie-the-Pooh Meets the Queenwas published to mark the 90th anniversary of Milne's creation and the 90th birthday ofQueen Elizabeth II.It sees Pooh meet the Queen atBuckingham Palace.[39]

In 2021, marking a century since Milne bought thestuffed toyfromHarrodsdepartment store for his sonChristopher Robinthat would inspire Milne to create the character,Winnie-the-Pooh: Once There Was a Bear,the first prequel to Milne's books and poetry about the bear, was authorised by the estates of Milne and Shepard.[8]Inspired by the real life of Christopher Robin, it is written by children's writer Jane Riordan in the style of Milne, with illustrations by Mark Burgess emulating the drawings of Shepard.[8]It sees Winnie-the-Pooh exploring Harrods as well as visit London'sNatural History Museumand London Zoo, before leaving London and going back to the Hundred Acre Wood.[8]

Stephen Slesinger

On 6 January 1930,Stephen Slesingerpurchased US and Canadian merchandising, television, recording, and other trade rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh works from Milne for a $1,000 advance and 66% of Slesinger's income.[40]By November 1931, Pooh was a $50 million-a-year business.[41]Slesinger marketed Pooh and his friends for more than 30 years, creating the first Pooh doll, record, board game, puzzle, US radio broadcast (on NBC), animation, and motion picture.[42]

Red shirt Pooh

The first time Pooh and his friends appeared in colour was 1932, when he was drawn by Slesinger in his now-familiar red shirt and featured on anRCA Victorpicture record.Parker BrothersintroducedA. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh Gamein 1933, again with Pooh in his red shirt. In the 1940s, Agnes Brush created the first plush dolls with Pooh in a shirt.[43][44]

Disney exclusivity (1953–2021)

Main articles:Winnie the Pooh (franchise)andWinnie the Pooh (Disney character)

After Slesinger's death in 1953, his wife,Shirley Slesinger Lasswell,continued developing the character herself. In 1961, she licensed rights toWalt Disney Productionsin exchange for royalties in the first of two agreements between Stephen Slesinger, Inc., and Disney.[45]The same year, A. A. Milne's widow, Daphne Milne, also licensed certain rights, including motion picture rights, to Disney.

Since 1966, Disney has released numerous animated productions starringits version of Winnie the Poohand related characters, starting with the theatricalfeaturetteWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.This was followed byWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day(1968), andWinnie the Pooh and Tigger Too(1974). These three featurettes were combined into a feature-length film,The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,in 1977. A fourth featurette,Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore,was released in 1983.

A new series of Winnie the Pooh theatrical feature-length films launched in the 2000s, withThe Tigger Movie(2000),Piglet's Big Movie(2003),Pooh's Heffalump Movie(2005), andWinnie the Pooh(2011).

Disney has also produced television series based on the franchise, includingWelcome to Pooh Corner(Disney Channel,1983–1986),The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(ABC,1988–1991),The Book of Pooh(Playhouse Disney,2001–2003), andMy Friends Tigger & Pooh(Playhouse Disney, 2007–2010).

A. A. Milne'sU.S. copyrighton the Winnie-the-Pooh character expired on 1 January 2022, as it had been 95 years since publication of the first story. The character has thus entered thepublic domainin the United States and Disney no longer holds exclusive rights there. Independent filmmakerRhys Frake-Waterfieldcapitalized on this shortly thereafter by producing a horror film titledWinnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.[46]TheUK copyrightwill expire on 1 January 2027, the 70th year since Milne's death.[47]

Playdate with Winnie the Pooh,an animated series of musical shorts by OddBot Inc. forDisney Junior,became the first project from Disney to be released after the original book and characters became public domain.[48][49][50][51]

Merchandising revenue dispute

Pooh videos, soft toys, and other merchandise generate substantial annual revenues for Disney. The size of Pooh stuffed toys ranges fromBeanieand miniature to human-sized. In addition to the stylised Disney Pooh, Disney markets Classic Pooh merchandise which more closely resembles E. H. Shepard's illustrations.

