The hyphens in the character's name were later dropped when The Walt Disney Company adapted the Pooh stories into a series of features that became one of its most successful franchises.
The Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, including Alexander Lenard's Latin translation, Winnie ille Pu, which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Since the 1970s, Pooh Bear has been voiced by three actors: Sterling Holloway, Hal Smith and Jim Cummings.
Origin
Milne named the character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, who was the basis for the characterChristopher Robin. Christopher's toys also lent their names to most of the other characters, except for Owl and Rabbit, as well as the Gopher character, who was added in the Disney version. Christopher Robin's toy bear is now on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library in New York.
In the first chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh, Milne offers this explanation of why Winnie-the-Pooh is often called simply "Pooh":Christopher Milne had named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear which he often saw at London Zoo, and "Pooh", a swan they had met while on holiday. The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for $20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn in White River, Ontario, Canada, while en route to England during the First World War. He named the bear "Winnie" after his hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "Winnie" was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The 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. Pooh the swan appears as a character in its own right in When We Were Very Young.
- "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 — that that is why he is always called Pooh."
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Ashdown Forest: the setting for the stories
The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. The forest is a large area of tranquil open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty situated 30 miles (50 km) south of London. In 1925 Milne, a Londoner, bought a country home a mile to the north of the forest at Cotchford Farm, near Hartfield. According to Christopher 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." From the front lawn the family had a view across a meadow to a line of alders that fringed the River 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 center of this hilltop was a clump of pines." Most of his father's visits to the forest at this 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".
Many locations in the stories can be linked to 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's The Enchanted Place because no-one had ever been able to count whether there were sixty-three or sixty-four trees in the circle.
The landscapes depicted in E.H. Shepard’s illustrations for the Winnie-the-Pooh books are 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. In many cases Shepard's illustrations can be matched to actual views, allowing for a degree of artistic license. Shepard's sketches of pine trees and other forest scenes are on display at the V&A Museum in London.
The game of Poohsticks was originally played by Christopher Milne on a footbridge across a tributary of the River Medway in Posingford Wood, close to Cotchford Farm. It is traditional to play the game there using sticks gathered in nearby woodland. When the footbridge required replacement in recent times the engineer designed a new structure based closely on the drawings by E. H. Shepard of the bridge in the original books, as the bridge did not originally appear as the artist drew it. An information board at the bridge describes how to play the game.
First publication
There are three claimants, depending on the precise question posed. Christopher Robin's teddy bear, Edward, made his character début in a poem called "Teddy Bear" in Milne's book of children's verse When We Were Very Young (6 November 1924) although his true first appearance was within the 13 February 1924 edition of Punch magazine which contained the same poem along with other stories by Milne and Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name on 24 December 1925, in a Christmas story commissioned and published by the London newspaperThe Evening News. It was illustrated by J. H. Dowd. The first collection of Pooh stories appeared in the book Winnie-the-Pooh. The Evening News Christmas story reappeared as the first chapter of the book, and at the very beginning it explained that Pooh was in fact Christopher Robin's Edward Bear, who had simply been renamed by the boy. The book was published in October 1926 by the publisher of Milne's earlier children's work, Methuen, in England, and E. P. Dutton in the United States.
Sequel
An authorised sequel Return to the Hundred Acre Wood was published on 5 October 2009. The author, David Benedictus, has developed, but not changed, Milne's characterisations. The illustrations, by Mark Burgess, are in the style of Shepard.
Stephen Slesinger
On 6 January 1930, Stephen Slesinger purchased U.S. and Canadian merchandising, television, recording and other trade rights to the "Winnie-the-Pooh" works from Milne for a $1000 advance and 66% of Slesinger's income, creating the modern licensing industry. By November 1931, Pooh was a $50 million-a-year business. Slesinger marketed Pooh and his friends for more than 30 years, creating the first Pooh doll, record, board game, puzzle, US radio broadcast (NBC), animation, and motion picture film. In 1961, Disney acquired rights from Slesinger to produce articles of merchandise based on characters from its feature animation.
