Winnie-the-Pooh

File:The original Winnie the Pooh toys.jpg, Kanga, Edward Bear ("Winnie-the-Pooh"), Eeyore, and Piglet). Roo was also one of the original toys, but was lost by Christopher Robin in the 1930s.]]

A. A. Milne named the character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, on whom the character Christopher Robin was based. Shepard in turn based his illustrations of Pooh on his own son's teddy bear named Growler, instead of Christopher Robin's bear.{{Cite web|url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2022/bcvpd/|title=Public Domain Day 2022 Brand Culture vs the Public Domain | Duke University School of Law|website=web.law.duke.edu}} The rest of Christopher Milne's toys – Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger – were incorporated into Milne's stories.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4552940.stm|title=Pooh celebrates his 80th birthday|date=24 December 2005|accessdate=21 July 2024|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/travel/442/Happy-Birthday-Pooh|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130420065955/http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/travel/442/Happy-Birthday-Pooh|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-04-20|title=Happy Birthday Pooh | Travel | Life & Style | Daily Express|date=20 April 2013|website=archive.ph|accessdate=21 July 2024}} Two more characters, Owl and Rabbit, were created by Milne's imagination, while Gopher was added to the Disney version. Christopher Robin's toy bear is on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library in New York City.{{cite web |title=The Adventures of the REAL Winnie-the-Pooh |url=https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/schwarzman/childrens-center-42nd-street/pooh |website=New York Public Library |access-date=1 December 2023}}

File:Harry Colebourne and Winnie.jpg and Winnie, 1914]]

In 1921, Milne bought his son Christopher Robin the toy bear from Harrods department store.{{cite news |title=Winnie-the-Pooh goes to Harrods in new authorised AA Milne prequel |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/23/winnie-the-pooh-goes-to-harrods-in-new-authorised-aa-milne-prequel |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=The Guardian|quote=The story of how Winnie-the-Pooh went from a Harrods toy shelf to the home of Christopher Robin and the Hundred Acre Wood is set to be told for the first time, in an official prequel to AA Milne's original stories.}}{{cite news |title='Winnie the Pooh has an enchanting heritage' |url=https://www.licensingsource.net/indepth/winnie-the-pooh-has-an-enchanting-heritage/ |access-date=16 June 2022 |work=Licensing source}} Christopher Robin had named his toy bear Edward, then Winnie, after a Canadian black bear Winnie that he often saw at London Zoo, and Pooh, a friend's pet swan they had encountered while on holiday.{{cite news |title=The bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh |url=https://www.zsl.org/videos/fun-animal-facts/the-bear-who-inspired-winnie-the-pooh |access-date=12 June 2022 |publisher=Zoological Society of London}}{{Cite web |date=2022-01-17 |title=The real-life Canadian story of Winnie-the-Pooh |url=https://www.cbc.ca/kids/articles/the-real-life-canadian-story-of-winnie-the-pooh |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=CBC Kids}}{{Cite magazine |title=How Winnie-the-Pooh Got His Name |url=https://time.com/4070681/winnie-the-pooh-history/ |access-date=2022-12-20 |magazine=Time |language=en}} The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for C$20 by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn in White River, Ontario, while en route to England during the First World War.{{cite news |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/269875754 |title=Winnie the Pooh's Canadian beginnings |work=The Hamilton Spectator |location=Hamilton, Ontario |date=2 August 1997 |page=W.13 |via=PQArchiver.com |access-date=7 July 2017 |archive-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022193712/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/hamiltonspectator/doc/269875754.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+2%2C+1997&author=&pub=The+Spectator&edition=&startpage=W.13&desc=Winnie+the+Pooh%27s+Canadian+beginnings |id={{ProQuest|269875754}} |url-status=live }} Colebourn, a veterinary officer with the Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment, named the bear Winnie after his adopted hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba.{{Cite book |last=Mattick |first=Lindsay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiKNBwAAQBAJ |title=Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear |date=2015-10-20 |publisher=Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |isbn=978-0-316-38802-3 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Christopher |title=The True Story of the Real-Life Winnie-the-Pooh |url=https://www.history.com/news/the-true-story-of-the-real-life-winnie-the-pooh |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=HISTORY |date=13 October 2016 |language=en}} Winnie was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental 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.[https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/winnie "Winnie".] Historica Minutes, The Historica Foundation of Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2008. Pooh the swan appears as a character in its own right in When We Were Very Young.

File:Winnie the Pooh sculpture at London Zoo.jpg

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

{{blockquote|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.}}

American writer William Safire surmised that the Milnes' invention of the name "Winnie the Pooh" may have also been influenced by the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado (1885).Safire, William. 1993. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=e14JAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA7-PA28 Whence Poo-Bah]". GASBAG 24(3) issue 186:28–28.

A bronze sculpture of Winnie as a young cub, created by Lorne McKean, was unveiled at London Zoo in September 1981 by Christopher Robin.{{cite news |title=Christopher Robin Milne |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/author-christopher-robin-milne-unveiling-a-statue-of-a-bear-news-photo/530242399 |access-date=27 March 2025 |work=Getty Images UK |quote=Author Christopher Robin Milne unveiling a statue of a bear, in honor of his father, AA Milne, and his creation, Winnie the Pooh, at London Zoo, September 1981}} The skull of Winnie is displayed at the Hunterian Museum in London, the location of anatomical exhibits of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, with a 2015 examination of the skull showing that she suffered from chronic periodontitis, an inflammation and loss of connective tissues supporting or surrounding the teeth, which can be caused by poor diet, such as the honey Christopher Robin spoon fed her.{{cite news |title=Bear who inspired Winnie the Pooh had tooth decay because 'Christopher Robin' fed it honey |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12007929/Bear-who-inspired-Winnie-the-Pooh-had-tooth-decay-because-Christopher-Robin-fed-it-honey.html |access-date=27 March 2025 |work=The Telegraph}}

File:Gills Lap Plaque.JPG, East Sussex, south-east England; it overlooks Five Hundred Acre Wood, the setting for Winnie-the-Pooh]]

The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, England. The forest is an 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-east 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 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."{{cite book |last=Willard |first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Willard |title=The Forest – Ashdown in East Sussex |publisher=Sweethaws Press |date=1989 |location=Sussex}}. Quoted from the Introduction, p. xi, by Christopher Milne. 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 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".Willard (1989). Quoted from the Introduction, p. xi, by Christopher Milne.

