Kartoon Studios announced that it will host a special sneak peek event for its upcoming animated franchise, Hundred Acre Wood’s Winnie and Friends, based on A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie-the-Pooh, at Hollywood’s world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, 16 December 2025 at 12:00 PM PT. The TCL Chinese Theatre, home to premieres of some of the most successful films ever made, including Avatar, Titanic, Forest Gump, Iron Man 3, and The Wizard of Oz provides a stage befitting a property with the potential to become a billion-dollar global evergreen brand for generations to come.
“This premiere represents far more than a sneak peek, it is the public unveiling of what we believe will become one of Kartoon Studios’ most valuable long-term assets,” said Kartoon Studios chairman & CEO Andy Heyward.” A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the most beloved characters in the world. Our new series is designed to bring Pooh, and his friends, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, and others, to a new generation of consumers with song and dance added to the gentle wisdom of the wood.”
Creatively driven by Linda Woolverton’s words and Danny Elfman’s music, Hundred Acre Wood’s Winnie & Friends, thrives at the highest levels of creative and technical excellence. The characters open up from the books and breathe. In an otherwise, noisy, fast, and anxious world, The Hundred Acre Wood, is an oasis of goodness.
Hundred Acre Wood’s Winnie and Friends has been structured from inception as a 360° global franchise, with an integrated roadmap designed to maximise engagement, accelerate monetisation, and expand worldwide presence.
The multi-phase rollout includes:
- Serialised short-form content (208 episodes)- Engineered for broad distribution across AVOD, FAST, SVOD, in store, and international platforms.
- Major holiday specials- Beginning with a Christmas premiere in 2026, strategically positioned for annual evergreen viewership and retail tie-ins, the company will also produce specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter.
- Global consumer products program- Ranging from toys and apparel to home goods, publishing, collectibles, and retail partnerships across mass, specialty, and digital marketplaces.
- Experiential & live event extensions- In development: themed activations, mall events, theatrical exhibits, and immersive family experiences.
- Ambient, evergreen global brand positioning- Leveraging the universal values of friendship, kindness, optimism, and imagination that define this century-old property. This holistic approach positions Winnie and Friends as a cornerstone engine for Kartoon Studios’ future content strategy and revenue diversification.
The series features an original yarn-based animation style combining state-of-the-art digital tools with tactile, handcrafted textures. The result is a warm, timeless, storybook aesthetic, one that resonates emotionally with parents and children while offering an elevated artistic look framed with music and dance throughout.
Kartoon Studios has assembled an accomplished creative team in contemporary animation:
- Writer of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King Linda Woolverton is on board as executive producer shaping overall creative and narrative direction.
- Legendary film composer of some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster hits, including Batman, Spider-Man Danny Elfman joins as composer crafting an original musical identity for the franchise.
- Emmy-nominated writer and creator behind numerous global children’s hits, including Disney Channel’s Lion King spinoff the Lion Guard Elise Allen is on board as head writer/showrunner.
Collectively, this proven team brings a history of successful global box office hits while driving consumer product revenues.
Day-and-date with the debut of the Hundred Acre Wood’s Winnie and Friends animated programming in Fall 2026, Kartoon Studios will launch a feature line of plush, apparel, backpacks, and publishing, under the direction of Disney Licensing veteran Chris DeMoulin, former global licensing SVP/head.
“The line will grow with the program, allowing a new generation of preschoolers to discover the joys to be found exploring this dynamic new Hundred Acre Wood with their friends, both human and animated,” said DeMoulin.
Hundred Acre Wood’s Winnie and Friends is being developed as a cornerstone franchise for Kartoon Studios, supported by a large-format content strategy that spans short-form episodes, holiday specials, and an ambitious multi-platform rollout. The strategy is deliberately engineered for long-term durability, with a comprehensive roadmap that reaches across streaming and broadcast partners, global consumer products, live and experiential events, and other immersive brand touchpoints. By integrating these elements from the outset, Kartoon Studios aims to accelerate worldwide expansion, deepen engagement with families across generations, and position the property as a meaningful and enduring growth engine for the company and its shareholders for years to come.