Red Shirt Pooh
The first time Pooh and his friends appeared in color was 1932, when he was drawn by Slesinger in his now-familiar red shirt and featured on an RCA Victor picture record. Parker Brothers also introduced A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh Game in 1933, again with Pooh in his red shirt. In the 1940s, Agnes Brush created the first plush dolls with Pooh in his red shirt. Shepard had drawn Pooh with a shirt as early as the first Winnie-The-Pooh book, which was subsequently coloured red in later coloured editions.
Disney
Main article: Winnie the Pooh (Disney)
Since 1966, Disney has released numerous animated productions starring Winnie the Pooh and related characters. These have included theatrical featurettes, television series, and direct-to-video films, as well as the theatrical feature-length films The Tigger Movie, Piglet's Big Movie, and Pooh's Heffalump Movie.After Slesinger's death in 1953, his wife, Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, continued developing the character herself. In 1961, she licensed rights to Walt Disney Productions in exchange for royalties in the first of two agreements between Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and Disney. The same year, A. A. Milne's widow, Daphne Milne, also licensed certain rights, including motion picture rights, to Disney.
In December 2005, Disney announced a Disney Channel animated television series, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, focusing on adventures had by 6-year-old Darby and the Pooh characters, with two occasional appearances from Christopher Robin. The show began airing on the Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney on 12 May 2007 until 4 July 2010.
The Disney version of Winnie the Pooh was featured in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, the Kingdom Hearts videogames and the TV series House of Mouse
Pooh also appears at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meet-able and child friendly character.
Merchandising revenue dispute
Pooh videos, soft toys, and other merchandise generate substantial annual revenues for Disney. The size of Pooh stuffed toys ranges from Beanie and 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. It is estimated that Winnie the Pooh features and merchandise generate as much revenue as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto combined.
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. Though the Disney corporation was sanctioned by a judge for destroying forty boxes of evidential documents, the suit was later terminated by another judge when it was discovered that Slesinger's investigator had rummaged through Disney's garbage in order to retrieve the discarded evidence. Slesinger appealed the termination, and on 26 September 2007, a three-judge panel upheld the lawsuit dismissal.
After the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, Clare Milne, Christopher Milne's daughter, attempted to terminate any future U.S. copyrights for Stephen Slesinger, Inc. After a series of legal hearings, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the US District Court in California found in favour of Stephen Slesinger, Inc., as did the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On 26 June 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, sustaining the ruling and ensuring the defeat of the suit.
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, but a federal ruling of 28 September 2009, again from Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, determined that the Slesinger family had granted all trademark and copyright rights to Disney, although Disney must pay royalties for all future use of the characters. Both parties have expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
Theatre
- Winnie-the-Pooh at the Guild Theater | Sue Hastings Marionettes, 1931
- "Bother! The Brain of Pooh" | Peter Dennis, 1986
Audio
Selected Pooh stories read by Maurice Evans released on vinyl LP:
- Winnie-the-Pooh (consisting of three tracks: Introducing Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin; Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place; Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle) 1956
- More Winnie-the-Pooh (consisting of three tracks: Eeyore Loses a Tail; Piglet Meets a Heffalump; Eeyore Has a Birthday.)
In the 1970s and 1980s, Carol Channing recorded Winnie The Pooh, The House At Pooh Corner and The Winnie The Pooh Songbook, with music by Don Heckman. These were released on vinyl LP and audio cassette by Caedmon Records.
Unabridged recordings read by Peter Dennis of the four Pooh books:
- When We Were Very Young
- Winnie-the-Pooh
- Now We Are Six
- The House at Pooh Corner
In the 1990s, the stories were dramatised for audio by David Benedictus, with music composed, directed and played by John Gould. They were performed by a cast that included Stephen Fry as Winnie-the-Pooh, Jane Horrocks as Piglet, Geoffrey Palmer as Eeyore and Judi Dench as Kanga.
Radio
- Winnie-the-Pooh was broadcast by Donald Calthrop over all BBC stations on Christmas Day, 1925
- Pooh made his US radio debut on 10 November 1932, when he was broadcast to 40,000 schools by the American School of the Air, the educational division of the Columbia Broadcasting System.
