Enter the darkest corners of the Hundred Acre Wood. Five years ago, Christopher Robin abandoned his childhood companions, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet, and the woods in which they all played. Now an adult, Christopher has returned, with his fiancée Maria in tow, for a reunion with his old friends … only to find that in his absence, Pooh and Piglet have turned feral, silent … and murderous. What was once a joyous place of imagination and merriment becomes a violent battleground for survival in this audacious and terrifying spin on A.A. Milne’s beloved children’s stories.

For in-depth thoughts on Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey comes to Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation that represents the film well. While this is captured on a limited budget, there is some thought behind some of the shot composition that stands out as one of the better parts of the film. The transfer delivers a notable amount of detail. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. The gooey honey on Pooh’s face and other sticky elements of the production design give the film some texture.

With this being set in the Hundred Acre Woods, you have a background that provides a nice reference to showcase the depth at play in the image. The film plays very well with the hues on display in the atmospheric lighting and costumes, especially. This is a film with a natural color palette that is translated perfectly here with a fetching radiance. The highlights are handled favorably, along with the deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. There are no unforgivable signs of any noise or other such digital nuisances outside of some fleeting banding. This presentation accomplishes what is asked of it.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that feels like a sonic assault. From the opening sequence, the movie leans heavily on the bass response in the sound design. The track often overcooks things in this regard as you struggle to discern some of the dialogue. Either due to accents, poor enunciation, or just an aggressive sound mix, you will probably find yourself reaching to turn on the optional subtitles to get all of the information. This is meant to be a thrilling film with moments that give the track more of an intense workout such as the kill scenes. The score is showcased well here with a forthright use of the surround speakers. As mentioned, dialogue could be given a bit more attention so it is not overwhelmed by competing sounds. The environmental effects create a memorable soundscape of straightforward and heightened cinematic flourishes. While not a failure, we wish things were a bit more properly balanced. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

Something’s Wrong With Piglet – Making Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey: A 16-minute featurette is provided in which the cast and creative team discuss the unexpected spotlight put on the film when it went viral, the limited budget, how the story evolved to fit the budget, memorable moments from the set, the reshoots, and more.

Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey is a prime example of the fact that viral interest in something does not grant it automatic entry into the halls of great cinema. You have to laugh at the idea of these beloved characters killing people, but that fun rarely translates on screen despite all of the fun the crew claimed they had in the supplements. There are a few moments when the movie embraces its absurdity, but it takes itself too seriously most of the time with flat performances that dampen the excitement. We love the attempt at some practical effects, but the heavy emphasis on digital enhancements is disappointing. We forgive the film some of its shortcomings due to the extremely limited budget, but if the next outing does not up the ante, we are out. Scream Factory has given this film a Blu-Ray with a pretty good A/V presentation and a decent featurette.

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on April 9, 2024.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.