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's The Enchanted Place, because no-one had ever been able to count whether there were 63 or 64 trees in the circle.{{cite book |last=Hope |first=Yvonne Jefferey |editor-last=Brooks |editor-first=Victoria |title=Literary Trips: Following in the Footsteps of Fame |volume=1 |date=2000 |publisher=Greatest Escapes |location=Vancouver, Canada |isbn=0-9686137-0-5 |page=287 |chapter=Winnie-the-Pooh in Ashdown Forest |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/literarytripsfol00broo/page/287}}

The landscapes depicted in E. 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, which are 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 the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.{{cite web |url=http://www.surrey.ac.uk/library/ehshepard/aboutarchive/ |title=About the E. H. Shepard archive |work=Surrey.ac.uk |publisher=University of Surrey |access-date=1 May 2012 |archive-date=3 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503233715/http://www.surrey.ac.uk/library/ehshepard/aboutarchive/ |url-status=dead }}

The game of Poohsticks was originally played by Christopher Robin Milne and his father on the wooden footbridge, across the Millbrook,[https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/51.085/0.097 Named stream.] OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 2019-11-23. Posingford Wood, close to Cotchford Farm. In the stories Pooh plays the game with the other characters, Christopher Robin, Tigger, and Eeyore.{{cite news |title=New 'pooh-sticks' World Champion |publisher=BBC |date=2003-03-16 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2853091.stm |access-date=27 April 2023}} The location is now a tourist attraction, and it has become traditional to play the game there using sticks gathered in the nearby woodland.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11380115 "Plans to improve access to Pooh Bridge unveiled".] BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2012.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/416892.stm "Appeal to save Winnie the Pooh's bridge".] BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2012. 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.{{cite news |last=Halstead |first=Robin |title=Great escapes: Days out with a difference |newspaper=The Independent |date=21 March 2008|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/great-escapes-days-out-with-a-difference-798923.html |access-date=27 April 2023 |location=London}}

File:WP Evening News.jpg 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 of Punch (E. H. Shepard had also included a similar bear in a cartoon published in Punch the previous weekDavies, Ross E. [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3593117 "An Ursine Foot Note"], Re-readings, vol. 5, 2020, p. 2.), and the same poem was published in Milne's book of children's verse When We Were Very Young (6 November 1924).{{cite news |title=Celebrate Winnie-The-Pooh's 90th with a Rare Recording (and Hunny) |url= https://www.npr.org/2014/02/22/280761847/celebrating-winnie-the-poohs-90th-with-a-rare-recording-and-some-hunny |work=NPR.org |publisher=National Public Radio |date=20 July 2015}} Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name on 24 December 1925, in a Christmas story commissioned and published by the London newspaper Evening News. It was illustrated by J. H. Dowd.{{cite news |title=A Children's Story by A. A. Milne |work=Evening News |location=London |page=1 |date=24 December 1925}}

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. 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 after an American black bear at London Zoo called Winnie who got her name from the fact that her owner had come from Winnipeg, Canada. The book was published in October 1926 by the publisher of Milne's earlier children's work, Methuen, in England, E. P. Dutton in the United States, and McClelland & Stewart in Canada.{{cite book |last=Thwaite |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Thwaite |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Alan Alexander Milne |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2004}} The book was an immediate critical and commercial success.{{Cite web|date=|title=A Short History of Winnie-the-Pooh|url=https://www.penguin.com/static/pages/yr/minisites/winniethepooh/history.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102144739/https://www.penguin.com/static/pages/yr/minisites/winniethepooh/history.php|archive-date=2 November 2015|access-date=28 April 2023|website=Penguin Group}} The children's author and literary critic John Rowe Townsend described Winnie-the-Pooh and its sequel The House at Pooh Corner as "the spectacular British success of the 1920s" and praised its light, readable prose.{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=John Rowe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5i9m_AYi3M8C&q=%22spectacular+British+success+of+the+1920s%22&pg=PA125|title=Written for Children: An Outline of English-Language Children's Literature|date=1 May 1996|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-1-4617-3104-7|pages=125–126|language=en}}

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." 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/04/real-winnie-the-pooh-revealed-to-have-been-growler |title=The real Winnie-the-Pooh revealed to have been 'Growler' |last=Flood |first=Alison |work=The Guardian |date=4 September 2017}}

File:Winnie-the-Pooh 45-1.png

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 of Poohsticks, and getting Eeyore out of the river by dropping a large rock on one side of him to wash him towards the bank.

File:Winnie-the-Pooh 67.png

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.