Film
Theatrical featurettes
- 1966: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
- 1968: Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
- 1974: Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too
- 1981: Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons
- 1983: Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore
Full-length theatrical features
- 1977: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (trilogy of the Honey Tree, Blustery Day, and Tigger Too)
- 2000: The Tigger Movie
- 2003: Piglet's Big Movie
- 2005: Pooh's Heffalump Movie
- 2011: Winnie the Pooh
Television
A version of Winnie The Pooh, in which the animals were played by marionettes designed, made and operated by Bil And Cora Baird, was presented on 3 October 1960, on NBC Television's The Shirley Temple Show. Pooh himself is voiced by Franz Fazakas.
Magical World of Winnie the Pooh (Note: These are episodes from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)
Television shows
- Welcome to Pooh Corner (*) (Disney Channel, 1983–1986)
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (ABC, 1988–1991)
- The Book of Pooh (*) (Disney Channel (Playhouse Disney), 2001–2002)
- My Friends Tigger & Pooh (Disney Channel (Playhouse Disney), 2007–2010)
(*): Puppet/live-action show
Holiday TV specials
- 1991: Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too, included in A Very Merry Pooh Year
- 1996: Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh, included in Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie
- 1998: A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving, included in Seasons of Giving
- 1999: A Valentine for You
Direct-to-video shorts
- 1990: Winnie the Pooh’s ABC of Me
Direct-to-video features
- 1997: Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
- 1999: Seasons of Giving*
- 2002: A Very Merry Pooh Year*
- 2004: Springtime with Roo
- 2005: Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie
- 2007 Super Sleuth Christmas Movie
- 2009 Tigger, Pooh, And A Musical Too
- 2010 Super Duper Super Sleuths
*These features integrate stories from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and/or holiday specials with new footage.
Soviet adaptation
In the Soviet Union, three Winnie-the-Pooh, (transcribed in Russian as "Vinni Pukh") (Russian language: Винни-Пух) stories were made into a celebrated trilogy of short films by Soyuzmultfilm (directed by Fyodor Khitruk) from 1969 to 1972.
- Винни-Пух (Winnie-the-Pooh, 1969) — based on chapter 1
- Винни-Пух идёт в гости (Winnie-the-Pooh Pays a Visit, 1971) — based on chapter 2
- Винни-Пух и день забот (Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, 1972) — based on chapters 4 and 6.
Films use Boris Zakhoder's translation of the book. Pooh was voiced by Yevgeny Leonov. He looked distinctly different from both the yellow-and-red Disney incarnation and Shepard's illustrations – he was brown instead of yellow, as he is known in the US.
Legacy
Winnie the Pooh has inspired multiple texts to explain complex philosophical ideas. Benjamin Hoff use Milne's characters in The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet to explain Taoism. Similarly, Frederick Crews rewrite stories from Pooh's world in abtruse academic jargon in Postmodern Pooh and The Pooh Perplex to satire the philosophical approaches. Pooh and the Philosophers by John T. Williams uses Winnie the Pooh as a backdrop to illustrate the works of philosophers including Descartes, Kant, Plato and Nietzsche.
Pooh has also left a legacy in popular culture. Winnie-the-Pooh is such a popular character in Poland that a Warsaw street is named after him, "Ulica Kubusia Puchatka." There is also a street named after him in Budapest (Micimackó utca).
In music, Kenny Loggins wrote the song "House at Pooh Corner", which was originally recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Loggins later rewrote the song as "Return to Pooh Corner", featuring on the album of the same name in 1991. Also, in Italy, a pop band took their name from Winnie, and were titled Pooh.
In the "sport" of Poohsticks, competitors drop sticks into a stream from a bridge and then wait to see whose stick will cross the finish line first. Though it began as a game played by Pooh and his friends in the book The House at Pooh Corner and later in the films, it has crossed over into the real world: a World Championship Poohsticks race takes place in Oxfordshire each year.
