Part of the problem with “Blood and Honey” was the fact that Rhys Frake-Waterfield had to be very careful with what he included. At the time, only the very first Winnie-the-Pooh story from 1926 had entered the public domain. As such, the writer/director had to ensure he didn’t use many of the more well-established features of the series, such as Pooh’s red shirt or the character of Tigger. In fact, the first draft of “Blood and Honey” was unfilmable due to the fact that Frake-Waterfield had incorporated too many elements that remained under copyright protection.
Ultimately, “Blood and Honey” arrived with a Pooh and Piglet far enough removed from the copyrighted versions of the characters that Frake-Waterfield escaped any lawsuits. But that didn’t necessarily mean his film was any good. In the movie, Pooh and his cohorts are demented Michael Myers-type killers, hell-bent on revenge after having been abandoned by Christopher Robin in the 100-acre wood (poor old Eeyore was, unfortunately, cannibalized in the process). But the movie lacked any real plot, developed characters, or even convincing makeup and costume designs. Pooh and Piglet basically looked as though they were just large men in poorly-designed masks — which, they were.
All of this added up to a dismal 3% Rotten Tomatoes score (alongside a 50% audience score). Now, the sequel has arrived, with Frake-Waterfield determined not to let bad reviews stop his warped take on A.A. Milne’s universe from actualizing. In a startling turn of events, “Blood and Honey 2” has not only improved upon its predecessor’s reviews but at the time of writing sits at a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
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