File:Winnie-the-Pooh 80-2.png

Pooh is very fond of food, particularly honey (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 of Entertainment Weekly saw a similarity between Pooh and Paddington Bear, two "extremely polite British bears without pants", adding that "both bears share a philosophy of kindness and integrity".{{cite magazine |title=Please do not pit Paddington and Pooh against each other |url=https://ew.com/movies/2018/03/06/paddington-versus-pooh-battle-of-the-bears/ |access-date=16 June 2022 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}

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.{{cite news |title=Pooh sequel returns Christopher Robin to Hundred Acre Wood |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |date=4 October 2009 |work=The Guardian |page=15}}

File:Harrods of Knightsbridge, London, SW1 - geograph.org.uk - 3262290.jpg department store in Knightsbridge, London, where in 1921 Milne bought the stuffed toy for his son that would inspire the character. Pooh visits Harrods in the 2021 authorised prequel Winnie-the-Pooh: Once There Was a Bear]]

Another authorised sequel, Winnie-the-Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World, was published by Egmont in 2016. The sequel consists of four short stories by four leading children's authors, Kate Saunders, Brian Sibley, Paul Bright, and Jeanne Willis. Illustrations are by Mark Burgess.{{cite news |title=Winnie-the-Pooh sequel details revealed |url= http://www.thebookseller.com/news/more-details-announced-winnie-pooh-sequel-316996 |access-date=18 October 2016}} The Best Bear in All The World sees 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.{{cite news |title=Listen to the moment Winnie-the-Pooh meets penguin friend in new book |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37401359 |work=BBC News |date=19 September 2016}}{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=agnes+brush+pooh+dolls&pg=PA117 |title=The World of Pooh Lives On |date=1956-02-27 |publisher=Time Inc |isbn= |volume=40 |location=LIFE |pages=118 |language=en}}

In 2016, Winnie-the-Pooh Meets the Queen was published to mark the 90th anniversary of Milne's creation and the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. It sees Pooh meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace.{{cite news |title=Winnie the Pooh meets the Queen in a new story |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36392103 |work=BBC News |date=19 September 2016}}

In 2021, marking a century since Milne bought the stuffed toy from Harrods department store for his son Christopher Robin that 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. 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. It sees Winnie-the-Pooh exploring Harrods as well as visit London's Natural History Museum and London Zoo, before leaving London and going back to the Hundred Acre Wood.

On 6 January 1930, Stephen Slesinger purchased 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.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=David |title=The 80-Year Struggle For Control Over Winnie The Pooh|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-80-year-struggle-for-control-over-winnie-the-pooh-2011-7 |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=Business Insider}} By November 1931, Pooh was a $50 million-a-year business.{{cite news |title=The Merchant of Child |work=Fortune |page= 71 |date=November 1931 }} 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.{{cite magazine |last=McElway |first=St. Claire |title=The Literary Character in Business & Commerce |magazine=The New Yorker |date=26 October 1936 }}

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 an RCA Victor picture record. Parker Brothers 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 a shirt.{{cite book |last1=Cockrill |first1=Pauline |title=The Ultimate Teddy Bear Book |date=1991 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |page=57}}{{Cite book |last1=Pearson |first1=Sue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atm_G2zSNskC |title=Teddy Bears: A Complete Guide to History, Collecting, and Care |last2=Ayers |first2=Dottie |date=1995 |publisher=Macmillan USA |isbn=978-0-02-860417-6 |language=en}}

{{Main|Winnie the Pooh (franchise)|Winnie 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 to Walt Disney Productions in exchange for royalties in the first of two agreements between Stephen Slesinger, Inc., and Disney.{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Devin |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/01/20/335653/index.htm |title=The Curse of Pooh |work=Fortune |date=January 20, 2003 |access-date=April 29, 2018|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601035618/https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/01/20/335653/index.htm | archive-date=June 1, 2018}} 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 starring its version of Winnie the Pooh and related characters, starting with the theatrical featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. This was followed by Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), and Winnie 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, with The Tigger Movie (2000), Piglet's Big Movie (2003), Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005), and Winnie the Pooh (2011).

Disney has also produced television series based on the franchise, including Welcome 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), and My Friends Tigger & Pooh (Playhouse Disney, 2007–2010).

A. A. Milne's U.S. copyright on 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 the public domain in the United States and Disney no longer holds exclusive rights there. Independent filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield capitalized on this shortly thereafter by producing a horror film titled Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Devin |url=https://comicbook.com/horror/news/winnie-the-pooh-horror-movie-revealed/ |title=Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Images Reveal First Look at Horror Reimagining |work=ComicBook.com |date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=May 25, 2022}} The UK copyright will expire on 1 January 2027, the 70th year since Milne's death.{{cite news |title= Walt Disney secures rights to Winnie the Pooh |newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 March 2001 |location= London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/mar/06/news |access-date=17 June 2022}}

Playdate with Winnie the Pooh, an animated series of musical shorts by OddBot Inc. for Disney Junior, became the first project from Disney to be released after the original book and characters became public domain.{{Cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=2022-04-29 |title=John Stamos To Voice Iron Man In 'Spidey and His Amazing Friends' Season 2; New Disney Jr. Programming Slate Unveiled |url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/john-stamos-voice-iron-man-spidey-and-his-amazing-friends-season-2-disney-jr-programming-slate-unveiled-1235013164/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Deadline Hollywood |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-06-13 |title=Disney Junior Greenlights 'Ariel' Series, Plus 'Magicampers' and 'Playdate With Winnie the Pooh' - WDW News Today |url=https://wdwnt.com/2023/06/disney-junior-greenlights-ariel-series-plus-magicampers-and-playdate-with-winnie-the-pooh/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=wdwnt.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=First Look At Disney Junior's "Playdate With Winnie the Pooh" |url=https://whatsondisneyplus.com/first-look-at-disney-juniors-playdate-with-winnie-the-pooh/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |title=Disney Previews New Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh Shows |url=https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/disney-junior-mickey-mouse-steamboat-silly-playdate-with-winnie-the-pooh/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=TV Shows |date=14 June 2023 |language=en}}

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.

