Homicidal Winnie-the-Pooh Movie Shown to Miami Springs Schoolchildren

Counseling was offered to fourth-grade students after a teacher showed them a slasher flick depicting the beloved children's book characters Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet on a murderous rampage.

In Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, the once-lovable, honey-obsessed bear turns feral after his bestie Christopher Robin leaves for college. Enraged by Robin's abandonment, Pooh and Piglet develop a seething hatred for humanity and go on a feature-length killing spree during which they slay a group of female university students who have the misfortune of renting a cabin in the Hundred Acre Wood.

As first reported by Ivan Taylor with CBS News Miami, parent Michelle Diaz said her twins were traumatized after watching the movie in class on October 2 at Academy for Innovative Education, a public charter school in Miami Springs. She told the outlet the movie continued to play even after students complained that they were not enjoying the gore.

Diaz said the movie was shown for roughly 20 to 30 minutes. She told CBS she believes students selected the movie but that the teacher should have double-checked to make sure it was appropriate for children.

Produced by British indie film outfit Jagged Edge Productions, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey contains graphic kill scenes in which Pooh and Piglet smash a victim's head with a sledgehammer, decapitate a person, and feed a lady into a woodchipper.

"There's also stabbing, face-ripping, neck-slicing, arm-snapping, whipping, eyeballs popping out, and much, much more. A woman's breasts are visible after her top comes off while she's being attacked," according to Common Sense Media, an organization that provides parental guidance on age-appropriate media.

The group also notes "sporadic use of 'fuck' and 'shit.'"

The movie's tag line is "This Ain't No Bedtime Story." The characters are, of course, based on A.A. Milne's wholesome 1926 classic, Winnie-the-Pooh, which entered the public domain in January 2022 after its copyright expired.

Academy for Innovative Education's Head of School Vera Hirsh tells New Times that "as soon as the teacher realized what was being shown, the movie was turned off." Most of the film's grisly murder scenes take place later in the movie, Hirsh says.

"The issue has been thoroughly addressed with teachers, students, and parents. Our students are in school and doing fine, and we really did address all of the concerns," Hirsh says.

She told CBS in the aftermath of the incident that the school was "actively monitoring" its students and had a mental health counselor meet with those who were upset by the film.

The Academy for Innovative Education opened in Miami Springs in 2011. Its elementary school recently ranked in the top 12 percent of Florida elementary schools based on test scores, high school preparation, and graduation metrics, according U.S. News and World Report.

"At AIE, learning is focused on active exploration of major concepts, ideas and theories through hands-on learning and real-life problem solving," the school’s vision statement says.