Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Distributor gives no reason for cancellation, but Chinese censors have targeted Pooh before due to Xi Jinping comparisons.

Hong Kong’s Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration told Reuters that it had issued a certificate of approval to the applicant. Some films have been prevented from being shown in the Chinese special administrative region. It did not give further details.

Screenings were suddenly canceled for the movie starring a bear which has previously been used to troll Xi Jinping.

Authorities have also been [accused](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/world/asia/china-winnie-the-pooh-censored.html) of removing images from social media likening the bear to Xi. One short film was pulled over a scene lasting less than a second because it showed a 2014 [Umbrella Movement](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-monuments-men-of-occupy-hong-kong) protest site, according to the [Hong Kong Free Press](https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/12/hong-kong-film-dropped-from-festival-after-censors-object-to-umbrella-movement-scene-lasting-under-a-second/), with the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration ordering producers to delete the momentary images because they had “reconstructed the illegal occupation movement.” [Memes](https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-does-beijing-have-against-peppa-pig-and-winnie-the-pooh) started cropping up online comparing the Chinese leader and Barack Obama to A.A. The crackdown on anything which could cause embarrassment to Beijing has come as part of censorship rules imposed on Hong Kong since China decreed a national security law in 2020 in the wake of massive anti-government protests. But Moviematic, which had organized a pre-release showing this week, [announced](https://www.instagram.com/p/CqAmf-Dv2El/) on its social media accounts that the screening had been canceled for “technical reasons.” In 2018, the live action movie Christopher Robin was banned in China over concerns that Pooh would appear in the film, according to the

The Hong Kong release of British slasher film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has been cancelled, with the distributor giving no reason.

Some films have been prevented from being shown in the Chinese special administrative region. Moviematic, which had organised a screening of the film for Tuesday evening, reported the cancellation on its social media page earlier in the day and cited technical reasons for the cancellation. It did not give further details.

Chinese censors have regularly banned images of the cartoon bear over its alleged resemblance to President Xi Jinping. Unexplained cancellation. In a Tuesday ...

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The Hong Kong theatrical release of 'Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey' is canceled for reasons that could be technical or political.

The film was to be distributed in Hong Kong by indie outfit VII Pillars and was scheduled for release on Thursday. The most far-reaching of these has been the National Security Law injected into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, in mid 2020. We are sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience,” it wrote on Facebook. Jagged Edge says the film “follows Pooh and Piglet as they go on a rampage after Christopher Robin abandons them for college.” “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” was produced by the U.K.’s Jagged Edge Productions and written, directed and produced by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. China did not permit the import and release of Disney’s 2018 Winnie the Pooh film “Christopher Robin.”

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey screenings in Hong Kong have been axed, with sources claiming the horror film won't be shown for technical reasons.

[Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey has continued](https://screenrant.com/winnie-pooh-blood-honey-survive-powers-michael-myers/) to prove itself a controversial movie. Due to Hong Kong's struggle to ensure independence from mainland China, screening a film featuring Pooh could be twisted into a political issue, which in turn would pose a perceived threat to their national security. [Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey](https://screenrant.com/tag/winnie-the-pooh-blood-and-honey/) will no longer be screening in Hong Kong, with claims film screenings were canceled due to technical reasons. Winnie the Pooh has also been used as a symbol of protest against the Chinese government due to the censorship around the character. In 2021, a Hong Kong censorship law was put into effect to ensure films that could threaten the city's national security aren't screened in the country. Critically panned, the movie garnered notoriety because of its use of Winnie-the-Pooh characters as antagonists in a blood-soaked horror setting.

Over the course of the last few months, Rhys Waterfield's Winne the Pooh: Blood and Honey has been rolling out in theatrical markets all over the world, ...

The Winnie the Pooh of Winne the Pooh: Blood and Honey doesn't quite look like the classic Pooh (he's got tusks, for starters), but even still - the character's appearance in Wakefield's film might've been a bit too close for comfort. Some suggest the film's gore may have been the issue, but according to THR, a "cut" version of the film that removed much of Blood and Honey's gore was previously cleared by Hong Kong censors, and a screening was allowed to take place last week. The micro-budgeted slasher may not have pleased critics (honestly, was there ever a chance it would?), but it's become a low-key blockbuster for Waterfield and company, who made the film for just $100,000.

No reason given for last-minute withdrawal but is understood to have fallen foul of censors.

Hong Kong censors Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) had issued a certificate of approval for the film at the beginning of March. A sequel, written and directed by Frake-Waterfield, is already in the works. These 30+ screens in Hong Kong are the only ones with such issues.” Reportedly made for less than $100,000 by the UK’s Jagged Edge Productions, the story follows Pooh and Piglet as they turn feral and embark on a murderous rampage when Christopher Robin goes off to college. Milne’s 1926 book ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ lapsed in the US on January 1 2022 and entered the public domain, leaving it open to interpretation. Images of Winnie the Pooh have also been associated with Chinese dissidents.

Slasher movie Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey saw its Hong Kong release being dropped just ahead of its Thursday debut.

Losing the Asian releases may not be ideal, but it certainly is not going to break the movie’s run of success too much. The slasher was granted a Category III rating by the classification board, which is the hardest rating that the movie could receive. Having been made on a micro-budget, the film has already delivered a comparatively huge box office to budget return, and an Asian market release was only going to add to that.

On its Facebook page, the Hong Kong-based distributor said it was with “great regret” that the low-budget slasher would not meet its planned theatrical release ...

A sequel, written and directed by Frake-Waterfield, is already in the works. These 30+ screens in Hong Kong are the only ones with such issues.” Reportedly made for less than $100,000 by the UK’s Jagged Edge Productions, the story follows Pooh and Piglet as they turn feral and embark on a murderous rampage when Christopher Robin goes off to college. And we have not received notification from OFNAA to withdraw the film, nor any other issues about the film.” Milne’s 1926 book ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ lapsed in the US on January 1 2022 and entered the public domain, leaving it open to interpretation. Images of Winnie the Pooh have also been used as a symbol of protest.