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.{{cite news |last=Shea |first=Joe |url=http://www.monitor.net/monitor/0201a/pooh1.html |title=The Pooh Files |date=18 January 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205045431/http://monitor.net/monitor/0201a/pooh1.html |archive-date=5 December 2006 |work=The Albion Monitor |url-status=dead}} Though the Disney corporation was sanctioned by a judge for destroying forty boxes of evidentiary documents,{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Valerie J. |title=Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, 84; fought Disney over Pooh royalties |work=Los Angeles Times

|date=20 July 2007 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jul-20-me-lasswell20-story.html |access-date=18 January 2019}} 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.{{cite news |last=James |first=Meg |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-18-fi-pooh18-story.html |title=Court Rulings Go Against Disney in Pooh Dispute |date=18 January 2002 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=21 October 2021}} Slesinger appealed the termination and, on 26 September 2007, a three-judge panel upheld the lawsuit dismissal.{{cite news |first=Meg |last=James |title=Disney wins lawsuit ruling on Pooh rights |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-26-fi-pooh26-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=26 September 2007 |access-date=26 September 2007}}

After the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, Clare Milne, Christopher Robin Milne's daughter, attempted to terminate any future US copyrights for Stephen Slesinger, Inc.{{cite news |date=6 November 2002 |title=Winnie the Pooh goes to court |work=USA Today |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/media/2002-11-05-pooh_x.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103152532/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/media/2002-11-05-pooh_x.htm |archive-date=3 November 2012}} 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 US Supreme Court refused to hear the case, sustaining the ruling and ensuring the defeat of the suit.{{cite news |date=26 June 2006 |title=Justices won't hear copyright appeal by relative of Winnie the Pooh |work=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2006-06-26-scotus-winniethepooh_x.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905182724/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2006-06-26-scotus-winniethepooh_x.htm |archive-date=5 September 2021}}

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,{{cite news |date=17 February 2007 |title=Disney loses court battle in Winnie the Pooh copyright case |publisher=ABC News |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/02/17/1850319.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=15 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518135024/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/02/17/1850319.htm |archive-date=18 May 2008}} 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.{{cite news |url= https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-disney29-2009sep29,0,3287132.story |title=Pooh rights belong to Disney, judge rules |last=James |first=Meg |date=29 September 2009 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=5 October 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,781W/3.html |title=The gordian knot of Pooh rights is finally untied in federal court |last=Shea |first=Joe |date=4 October 2009 |work=The American Reporter |access-date=5 October 2009}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

• 1931. Winnie-the-Pooh at the Guild Theater, Sue Hastings Marionettes{{cite news|date=22 December 1931|title=Hastings Marionettes: Will Open Holiday Season at Guild Theatre on Saturday|page=28|work=The New York Times}}
• 1957. Winnie-the-Pooh, a play in three acts, dramatized by Kristin Sergel, Dramatic Publishing
• 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
• 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 PublishingQuamme, Margaret. 7 December 2019. "[https://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20191207/theater-review--a-winnie-the-pooh-christmas-tail-delightful-production-low-key-amusing-hour-of-fun 'A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail:' Delightful production a low-key, amusing hour of fun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813172737/https://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20191207/theater-review--a-winnie-the-pooh-christmas-tail-delightful-production-low-key-amusing-hour-of-fun |date=13 August 2020 }}" (review). The Columbus Dispatch.
• 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
• 2021. Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/WINNIE-THE-POOH-THE-NEW-MUSICAL-ADAPTATION-to-Begin-Performances-at-Theatre-Row-on-October-21-20210525|title=WINNIE THE POOH: THE NEW MUSICAL ADAPTATION Will Open Off-Broadway This Fall|first=Chloe|last=Rabinowitz|website=BroadwayWorld.com}}

File:PoohRCARecord1932.jpg

Selected Pooh stories read by Maurice Evans released 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 a Heffalump"; "Eeyore Has a Birthday")

In 1951, RCA Records released four stories of Winnie-the-Pooh, narrated by Jimmy Stewart and featuring the voices of Cecil Roy as Pooh, Madeleine Pierce as Piglet, Betty Jane Tyler as Kanga, Merrill Joels as Eeyore, Arnold Stang as Rabbit, Frank Milano as Owl, and Sandy Fussell as Christopher Robin.{{cite web|title=Disney's "Winnie the Pooh" on Records|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/disneys-winnie-the-pooh-on-records/|website=cartoonresearch.com|access-date=23 February 2021}}

In 1960, His Master's Voice recorded a dramatised version with songs (music by Harold Fraser-Simson) of two episodes from The House at Pooh Corner (Chapters 2 and 8), starring Ian Carmichael as Pooh, Denise Bryer as Christopher Robin (who also narrated), Hugh Lloyd as Tigger, Penny Morrell as Piglet, and Terry Norris as Eeyore. This was released on a 45 rpm EP.{{cite web|date=23 July 2010|title=Ian Carmichael and Full Cast – The House at Pooh Corner – HMV Junior Record Club – UK – 7EG 117|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/7eg117|access-date=5 November 2011|work=45Cat.com}}

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 1979, a double audio cassette set of Winnie the Pooh was produced featuring British actor Lionel Jeffries reading all of the characters in the stories. This was followed in 1981 by an audio cassette set of stories from The House at Pooh Corner also read by Lionel Jeffries.{{cite book|title=Winnie the Pooh|oclc=220534420}}

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, Judi Dench as Kanga, Finty Williams as Roo, Robert Daws as Rabbit, Michael Williams as Owl, Steven Webb as Christopher Robin and Sandi Toksvig as Tigger.{{cite book|title=Tigger Comes to the Forest: And Other Stories|oclc=141191344}}

• The BBC included readings of Winnie-the-Pooh stories in its programmes for children very soon after their first publication. One of the earliest of such readings, by "Uncle Peter" (C. E. Hodges), was an item in the programme For the Children, broadcast by stations 2LO and 5XX on 23 March 1926. Norman Shelley was the notable voice of Pooh on the BBC's Children's Hour.Ian Hartley, Goodnight children...everywhere Midas Books: Hippocrene Books, New York: 1983; p. 42
• 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.{{cite news|date=November 1932|title=His Master's Voice Speaks Again|work=Playthings}}

