Storybook Turned Slasher
What it Means for Classic Children’s Books to Enter the Public Domain
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Winnie-the-Pooh traded in his jar of honey for a hatchet? When most people imagine the beloved characters of Winnie-the-Pooh or Piglet, images of cuddly anthropomorphic animals frolicking in the Hundred Acre Woods are often the first thing to come to mind, not nightmarish visions of these innocent icons turned into axe-wielding murderers. Yet this unnerving transformation became a reality in 2022 when the copyright on A.A. Milne’s original Winnie-the-Pooh stories expired and the characters were released into the public domain, giving British filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield full liberty to create his low-budget independent slasher film titled Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which was released only a year later in 2023. With this new depiction of Pooh and his friends as bloodthirsty killers instead of their traditionally loveable selves, the film sparked controversy between fans and critics alike, leading many to wonder about the broader aspects of creative freedom and the boundaries of copyright.
In a nutshell, copyright exists to protect an individual’s work, also known as their intellectual property, from being stolen and taken credit for by another person. As defined by the World Intellectual Property Organization, IP is anything that’s considered a “creation of the mind” and includes “inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce.” Once an individual creates an original work and fixes it within a tangible form, it is immediately protected by copyright, therefore allowing that individual to earn recognition or financially benefit from their creation without the risk of it being stolen.
The idea of copyright can be dated back to the 18th century, when the Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act of 1710, was passed in Great Britain. This was widely recognized as the first instance where authors were given control over their creative works, although it was quite limited. The first copyright law in the United States of America wasn’t enacted until 1790, roughly two years after the ratification of the Constitution, and even then, it was still very restricted. It only protected an author’s work for 14 years with the one-time option to renew for another 14 years if the author was still alive.
Since then, copyright laws have expanded significantly to account for development in both the international and technological spheres. Under the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, an author’s work, published or unpublished, is now protected for the duration of their lifetime plus 70 years after they die. Anonymous works are also protected for either 95 years from when they are first published or for 120 years from when they are created, depending on which arrives first. This law extended the length of copyright protection previously stated in the Copyright Act of 1976, which has continued to serve as the basic framework for all current copyright laws for almost 50 years. However, this law has exceptions, as many usually do, and only applies to works created after 1978. Copyright protection for works created before 1978 varies depending on whether or not it was published, but most of them are based upon the landmark Copyright Act of 1909, which protected works for a maximum of 56 years, including a one-time renewal period.
Although copyright is important for authors in the sense that it gives individuals legal ownership over their work, it is also crucial for publishers, as it protects the house’s brand from infringement of exclusive rights purchased from the author. Angus Phillips and Giles Clark explore this idea in their book, Inside Book Publishing, explaining that “what the publisher wants from authors is the sole, exclusive right to publish their work and sell it as widely as possible. Without copyright protection, authors would not be able to grant this exclusive right and ... publishers would not risk issuing a book which, if successful, could be instantly copied or plundered by competitors.” The business of exchanging intellectual property is typically outlined by means of a contract between the author and the publisher and, depending on the agreed-upon contract, publishers can have varying rights.
Sometimes, authors may allow the house the right for ‘publication,’ or to have total control of the work including production, design, and price all before it has even made it on the shelves. Other times, authors may just allow for an ‘author’s grant,’ which only gives publishers the exclusive right to publish the book in certain countries. Regardless of the specificities of the contract, by holding the copyright of an author’s work, the publishing house can effectively establish professionalism and expand their backlist with an assortment of protected pieces of literature, broadening the publisher’s audience and increasing sales while also protecting their name.
When the copyright of a work expires, it enters the public domain, meaning it is legal for anyone to use, modify, or distribute freely without needing permission from the original creator. While more extreme instances—such as Frake-Waterfield's dark adaptation of Winnie-the-Pooh—have tainted people’s opinions of public domain freedom, there are many examples of public domain adaptations going well. For instance, famous movies like 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s The Man wouldn’t exist without the public domain, as both are modern takes on Shakespeare’s plays. Other examples include Clueless, the 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, and the acclaimed Netflix original show “Anne with an E,” which is loosely based on L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.
As time progresses, more characters and classic works will be introduced into the public domain, inviting new adaptations and transformations that would have once been simply unfathomable. In his Times article “These Classic Characters Are Losing Copyright Protection. They May Never Be the Same,” Sopan Deb focuses on a few characters and works that joined the public domain earlier this year, including the original versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, J.M. Barrie’s stage version of Peter Pan, and even Tigger, who wasn’t originally included when the rest of his Hundred Acre friends entered the public domain back in 2022. With each year that passes, more famous figures will begin to leave the confinements of copyright and enter the public domain, and the appearance of reimagined films like Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey will only become more normal, leaving us to wonder how these adaptations will influence our ever-evolving relationship with the classics. Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll see a Mickey and Minnie slasher, or Tigger will take up meditation, but only time—and the freedom of the public domain—will tell.
Lily Papendick (‘28) currently attends Susquehanna University as a double major in creative writing and publishing & editing. Originally from Byram, NJ, Lily enjoys writing poetry, listening to music, watching movies, especially her favorite rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You, and spending time at the beach with her family.
Liz Bartholomay (‘26) is a double major in marketing and publishing & editing from Scranton, PA. Liz currently serves as the treasurer for Flagship, a place-based travel magazine. She has also served on the reading board for Susquehanna University’s creative non-fiction magazine, Essay, and enjoys reading literary fiction, collecting vinyl records, and traveling.