Winnie-the-Screwed

Last updated
"Winnie-the-Screwed"
Winnie-the-Screwed.png
The cover of the fictional book from the commercial
Based on Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
Narrated by Ryan Reynolds
Release date
January 2, 2022
Running time
1 minute 29 seconds
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

"Winnie-the-Screwed" is a 2022 online advertisement published by Ryan Reynolds to promote the telecommunications company Mint Mobile, which he partially owns. It is a parody of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne, and was created to commemorate the book entering the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2022, a day prior to the advertisement's release.

Contents

Content

The advertisement begins with Ryan Reynolds explaining that January 1 was Public Domain Day, and that Winnie-the-Pooh was one of the works that entered the public domain. He jokes that Mint Mobile would likely "be hearing from a certain mouse about this Pooh very, very soon" [1] before beginning to narrate a fictional book titled Winnie-the-Screwed, which uses repurposed illustrations by E. H. Shepard. [2] In the book, Winnie-the-Screwed (also called Edward Bear) [3] struggles with high bill prices from "big wireless", going so far as to bang his head against his table in frustration, unaware that Mint Mobile holds the solution to his problem. The narrator character then informs Christopher Robin that by switching to Mint Mobile, he could get three months of service for free. After finishing the narration, Reynolds jokes that he may have misinterpreted copyright law, and the final illustration shows Winnie-the-Screwed receiving a cease and desist order. [3] In a comment posted alongside the video on Twitter, Reynolds claimed that the advertisement "took some creative liberties", but stuck "pretty close to the source material". [1] [4]

Reception

The advertisement was the subject of multiple news articles, as it was the first major parody of Winnie-the-Pooh after the book entered the public domain. Michael Cavna from the Washington Post called it "the first prominent spoof of Public Domain Pooh", [5] and Drew Weisholtz from Today described Reynolds' performance as "very soothing". [6] Russ Burlingame from Comicbook.com commented that as a parody, the advertisement would have likely been legally protected even if Winnie-the-Pooh was not in the public domain. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. A. Milne</span> English writer (1882–1956)

Alan Alexander Milne was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-the-Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. Milne served in both World Wars, as a lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in the First World War and as a captain in the Home Guard in the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigger</span> Fictional tiger-like character

Tigger is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic stuffed tiger. He was originally introduced in the 1928 story collection The House at Pooh Corner, the sequel to the 1926 book Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toy animals. He appears in the Disney animated versions of Winnie the Pooh and has also appeared in his own film, The Tigger Movie (2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)</span> Fictional character

Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie‑the‑Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys and animals featured in the stories. Although he is a "Very Small Animal" of a generally timid disposition, he tries to be brave and on occasion conquers his fears.

Rabbit (<i>Winnie-the-Pooh</i>) Fictional character

Rabbit is a fictional character in the book series and cartoons Winnie-the-Pooh. He is a friend of Winnie-the-Pooh, regards himself as practical and tends to take the lead, though not always with the results that he intends.

<i>Winnie-the-Pooh</i> (book) 1926 book by A. A. Milne

Winnie-the-Pooh is a 1926 children's book by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The book is set in the fictional Hundred Acre Wood, with a collection of short stories following the adventures of an anthropomorphic teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo. It is the first of two story collections by Milne about Winnie-the-Pooh, the second being The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne and Shepard collaborated previously for English humour magazine Punch, and in 1924 created When We Were Very Young, a poetry collection. Among the characters in the poetry book was a teddy bear Shepard modelled after his son's toy. Following this, Shepard encouraged Milne to write about his son Christopher Robin Milne's toys, and so they became the inspiration for the characters in Winnie-the-Pooh.

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<i>The House at Pooh Corner</i> 1928 book by A. A. Milne

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<i>Now We Are Six</i> Collection of childrens verse by A. A. Milne

Now We Are Six is a 1927 book of children's poetry by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It is the second collection of children's poems following Milne's When We Were Very Young, which was first published in 1924. The collection contains thirty-five verses, including eleven poems that feature Winnie-the-Pooh illustrations.

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Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore is a 1983 American animated featurette based on the sixth chapter of both books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. Produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, the short initially received limited release on March 11, 1983, before expanding to a wide release on March 25 as part of a double feature with the 1983 re-issue of The Sword in the Stone (1963), which it accompanied in most countries except Australia where it accompanied a reissue of Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Directed by Rick Reinert, the featurette featured the voices of Hal Smith, John Fiedler, Will Ryan, Ralph Wright, and Paul Winchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down on the Corner</span> 1969 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

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Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925. The character is based on a stuffed toy that Milne had bought for his son Christopher Robin in Harrods department store.

<i>Winnie the Pooh</i> (franchise) Disney media franchise

Winnie the Pooh is a media franchise produced by The Walt Disney Company, based on A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh. It started in 1966 with the theatrical release of the short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

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Winnie-the-Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World is the second authorised sequel to A. A. Milne's original Winnie-the-Pooh stories. It was published on 6 October 2016 to mark the 90th anniversary of the publication of the first Winnie-the-Pooh book. The sequel is an anthology of four short stories, each written by a leading children's author. The four contributors are Paul Bright, Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders, and Brian Sibley. The illustrations, in the style of the originals by E. H. Shepard, are by Mark Burgess. The book attracted national press coverage because of the introduction of a new character, Penguin.

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<i>Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey</i> 2023 British horror film by Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is a 2023 British independent slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. It serves as a horror retelling of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh books and stars Craig David Dowsett as Winnie-the-Pooh and Chris Cordell as Piglet, with Amber Doig-Thorne, Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor, Natasha Rose Mills, and Danielle Ronald in supporting roles. It follows Pooh and Piglet who have become feral and bloodthirsty murderers, as they terrorise a group of young university women and Christopher Robin when he returns to the Hundred Acre Wood many years later after leaving for college.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Ryan Reynolds uses Winnie the Pooh in mobile ad as character joins public domain". The Independent. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  2. "Ryan Reynolds Makes Winnie-The-Pooh Parody After Public Domain Day". ScreenRant. 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  3. 1 2 "Ryan Reynolds Just Ruined Winnie-the-Pooh Worse Than Disney". Fatherly. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  4. Lacey, Kellie (2022-01-03). "Ryan Reynolds Takes Advantage of Winnie-the-Pooh's Public Domain Status for Mint Mobile Ad". CBR. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  5. Cavna, Michael (2022-01-12). "'Winnie-the-Pooh' just entered the public domain. Here's what that means for fans". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  6. Weisholtz, Drew (2022-01-03). "Ryan Reynolds' 'Winnie-the-Screwed' ad nails struggles of expensive phone bills". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  7. Burlingame, Ross. "Ryan Reynolds Debuts Winnie-the-Screwed After Public Domain Day". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.