• 2017: Goodbye Christopher Robin, a British drama film exploring the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh with Domhnall Gleeson playing A. A. Milne.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/star-wars-domhnall-gleeson-winnie-the-pooh-aa-milne-goodbye-christopher-robin-1201736826/|title='Star Wars' Domhnall Gleeson in Talks To Play Winnie The Pooh Creator AA Milne In 'Goodbye Christopher Robin'|last=Jaafar|first=Ali|date=13 April 2016|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=12 June 2022}}
• 2018: Christopher Robin, an extension of the Disney Winnie the Pooh franchise, Ewan McGregor plays Christopher Robin, and filming took place at Ashdown Forest.{{cite news|first=Nia |last=Daniels|title=Disney's Christopher Robin starts filming in the UK|url=http://www.kftv.com/news/2017/08/09/disneys-christopher-robin-starts-filming-in-the-uk-|access-date=12 June 2022|work=KFTV|publisher=Media Business Insight|date=9 August 2017}}
• 2023: Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a horror adaptation depicting both Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet as homicidal maniacs who go on a killing spree after Christopher Robin abandons them.{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/winnie-the-pooh-blood-and-honey-director-1235278405/ | title='Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' Director Teases Slasher Film Plot: 'Pooh and Piglet Go on a Rampage' | date=26 May 2022 }} This is the first Pooh adaptation in The Twisted Childhood Universe; two subsequent films are:
• 2024: Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2: Pooh and Piglet team up with Owl and Tigger to target the town of Ashdown after Christopher exposed their existence following the events of the first film.{{Cite web |last=Korngut |first=Josh |date=1 June 2022 |title='Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' Director Reveals One of Its Nastiest Kill Scenes [Exclusive Interview] |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/430657/winnie-the-pooh-blood-and-honey-director-reveals-one-of-its-nastiest-kill-scenes-exclusive-interview/ |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=Dread Central}}
• 2025: Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3: On 28 March 2024, a third film in the Blood and Honey series was announced.{{cite news |title='Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3' Confirmed (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/winnie-the-pooh-blood-and-honey-3-confirmed-1235954467/ |access-date=3 April 2024 |work=Variety}}
• TBA: Untitled animated prequel.{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |date=2022-12-14 |title='Winnie the Pooh' Origin Story Prequel in the Works at Baboon Animation, IQI |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/global/winnie-the-pooh-origin-story-prequel-1235460899/ |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

File:The Soviet Union 1988 CPA 5916 stamp (Winnie-the-Pooh).jpg

In the Soviet Union, three Winnie-the-Pooh, (transcribed in Russian as {{lang|ru|{{ill|Винни-Пух|ru|Винни-Пух (мультфильм)|vertical-align=sup}}}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|Vinni Pukh}}) stories were made into a celebrated trilogy.{{cite web|title=Russian animation in letters and figures: 'Winnie the Pooh'|url=http://www.animator.ru/db/?ver=eng&p=show_film&fid=6758|access-date=9 March 2015|publisher=Animator.ru}}{{Cite web |last=Scott Collier |first=Kevin |date=17 November 2018 |title=Russia's "Winnie-the-Pooh" |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/russias-winnie-the-pooh-animated-series/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Cartoon research}}

• 1969. Winnie-the-Pooh ({{lang|ru|Винни-Пух}}) – based on chapter 1
• 1971. Winnie-the-Pooh Pays a Visit ({{lang|ru|Винни-Пух идёт в гости}}) – based on chapter 2
• 1972. Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day ({{lang|ru|Винни-Пух и день забот}}) – based on chapters 4 and 6.

The films used Boris Zakhoder's translation of the book. Pooh was voiced by Yevgeny 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.

• 1960: Shirley Temple's Storybook on NBC: Winnie-the-Pooh—a version for marionettes, designed, made, and operated by Bil and Cora Baird. Pooh was voiced by future Muppet performer Faz Fazakas.
• During the 1970s, the BBC children's television show Jackanory serialised the two books, which were read by Willie Rushton.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/clue/article/willie.shtml Biography: Willie Rushton]. BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
• TBA: Untitled animated series.
• TBA: Christopher Robin (Working Title). R-rated live action/hybrid series featuring a middle age drugged Christopher Robin travelling back to the One Hundred Acre Wood.{{Cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=2023-04-27 |title='Christopher Robin' R-Rated Hybrid Comedy Series In The Works |url=https://deadline.com/2023/04/christopher-robin-r-rated-hybrid-comedy-series-in-works-1235340053/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Deadline Hollywood |language=en-US}}

• 2022. The Call of Poohthulhu, an anthology of Lovecraftian horror short stories set in the Winnie-the-Pooh universe{{Cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Lisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPUszwEACAAJ |title=The Call of Poohthulhu |last2=Rawlik |first2=Pete |last3=Morgan |first3=Christine |date=2022-05-07 |publisher=Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp |isbn=979-8-4470-9291-7 |language=en}}

• 2022: "Winnie-the-Screwed", an advertisement made by Ryan Reynolds for Mint Mobile.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-04 |title=Ryan Reynolds uses Winnie the Pooh in mobile ad as character joins public domain |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/ryan-reynolds-winnie-the-pooh-b1986303.html |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

• TBA: Winnie's Hole, an upcoming indie rogue-lite body horror video game by Australian studio Twice Different.{{Cite web |title=Winnie's Hole on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2319730/Winnies_Hole/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=store.steampowered.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Cristina |date=2023-06-07 |title=Winnie the Pooh Is Now the Subject of a Bizarre Indie Horror Game |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/winnie-the-pooh-is-now-the-subject-of-a-bizarre-indie-horror-game |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=IGN |language=en}}{{Citation |title=Winnie's Hole - Game Announcement Trailer | date=6 June 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuD8G9GzOFw |access-date=2023-10-03 |language=en}}