In 1991, Stephen Slesinger, Inc., filed a lawsuit against Disney which alleged that Disney had breached their 1983 agreement by again failing to accurately report revenue from Winnie the Pooh sales. Under this agreement, Disney was to retain approximately 98% of gross worldwide revenues while the remaining 2% was to be paid to Slesinger. In addition, the suit alleged that Disney had failed to pay required royalties on all commercial exploitation of the product name.[52]Though the Disney corporation was sanctioned by a judge for destroying forty boxes of evidentiary documents,[53]the suit was later terminated by another judge when it was discovered that Slesinger's investigator had rummaged through Disney's garbage to retrieve the discarded evidence.[54]Slesinger appealed the termination and, on 26 September 2007, a three-judge panel upheld the lawsuit dismissal.[55]

After theCopyright Term Extension Actof 1998, Clare Milne, Christopher Robin Milne's daughter, attempted to terminate any future US copyrights for Stephen Slesinger, Inc.[56]After a series of legal hearings, JudgeFlorence-Marie Cooperof the US District Court in California found in favour of Stephen Slesinger, Inc., as did theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.On 26 June 2006, theUS Supreme Courtrefused to hear the case, sustaining the ruling and ensuring the defeat of the suit.[57]

On 19 February 2007, Disney lost a court case in Los Angeles which ruled their "misguided claims" to dispute the licensing agreements with Slesinger, Inc., were unjustified,[58]but a federal ruling of 28 September 2009, again from Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, determined that the Slesinger family had granted all trademarks and copyrights to Disney, although Disney must pay royalties for all future use of the characters. Both parties expressed satisfaction with the outcome.[59][60]

Other adaptations

Literature

Theatre

  • 1931.Winnie-the-Poohat the Guild Theater,Sue HastingsMarionettes[62]
  • 1957.Winnie-the-Pooh,a play in three acts, dramatized by Kristin Sergel, Dramatic Publishing Company
  • 1964.Winnie-the-Pooh,a musical comedy in two acts, lyrics by A. A. Milne and Kristin Sergel, music by Allan Jay Friedman, book by Kristin Sergel, Dramatic Publishing Company
  • 1977.A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail,in which Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends help Eeyore have a very Merry Christmas (or a very happy birthday), with the book, music, and lyrics by James W. Rogers, Dramatic Publishing Company[63]
  • 1986.Bother! The Brain of Pooh,Peter Dennis
  • 1992.Winnie-the-Pooh,small cast musical version, dramatized by le Clanché du Rand, music by Allan Jay Friedman, lyrics by A. A. Milne and Kristin Sergel, additional lyrics by le Clanché du Rand, Dramatic Publishing Company
  • 2021.Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation[64]

Audio

RCA Victor record from 1932 decorated with Stephen Slesinger, Inc.'s Winnie-the-Pooh

Selected Pooh stories read byMaurice Evansreleased on vinyl LP:

  • 1956.Winnie-the-Pooh(consisting of three tracks: "Introducing Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin"; "Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets into a Tight Place"; and "Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle" )
  • More Winnie-the-Pooh(consisting of three tracks: "Eeyore Loses a Tail"; "Piglet Meets aHeffalump";"Eeyore Has a Birthday ")

In 1951,RCA Recordsreleased four stories ofWinnie-the-Pooh,narrated byJimmy Stewartand featuring the voices ofCecil Royas Pooh, Madeleine Pierce as Piglet, Betty Jane Tyler as Kanga,Merrill Joelsas Eeyore,Arnold Stangas Rabbit, Frank Milano as Owl, and Sandy Fussell as Christopher Robin.[65]

In 1960,HMVrecorded a dramatised version with songs (music byHarold Fraser-Simson) of two episodes fromThe House at Pooh Corner(Chapters 2 and 8), starringIan Carmichaelas Pooh,Denise Bryeras Christopher Robin (who also narrated),Hugh Lloydas Tigger,Penny Morrellas Piglet, andTerry Norrisas Eeyore. This was released on a 45 rpm EP.[66]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Carol Channing recordedWinnie the Pooh,The House at Pooh CornerandThe Winnie the Pooh Songbook,with music by Don Heckman. These were released on vinyl LP and audio cassette by Caedmon Records.

