Parents feel “abandoned” after school plays Winnie the Pooh horror movie

A Florida school is facing backlash after showing a class of young children the Winnie the Pooh horror movie, with one parent saying they feel “abandoned.”

Earlier this year, Rhys Waterfield’s Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey dropped in cinemas and divided opinion. 

The horror/slasher repositioned the classic childhood fave by showing Pooh and Piglet going on a murderous rampage after being abandoned by Christopher Robin.

While the tongue-in-cheek flick messed with all of our childhood memories, the movie has quite literally messed with a group of children in the present day, leaving their parents furious. 

School faces backlash for showing kids Winnie the Pooh horror movie

The complaints are rolling in for the Academy of Innovative Education in Miami, Florida, after a class of 9-10-year-old students were shown 20-30 minutes of the Winnie the Pooh horror movie.

Although Blood and Honey is currently not rated in the US, it’s been given an 18 age rating in the UK for strong violence and gory content. And while Disney’s Winnie the Pooh is normally a non-threatening cartoon character, in this iteration he’s a ruthless killer wearing a mask. 

Michelle Diaz spoke to CBS News, saying her fourth-grade twins were “distraught” after the film was played in their class by their math teacher on Monday, October 2. 

Following a meeting with the principal, she told the outlet: “I feel completely abandoned by the school. They [the students] were exposed to 20 to 30 minutes to a movie called Winnie the Pooh, Honey and Blood.

“He [the teacher] didn’t stop the movie, even though there were kids saying, ‘Hey, stop the movie, we don’t want to watch this.’”

Although it’s reported that the children got to pick which film to watch, Diaz said: “It’s not for them to decide what they want to. It’s up to the professor to look at the content.”

Head of the school, Ms. Vera Hirsh, said to CBS News in a statement: “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.

“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.”

The incident has garnered attention since hitting the headlines, with numerous people sharing their thoughts online. 

Taking to X/Twitter, one said: “This story is both hilarious and disgusting. I’ve seen this movie, and that teacher knew what he was doing.”

“Who makes Winnie the Pooh into a horror movie??? What!!??? Parents, you absolutely are taking a gamble letting your kids attend public schools,” wrote another. 

On the other side of the debate, one wrote: “Who cares? Me and my friend’s would’ve been so happy to watch that in class. That would be the best teacher in the school. Those kids will be just fine.”

A second chimed in: “They probably enjoyed it.”

You can read more about Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey here, and check out some of our other horror coverage below:

How many Saw movies are there? | LGBTQ+ horrors | How to watch Evil Dead Rise | Terrifier 3 | Insidious: The Red Door | The Boogeyman ending | Tin and Tina explained | The Thing 2 | The Conjuring 4 | Is The Pope’s Exorcist true story? | How to watch M3GAN | Paranormal Activity in order