Maev Kennedy of The Guardian called Winnie-the-Pooh "the most famous bear in literary history". One of the best-known characters in British children's literature, a 2011 poll saw the bear voted onto the list of top 100 "icons of England".{{cite news|date=20 July 2015|title=Icons of England: The 100 Icons as voted by the public|work=Culture 24 News|url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/art362437}} In 2003 the first Pooh story was ranked number 7 on the BBC's The Big Read poll.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml "The Big Read"], BBC, April 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2012. Forbes magazine ranked Pooh the most valuable fictional character in 2002, with merchandising products alone generating more than $5.9 billion that year.[https://www.forbes.com/2003/09/25/cx_al_fictionalslide.html "Top-earning Fictional Characters"]. Forbes (New York). 25 September 2003. Retrieved 11 November 2012. In 2005, Pooh generated $6 billion, a figure surpassed by only Mickey Mouse.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4902018.stm "Pooh joins Hollywood Walk of Fame"], BBC News. Retrieved 24 November 2014 In 2006, Pooh received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking the 80th birthday of Milne's creation. In 2010, E. H. Shepard's original illustrations of Winnie the Pooh (and other Pooh characters) featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail.{{cite news |title=Winnie the Pooh is celebrated as a fine stamp of a bear|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/winnie-the-pooh-is-celebrated-as-a-fine-stamp-of-a-bear-wnlff5vg537 |access-date=17 September 2022 |work=The Times}}

File:Winnie the Pooh (Hollywood Walk of Fame).jpg]]

Winnie the Pooh has inspired multiple texts to explain complex philosophical ideas. Benjamin Hoff uses Milne's characters in The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet to explain Taoism. Similarly, Frederick Crews wrote essays about the Pooh books in abstruse academic jargon in The Pooh Perplex and Postmodern Pooh to satirise a range of philosophical approaches.[http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006DB0F.htm spiked-culture |Article |Pooh-poohing postmodernism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616185822/http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006DB0F.htm |date=16 June 2007 }}. Spiked-online.com. Retrieved 12 February 2011. 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.[http://www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/poohandphilosophers.html Sonderbooks Book Review of Pooh and the Philosophers]. Sonderbooks.com (20 April 2004). Retrieved 12 February 2011. "Epic Pooh" is a 1978 essay by Michael Moorcock that compares much fantasy writing to A. A. Milne's, as work intended to comfort, not challenge.

File:上海迪士尼 小熊维尼 跳跳虎 屹耳.jpg

In music, Kenny Loggins wrote the song "House at Pooh Corner", which was originally recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.{{cite web |url= http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=8486 |title=House at Pooh Corner by Loggins and Messina Songfacts |publisher=Songfacts.com |date=14 October 1926 |access-date=9 March 2015}} 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 titled Pooh. In Estonia, there is a punk/metal band called Winny Puhh. There is a street in Warsaw, Poland, named after the character, the Kubusia Puchatka Street, as he is known in Polish translations as Kubuś Puchatek.{{cite web|url=http://www.newizv.ru/lenta/2010-07-13/129780-polveka-s-opilkami-i-vorchalkami-v-golove-vinni-puh-otmechaet-jubilej-video.html|title=Полвека с опилками и ворчалками в голове - Винни-Пух отмечает юбилей|date=13 July 2010|publisher=Izvestiya|language=Russian|access-date=30 July 2016|archive-date=20 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020104239/http://www.newizv.ru/lenta/2010-07-13/129780-polveka-s-opilkami-i-vorchalkami-v-golove-vinni-puh-otmechaet-jubilej-video.html|url-status=dead}} There is also a street named after him in Budapest, Hungary, the Micimackó Street.{{cite web|date=1 January 1970|title=@47.415006,19.138366,17z|url=https://www.google.com/maps/@47.415006,19.138366,17z?hl=en|access-date=9 March 2015|work=Google Maps}}

File:Pooh sticks bridge.jpg]]

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. Competitors hold their sticks at arms length at the same height, then drop their sticks into the water at the same time.{{Cite news |date=2018-06-03 |title=Witney's World Poohsticks Championships mark 35 years |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-44346475 |access-date=2023-01-16}} 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. Ashdown Forest in 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.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11380115 Plans to improve access to Pooh Bridge unveiled]. BBC. Retrieved 15 October 2011 The Oxford University Winnie the Pooh Society was founded by undergraduates in 1982.{{cite book |title=C.S. Lewis and His Circle: Essays and Memoirs from the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=249}}

From December 2017 to April 2018, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hosted the exhibition Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic.{{Cite web |url= https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/winnie-the-pooh-exploring-a-classic|title=Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic |work=VAM.ac.uk |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |access-date=5 April 2020}} On exhibit were A. A. Milne's manuscript of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner (on loan from the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, Milne's alma mater to whom he had bequeathed the works), and teddy bears that had not been on display for 40 years because they were so fragile.{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/03/winnie-the-pooh-heads-to-va-for-big-winter-exhibition |title=Winnie-the-Pooh heads to V&A for big winter exhibition |date=3 September 2017 |work=The Guardian |access-date=4 April 2020 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |url= https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/dec/04/winnie-the-pooh-v-and-a-museum-london-bear-exhibition |title=Winnie-the-Pooh heads to the V&A in London for bear-all exhibition |date=4 December 2017 |work=The Guardian |access-date=5 April 2020 |issn=0261-3077}} The exhibit was then displayed in museums in the US, Japan, South Korea and Canada.{{cite web |last= Emerson |first= Bo |date= 1 June 2018|url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/arts--theater/winnie-the-pooh-and-christopher-robin-the-high-museum/V59oysuF9vxcBAsX36KhFM/ |title=Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin at the High Museum; |newspaper=Atlanta. News. Now. |access-date=27 March 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://metropolisjapan.com/event/winnie-the-pooh-exhibition/ |title=Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic;

|website=Metropolis Japan |access-date=27 March 2025}}{{cite news|last=Wilner|first=Norman|date=6 March 2020|title=Inside the ROM's Winnie-the-Pooh exhibition|newspaper=NOW Toronto|access-date=27 March 2025|url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/art-and-design/winnie-the-pooh-exploring-a-classic-rom}}