Unabridged recordings read byPeter Dennisof the four Pooh books:

  • When We Were Very Young
  • Winnie-the-Pooh
  • Now We Are Six
  • The House at Pooh Corner

In 1979, a double audio cassette set ofWinnie the Poohwas produced featuring British actorLionel Jeffriesreading all of the characters in the stories. This was followed in 1981 by an audio cassette set of stories fromThe House at Pooh Corneralso read by Lionel Jeffries.[67]

In the 1990s, the stories were dramatised for audio byDavid Benedictus,with music composed, directed and played by John Gould. They were performed by a cast that includedStephen Fryas Winnie-the-Pooh,Jane Horrocksas Piglet,Geoffrey Palmeras Eeyore,Judi Denchas Kanga,Finty Williamsas Roo,Robert Dawsas Rabbit,Michael Williamsas Owl,Steven Webbas Christopher Robin andSandi Toksvigas Tigger.[68]

Radio

Film

Soviet adaptation

A postage stamp showing Piglet and Winnie-the-Pooh as they appear in the Soviet adaptation

In the Soviet Union, three Winnie-the-Pooh, (transcribed inRussianasВинни-Пух,Vinni Pukh) stories were made into a celebrated trilogy.[77][78]

The films usedBoris Zakhoder's translation of the book. Pooh was voiced byYevgeny Leonov.Unlike in the Disney adaptations, the animators did not base their depictions of the characters on Shepard's illustrations, instead creating a different look. The Soviet adaptations made extensive use of Milne's original text and often brought out aspects of Milne's characters' personalities not used in the Disney adaptations.

Television

Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends debuted on NBC Television in 1958
  • 1960:Shirley Temple's StorybookonNBC:Winnie-the-Pooh—a version for marionettes, designed, made, and operated byBil and Cora Baird.Pooh was voiced by future Muppet performerFaz Fazakas.
  • During the 1970s, theBBCchildren's television showJackanoryserialised the two books, which were read byWillie Rushton.[79]
  • 2024: Untitled animated series.[76]
  • TBA:Christopher Robin (Working Title).R-ratedlive action/hybrid series featuring a middle age drugged Christopher Robin travelling back to the One Hundred Acre Wood.[80]

Games

Cultural legacy

Maev KennedyofThe Guardiancalled Winnie-the-Pooh "the most famous bear in literary history".[85]One of the best-known characters inBritish children's literature,a 2011 poll saw the bear voted onto the list of top 100 "icons of England".[86]In 2003 the first Pooh story was ranked number 7 on the BBC'sThe Big Readpoll.[3]Forbesmagazine ranked Pooh the most valuable fictional character in 2002, with merchandising products alone generating more than $5.9 billion that year.[87]In 2005, Pooh generated $6 billion, a figure surpassed by onlyMickey Mouse.[88]In 2006, Pooh received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame,marking the 80th birthday of Milne's creation.[88]In 2010,E. H. Shepard's original illustrations of Winnie the Pooh (and other Pooh characters) featured on aseries of UK postage stampsissued by theRoyal Mail.[89]

Winnie the Pooh's star on theHollywood Walk of Fame

Winnie the Pooh has inspired multiple texts to explain complex philosophical ideas.Benjamin Hoffuses Milne's characters inThe Tao of PoohandThe Te of Pigletto explainTaoism.Similarly,Frederick Crewswrote essays about the Pooh books in abstruse academic jargon inThe Pooh PerplexandPostmodern Poohto satirise a range of philosophical approaches.[90]Pooh and the Philosophersby John T. Williams uses Winnie the Pooh as a backdrop to illustrate the works of philosophers, includingDescartes,Kant,PlatoandNietzsche.[91]"Epic Pooh"is a 1978 essay byMichael Moorcockthat compares muchfantasywriting to A. A. Milne's, as work intended to comfort, not challenge.

Pooh with Tigger and Eeyore at the Shanghai Disney Resort in 2019

In music,Kenny Logginswrote the song "House at Pooh Corner",which was originally recorded by theNitty Gritty Dirt Band.[92]Loggins later rewrote the song as "Return to Pooh Corner",featuring on the album of the same name in 1991. In Italy, a pop band took their name from Winnie, and were titledPooh.In Estonia, there is a punk/metal band calledWinny Puhh.There is a street inWarsaw,Poland, named after the character, theKubusia Puchatka Street,as he is known inPolishtranslations asKubuś Puchatek.[93]There is also a street named after him inBudapest,Hungary, the Micimackó Street.[94]

Poohsticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest, south-east England, where Pooh inventedPoohsticks

In the "sport" ofPoohsticks,competitors drop sticks into a stream from a bridge and then wait to see whose stick will cross the finish line first. Competitors hold their sticks at arms length at the same height, then drop their sticks into the water at the same time.[95]Though it began as a game played by Pooh and his friends in the bookThe House at Pooh Cornerand later in the films, it has crossed over into the real world: a World Championship Poohsticks race takes place inOxfordshireeach year.Ashdown Forestin south-east England, where the Pooh stories are set, is a popular tourist attraction, and includes the wooden Pooh Bridge where Pooh and Piglet invented Poohsticks.[96]TheOxford UniversityWinnie the Pooh Society was founded by undergraduates in 1982.[97]

From December 2017 to April 2018, theVictoria and Albert Museumin London hosted the exhibitionWinnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic.[98]On exhibit were A. A. Milne's manuscript ofWinnie-the-PoohandThe House at Pooh Corner(on loan from theWren LibraryatTrinity College, Cambridge,Milne's alma mater to whom he had bequeathed the works), and teddy bears that had not been on display for some 40 years because they were so fragile.[85][99]

Shepard's 1926 illustrated map of the Hundred Acre Wood which set a record price for book illustrations when it was sold atSotheby'sin London

In 2018, E. H. Shepard's original 1926 illustrated map of the Hundred Acre Wood, which features in the opening pages of Milne's books and also appears in the opening animation in the first Disney adaptation in 1966, sold for £430,000 ($600,000) atSotheby'sin London, setting a world record for book illustrations.[100][101]

The Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic championYuzuru Hanyuregards Pooh as his lucky charm.[102]He is usually seen with a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh during his figure skating competitions. Because of this, Hanyu's fans will throw stuffed Winnie-the-Poohs onto the ice after his performance.[103]After one of Hanyu's performances at the2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang,one spectator remarked that "the ice turned yellow" because of all the Poohs thrown onto the ice.[104]

Comparison to Xi Jinping

Main article:Censorship of Winnie-the-Pooh in China
Meme comparingEeyoreand Winnie the Pooh to formerJapanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abeand Xi Jinping respectively

InChina,images of Pooh werecensoredfrom social media websites in mid-2017, whenInternet memescomparing ChineseParamount LeaderandGeneral Secretary of the Communist PartyXi Jinpingto (Disney's versionof) Pooh became popular.[105]The 2018 filmChristopher Robinwas also denied a Chinese release.[106]

When Xi visited the Philippines, protestors posted images of Pooh on social media.[107]Other politicians have been compared toWinnie-the-Poohcharacters alongside Xi, includingBarack ObamaasTigger,Carrie Lam,Rodrigo Duterte,[108]andPeng LiyuanasPiglet,[109]andFernando ChuiandShinzo AbeasEeyore.[110]

Pooh's Chinese name (Chinese:Tiểu hùng duy ni;lit.'little bear Winnie') has been censored from video games such asWorld of Warcraft,PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds,Arena of Valor,[111]andDevotion.[112]Images of Pooh inKingdom Hearts IIIwere also blurred out on the gaming site A9VG.[113]

Despite the ban, two Pooh-themed rides still operate inDisneyland Shanghai,and it is also legal to purchase Pooh-bear merchandise and books about Winnie the Pooh in China.[114][115]In May 2021, aperformerdressed up as Winnie-the-Pooh in Shanghai Disneyland was beaten by a child tourist. Mass media in China used the term "Pooh Pooh Bear" (Chinese:Phốc phốc hùng) in reports about this incident because the word "Winnie" has been censored. However, search results of "Pooh Pooh Bear hurt in Shanghai Disneyland" were censored on Weibo after this incident happened.[116][117]

In October 2019, Pooh was featured in theSouth Parkepisode "Band in China"as a prisoner in China because of his alleged resemblance with Xi. In the episode, Pooh is brutally killed byRandy Marsh.South Parkwas banned in China as a result of the episode.[118][119]

Taiwanese pilots have wornmorale patcheswhich feature aFormosan black bearpunching Winnie-the-Pooh in the face.[120]The patches are produced by a private company and demand for them surged greatly after pictures of active duty personal wearing them began circulating.[121][122]

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