The POOH-niverse, not the POON-iverse! Get your head out of the gutter, my friend. You’ve got problems.
Yes, the Poohniverse, specifically Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, is the Avengers-level event, which is the culmination of The Twisted Childhood Universe. If you’re reading this thinking I’m a crackhead, then buckle up because I’m about to hurt your brain so bad.
Let’s talk about it.
It all starts with various intellectual properties entering the public domain. That basically means our favorite characters are so old in the tooth now that they are considered fair game for anybody to adapt without needing to pay a royalty or gain permission from the copyright holder. Legally dull stuff, but the ramifications are freaking huge. Take a look at my previous article, which tells you when things like Superman and The Hobbit enter the public domain!
When this happened in 2023 with beloved A. A. Milne characters Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was made in response, a horror movie in which Pooh and Piglet become feral after Christopher Robin leaves them to go to college. A bloody rampage ensues. Jeez, guys, I know you feel abandoned, but this is just acting out!
Although it didn’t receive great reviews, creator and Jagged Edge Productions’ Rhys Frake-Waterfield was encouraged enough to make Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (complete with the bouncy Tigger and even Owl). Not content with retroactively traumatizing our memories of the 100-acre wood, Jagged Edge Productions has loftier ambitions. For better or worse, they have ideas.
Thus, The Twisted Childhood Universe was brought into being.
It’s not just our favorite honey-guzzling friend/nightmare fuel that’s getting the Twisted Childhood treatment. Announced in the cinematic universe are the following movies:
I have no idea how those stories are going to play out, but I have a picture of a grown-up Bambi in my head, a hunting rifle in its hands, and stalking people in the woods. It’s about time he had his revenge for what happened to its mother! Elmer Fudd, BEWARE!
It has been revealed Sleeping Beauty and The Mad Hatter will also come out and play in unspecified movies! This is bat sh*t crazy, and I’m here for it!
With every cinematic universe, there needs to be a convergence, a film bringing all of the various elements and characters together for a larger-than-life event. Ideally, that event would be of the standard of Avengers Assemble rather than Justice League, right? The Twisted Childhood Universe’s version of Avengers is Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.
It’s going to be absolute carnage. Who knows whether these guys are going to be copasetic with one another? Do we really think Tinkerbell is going to get along with Pinocchio? I don’t think El Nose-grower has had a particularly good relationship with magic in the past. But who knows! If he is transformed into a donkey again maybe he can pass himself off as Eeyore and team up with Pooh and the gang!
There are so many options for story arcs to play with that it’ll be interesting to see which direction they take it.
Why do this? Let me ask you another question. Why the hell not? These are characters with IP recognition in a type of story and setting we’ve never seen before. Thanks to the wondrous public domain, beloved characters from the past can be used like this (carefully), and it’s different. Different is interesting.
Who knows if this will work out in the long run, but I’ll tell you one thing:
Jagged Edge Productions’ Twisted Childhood Universe, THE POOHNIVERSE, certainly has my attention.
What an age we live in that we get to see copyrights expire and other people get to make batshit crazy things like this. I expect it will bomb, but hey, I applaud that they are going for it full boar!
honestly, it's just funny that this is a thing. I'm rooting for it!
I'm so glad you did this article but I have no desire to watch any of this hahaha...what a nutty idea but I agree, at least they're going for it. Send it in raw!