File:E. H. Shepard - Map of the Hundred Acre Wood.jpg in London in 2018]]

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) at Sotheby's in London, setting a world record for book illustrations.{{cite news |title=Original Winnie-the-Pooh map sets world record at auction |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/10/original-winnie-the-pooh-map-sets-world-record-auction |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |title=Winnie-the-Pooh's Original Hundred Acre Wood Sells for £430,000 |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/winnie-the-poohs-original-hundred-acre-wood-unseen-for-50-years |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=Sotheby's}}

The Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu regards Pooh as his lucky charm.{{Citation|title=[160320] Yuzuru Hanyu interview from CBC Sports| date=16 March 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR4P-dRvgk4| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/sR4P-dRvgk4| archive-date=2021-10-29|language=en|access-date=2021-03-21}}{{cbignore}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Macur |first=Juliet |date=2022-07-20 |title=We May Never See Another Skater Like Yuzuru Hanyu |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/20/sports/olympics/yuzuru-hanyu-retirement.html |access-date=2023-01-16 |issn=0362-4331}} After one of Hanyu's performances at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, one spectator remarked that "the ice turned yellow" because of all the Poohs thrown onto the ice.{{Cite news|last=Longman|first=Jeré|date=2018-01-04|title=The Greatest Figure Skater Ever Is Michael Jackson on Ice, Surrounded by Winnie the Poohs|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/sports/olympics/yuzuru-hanyu.html|access-date=2021-03-21|issn=0362-4331}}

{{main|Censorship of Winnie-the-Pooh in China}}

File:Abe and Xi = Eeyore and Pooh.jpg and Winnie the Pooh to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Xi Jinping respectively]]

In China, images of Pooh were censored from social media websites in mid-2017, when Internet memes comparing Chinese Paramount Leader and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping to (Disney's version of) Pooh became popular.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-40627855 |title=Why China censors banned Winnie the Pooh |last=McDonell |first=Stephen |date=17 July 2017 |work=BBC News |access-date=6 October 2017 |archive-date=8 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190108010317/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-40627855}} The 2018 film Christopher Robin was also denied a Chinese release.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-winniethepooh/china-denies-entry-to-disneys-winnie-the-pooh-film-source-idUSKBN1KS282 |title=China denies entry to Disney's Winnie the Pooh film: source|website=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|date=7 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807231313/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-winniethepooh/china-denies-entry-to-disneys-winnie-the-pooh-film-source-idUSKBN1KS282 |archive-date=7 August 2018 |url-status=live}}

When Xi visited the Philippines, protestors posted images of Pooh on social media.{{cite web |url=http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/11/20/China-Xi-Jinping-Winnie-The-Pooh-resemblance-censorship.html |title=Lots of Winnie the Pooh on your newsfeeds? It's Filipino netizens' burn against Chinese leader Xi |work=CNN.com |access-date=2019-03-22 |archive-date=24 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224060234/http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/11/20/China-Xi-Jinping-Winnie-The-Pooh-resemblance-censorship.html |url-status=dead }} Other politicians have been compared to Winnie-the-Pooh characters alongside Xi, including Barack Obama as Tigger, Carrie Lam, Rodrigo Duterte,{{Cite web|title=Filipinos troll Xi Jinping, Duterte ahead of Chinese President's Manila arrival - Coconuts|url=https://coconuts.co/manila/news/filipinos-troll-xi-jinping-duterte-ahead-chinese-presidents-manila-arrival/|access-date=2021-12-10|website=coconuts.co|language=en-US}} and Peng Liyuan as Piglet,{{Cite web|last=Cheng|first=Kris|date=23 October 2018|title=Satirist compares Xi Jinping and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to Winnie the Pooh and Piglet|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2018/10/23/satirist-compares-xi-jinping-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-winnie-pooh-piglet/|access-date=5 September 2020|website=Hong Kong Free Press|language=en-GB}} and Fernando Chui and Shinzo Abe as Eeyore.{{cite web |last=Linder |first=Alex |url=https://shanghaiist.com/2018/10/24/netizens-cast-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-as-the-piglet-to-xi-jinpings-winnie-the-pooh/ |title=Netizens cast Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam as the Piglet to Xi Jinping's Winnie the Pooh |date=24 October 2018 |work=Shanghaiist |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321182824/http://shanghaiist.com/2018/10/24/netizens-cast-hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-as-the-piglet-to-xi-jinpings-winnie-the-pooh/ |url-status=dead }}

Pooh's Chinese name ({{Lang-zh|s=小熊维尼|l=little bear Winnie|c=|t=|p=}}) has been censored from video games such as World of Warcraft, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Arena of Valor,{{cite web |url= https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3029217/can-typing-winnie-pooh-really-get-you-banned-overwatch |title= Can typing Winnie the Pooh really get you banned from Overwatch? |last= Ye |first= Josh |date= 14 March 2019 |website= South China Morning Post |access-date=14 April 2024}} and Devotion.{{cite web |url= https://www.pcgamer.com/devotion-review-bombed-by-chinese-steam-users-over-winnie-the-pooh-meme/ |title=Devotion review bombed by Chinese Steam users over Winnie the Pooh meme |last=Horti |first=Samuel |date=23 February 2019 |work=PC Gamer |access-date=22 March 2019}} Images of Pooh in Kingdom Hearts III were also blurred out on the gaming site A9VG.{{cite web |url= https://kotaku.com/chinese-game-site-censors-winne-the-pooh-in-kingdom-hea-1830618072 |title=Chinese Game Site Censors Winnie the Pooh in Kingdom Hearts III |first=Brian |last=Ashcraft |date=23 November 2018 |work=Kotaku |access-date=29 May 2019}}

