There’s horror, and then there’s trauma—and that’s what a group of fourth graders recently got themselves into with the 2023 slasher film Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey.
According to a parent who spoke with CBS Miami, their child and classmates were “exposed” to approximately a half hour of the Winnie The Pooh semi-parody horror film that dropped this year that reimagines the beloved children’s character as a serial killer who dons a Pooh mask while stalking his prey.
The film already has a sequel in the works so despite its silliness, it was somewhat of a hit in the horror sphere — but, naturally, not with a classroom of fourth graders. According to the parent’s account, the children selected the film, but they seemed to regret the decision as the film played out.
“[The teacher] didn’t stop the movie, even though there were kids saying, ‘Hey, stop the movie, we don’t want to want this’,” the parent explained. “It’s not for them to decide what they want to [watch]. It’s up to the professor to look at the content.”
The school issued a statement following the incident:
The Academy for Innovative Education has become aware that a segment of a horror movie was shown to fourth graders, Monday, October 2, 2023, that was not suitable for the age group,” the statement said. “Our administration promptly addressed this issue directly with the teacher and has taken appropriate action to ensure the safety and well-being of students. We are actively monitoring the students and our mental health counselor and principal have already met with those students who have expressed concerns.
In the meantime, the team behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey are working on a sequel featuring Tigger, and there are several other nightmare versions of classic kids properties in the works elsewhere. Teachers will probably want to pre-screen anything with “blood” in the title. Just saying.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
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