Pooh & Bambi books going Public Domain

[gaastra]

Expect to see new pooh cartoons. Note the disney version is NOT going pd but you know disney does not like this.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... d=msedgntp

Note bambi is going pd also! Double hit for disney!

[droosan]

Many of the classic Disney features (& shorts) took advantage of the concept of 'public domain'; films like Bambi & Winnie the Pooh were exceptions, rather than the rule.

There's a lot of works (books, periodicals/comics, films, etc) that should currently be in public domain, but aren't -- solely because Disney has pushed legislation to protect a few very specific films of theirs from doing so. Since they can't get a law protecting their works specifically, it's created a 'bottleneck' for most everything from the same period of time.

Something will have to give on that front, eventually.

But it's nice to know there's still some major works that can still enter the public domain..! The fact that it might annoy Disney is merely a bonus!

[EricJ]

Yeah, but Snow White went PD a lot earlier.

[Farerb]

Good luck to anyone who tries to do another adaptation of Bambi which will never be as artistic or significant as the the Disney film.

[Ben]

I think there’s already a "live-action" Disney Bambi film in the works, which could also be a way for them to keep a grip on the property if not a total hold.

Certainly, if others were "brave" enough to attempt to make their own versions against the well-established Disney concepts, they could argue that the new ones were too similar to trademarks and their own copyrighted interpretations.

Yes, you could have new Pooh and Bambi content and products, but if they look too close to Disney's then there’s a problem, and if they don’t look close enough to Disney's then there’s also a problem, since the public may see this as a "knock-off" and stay away, making them unprofitable anyway, and so not worth pursuing.

Whichever way, Disney wins, as the success, or lack of, many different, non-Disney versions of classic PD stories attest.

[Daniel]

To an earlier point, Disney's specific portrayal of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is copyrighted until 2032. Maybe even longer with the remake in the offing.

[Daniel]

Ryan Reynolds released a parody ad for the occasion:



Kinda funny.

[gaastra]

And a pooh horror film is coming out. That didn't take long.

A mysterious upcoming horror film titled Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has appeared on our radar today, and we have questions. The very indie horror title is reportedly in post-production from writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and stars Amber Doig-Thorne, Maria Taylor and Danielle Scott. According to the project’s IMDb page, the film is a grisly retelling of the Winnie the Pooh “legend”.

Photos from the film--

https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/43029 ... ic-images/

[Dacey]

So that looks terrible.

[Daniel]

Yikes.

[Ben]

Aaaaaand…the obvious problem they will have is that, while Pooh goes public domain, Disney's trademarked design of him — which introduced the red shirt and more rounded, cuddly head — is still very much copyrighted to The Walt Disney Company. Clearly, this film infringes that specific design (redneck Pooh's mask is obviously patterned after a Disney Halloween one, and is even wearing a red shirt), so they may find themselves on the wrong end of Pooh's wrath in this case…

[Daniel]

I see a couple of loopholes. Long sleeve shirt, has a checkered pattern instead of a solid color and the overalls.

[Ben]

That mask though…

[Dacey]

The movie's actually going to try to pass off those cheapo serial killer masks as the "real" Pooh and Piglet who "go on a rampage after Christopher Robin goes to college"...


https://variety.com/2022/film/news/winn ... 235278405/

[Daniel]

"It’s also why other characters still in copyright, such as Tigger, will not appear"

I can see the inevitable sequel now: Winnie the Pooh: The Rise of Tigger.