Despite the ban, two Pooh-themed rides still operate in Disneyland Shanghai, and it is also legal to purchase Pooh-bear merchandise and books about Winnie the Pooh in China.Stolworthy, Jacob; [https://www.businessinsider.com/winnie-the-pooh-shanghai-disneyland-meme-2018-11 "Winnie the Pooh could be banned from Shanghai Disneyland as a result of an ongoing meme used to criticize China's leader"], The Independent, 20 November 2018, via Business Insider.{{Cite web|date=2020-09-23|title=How Banned Is Winnie the Pooh in China, Really?|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/winnie-the-pooh-china-ban|access-date=2021-12-02|website=MEL Magazine|language=en-US}} In May 2021, a performer dressed up as Winnie-the-Pooh in Shanghai Disneyland was beaten by a child tourist. Mass media in China used the term "Pooh Pooh Bear" ({{lang-zh|s=噗噗熊}}) 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.{{cite news |title=小熊維尼挨孩狂揍！爸「態度」惹眾怒 微博熱搜被消失 |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%B0%8F%E7%86%8A%E7%B6%AD%E5%B0%BC%E6%8C%A8%E5%AD%A9%E7%8B%82%E6%8F%8D-%E7%88%B8-%E6%85%8B%E5%BA%A6-%E6%83%B9%E7%9C%BE%E6%80%92-%E5%BE%AE%E5%8D%9A%E7%86%B1%E6%90%9C%E8%A2%AB%E6%B6%88%E5%A4%B1-131629329.html |access-date=2021-05-07 |work=tw.news.yahoo.com |date=2021-05-07 |language=zh-TW}}{{cite news |title=【敏感词库】"上海迪士尼噗噗熊被打"禁转禁评 |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/665704.html?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=d16483c09d8b15cc868e270e0a377363cd3c98c9-1620398357-0-AXvJ9JB6-gadlajy2dqb7JCDkHM6gAjkfHh_fvz-ALNnnHxlKN4pOt71oYX802moWgmPRwjjRslg6vjSvvIWPpW4UplOxa-go40ND1Gfdq96zPWia9UbhPbVjNFli6-Ls0YMSKaGmuNQCwrja8X88Q7UOo3bhfTfKDN1VB2cHjkqxegSdxiDt8QQbgam87bQY5swrPFUdCEr8eyjwmQDJX7UE7IhBZm9uF8X5A8ERAlEYs9-3i5K7V08zHeZkDMMaDu6oVVtSYhZ8pUfvQWqbDX-l8l4CPnlWYw-HhI47EwO_S82-_iR1PEMWXmWKu5NiDQlVQW7c5c5ynN0ian0mYzS5MEKom46D3uMmSzBFsbjyUvs8ksBYhOXih7VQBv8SZ3Rw3pvhNqp7wzBTN06VDVSqijlZ2o7KimnkbUvtWEw |access-date=2021-05-07 |work=China Digital Times|date=2021-05-07 }}

In October 2019, Pooh was featured in the South Park episode "Band in China" as a prisoner in China because of his alleged resemblance with Xi. In the episode, Pooh is brutally killed by Randy Marsh. South Park was banned in China as a result of the episode.{{Cite web |last1=Parker |first1=Ryan |last2=Brzeski |first2=Patrick |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/south-park-banned-chinese-internet-critical-episode-1245783|title='South Park' Scrubbed From Chinese Internet After Critical Episode|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=7 October 2019}}{{Cite web |last=Brito |first=Christopher |date=2019-10-08 |title="South Park" creators offer fake apology to China after reported ban |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-park-band-in-china-fake-apology-nba-controversy-2019-10-08/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

Taiwanese pilots have worn morale patches which feature a Formosan black bear punching Winnie-the-Pooh in the face.{{cite web |last1=Wu |first1=Sarah |last2=Lun Tian |first2=Yew |title=A punch in the face for Xi caricature: Taiwan air force badge goes viral |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/punch-face-xi-caricature-taiwan-air-force-badge-goes-viral-2023-04-10/ |website=reuters.com |publisher=Reuters |access-date=10 April 2023}} The patches are produced by a private company and demand for them surged greatly after pictures of active duty personnel wearing them began circulating.{{cite news |title=Taiwan: jump in sales for air force badges showing bear punching Winnie-the-Pooh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/11/taiwan-jump-in-sales-for-air-force-badges-showing-bear-punching-winnie-the-pooh |website=The Guardian |date=11 April 2023 |access-date=11 April 2023}}{{cite web |title=A punch in the face for Xi caricature: Taiwan air force badge goes viral |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/11/asia/taiwan-air-force-pooh-patch-intl-hnk-ml/index.html |website=cnn.com |date=11 April 2023 |publisher=CNN |access-date=11 April 2023}}

• List of Winnie-the-Pooh characters
• Edward Bear, Canadian pop-rock band named after Winnie-the-Pooh
• Woozle effect

{{reflist}}

{{sister project links|d=Q188574|c=category:Winnie The Pooh|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|wikt=no|s=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no}}

• {{librivox book | title=Winnie-the-Pooh | author=A. A. Milne}}
• [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw11245/AA-Milne-Christopher-Robin-Milne The original bear, with A. A. and Christopher Robin Milne], at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• [http://www.ashdownforest.org/winnie-the-pooh/pooh.php The real locations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523045900/http://www.ashdownforest.org/winnie-the-pooh/pooh.php |date=23 May 2015 }}, from the Ashdown Forest Conservators
• [https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/schwarzman/childrens-center-42nd-street/pooh Winnie-the-Pooh at the New York Public Library]
• [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnie-the-pooh-saga-turns-100-years-old-today-1.2745104 "Winnie the Pooh saga turns 100 years old"], CBC News, 24 August 2014.
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34844669 "The skull of the 'real' Winnie goes on display"], BBC News, 20 November 2015.

{{Winnie-the-Pooh}}

{{Teddy bears}}

{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo}}

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Category:Winnie-the-Pooh characters