Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey became something of an indie sensation in 2023. Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the twisted take on Pooh Bear and his pals went full-on viral and became a box office hit thanks to its tiny budget. Here we are three years later and there’s a full-on Poohniverse full of movies based on beloved childhood characters. The latest entry, Pinocchio Unstrung, hits theaters this weekend and it’s already defying expectations.
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With all due respect to Mr. Frake-Waterfield and his collaborators, many of the movies in the Poohniverse, aka the Twisted Childhood Universe, thus far haven’t exactly been critical darlings. However, Pinocchio Unstrung has managed to win over critics and, as of this writing, it’s holding a very solid 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That makes it the highest-rated movie in the franchise to date, which is pretty impressive.
The movie features horror legend Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as the voice of Cricket, with Richard Brake (Barbarian) on board as Gepetto. Jude-Evan Lloyd voices the titular puppet. As for what to expect more specifically from this twisted take on the classic fairytale? The synopsis for the movie reads as follows.
“A chilling reimagining of the familiar fable, Pinocchio Unstrung unfolds inside an elite London prep school. Influenced by a sinister Cricket (Robert Englund) and created by Geppetto (Richard Brake), Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.”
The viral nature of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey put the spotlight on Frake-Waterfield, allowing him a much bigger budget for Blood and Honey 2. He’s been developing as a filmmaker on the fly in a way and, evidently, he’s getting better at his craft. Blood and Honey 2 was viewed as a major improvement on its predecessor, now this movie is receiving genuine praise. It bodes well for the future, as this franchise isn’t likely to go anywhere, any time soon.
The cast also includes Cameron Bell (Silo) and Jessica Balmer (Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose), with creature effects by Todd Masters (Child’s Play).
Aside from the Blood and Honey movies, the Poohniverse also includes movies such as Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare. Frake-Waterfield plans to bring all of these characters together in a big crossover event movie entitled Poohniverse: Monster Assemble. The crossover flick doesn't currently have a relase date but stay tuned.
Pinocchio Unstrung is in theaters now.
