The roaring ’20s gave birth to The Walt Disney Company, talking pictures and a handful of classic animated and comic strip characters that are poised to hit the market at large as public-domain properties in the next decade. And it’s going to get really interesting when they do.

But first, some history. The US Copyright Term Extension Act was signed into law in 1998, initiating a two-decade hold on IPs entering the public domain. This meant that for any character created in 1923 or later, the copyright term prohibiting its unauthorized use stretched from 47 years (as outlined under the earlier Copyright Act of 1976) to 67 years. That extension expired in 2019, setting off a modern-day gold rush of producers looking to capitalize on the considerable name recognition of these jazz-age creations.

And the prospect of navigating today’s risk-averse market by engaging audiences with tried-and-true characters and storylines is understandably appealing. US-based Sycamore Studios made a splashy launch in August by announcing a family feature film about Doctor Dolittle (in the public domain since the ’90s) as its first project. And even more attention-grabbing moves have come from indies that aren’t shy about shifting gears from wholesome to gruesome—evidenced by slasher flicks and violent games based on family classics like Steamboat Willie and Winnie-the-Pooh.

In contrast, the kids industry has taken a steadier approach, quietly putting new family-friendly spins on old fare. But when you’re a kids producer fighting for the same audience as the Mouse House, rather than an R-rated production house, there are more hoops to jump through to get to the “hunny.”

Bear necessities

Winnie-the-Pooh, who debuted in a 1926 book by English author A. A. Milne, has captured the interest of more than one player in the kids space. The earliest iterations of the “bear of very little brain” and his crew entered the public domain in 2022, with one exception. Tigger—who first came on the scene in 1928’s The House at Pooh Corner—only gained public-domain status this year. Estimates peg Pooh’s lifetime revenue in the ballpark of US$50 billion, ahead of other pop-culture giants such as Hello Kitty, Harry Potter and Barbie. This ROI potential inspired Kartoon Studios CEO Andy Heyward to place “a very large bet on the table” for a new Pooh megabrand. And WTP SPV1 in the UK (a subsidiary of Catalyst Venture Partners) jumped on board, investing US$30 million in production funding under a deal that allows Kartoon to retain full ownership of the company, with Catalyst only taking equity stakes in the output. With a team of industry veterans already recruited, Kartoon’s strategy relies on celebrity voice talent and a fairly speedy turnaround to launch its version of Pooh ahead of the competition.

Kartoon’s Pooh franchise will feature a strong musical hook, a more joyous tone and a yarn-forward makeover.

“The market is only going to absorb so much Winnie-the- Pooh,” Heyward notes. Kartoon’s initial Pooh content will include a series (with 200 episodes planned) and holiday specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter and back- to-school—all rolling out on the Kartoon Channel! via Prime Video, with subscriptions priced at US$3.99 per month. This steady year-round supply of content will be attractive to retailers seeking omnipresent brands, explains Heyward.

The studio has already signed Alliance Entertainment to distribute Pooh-related consumer products. And Heyward is keen to channel the brand’s proven licensing power into “every imaginable category,” including toys, apparel, publishing, party goods and stationery. Kartoon is using the NVIDIA-owned platform Omniverse (which boasts generative AI tools) as part of its pipeline. “We felt this was an opportunity to take advantage of new technologies with AI and machine learning that could blend with human creative talent,” says Heyward.

Conversely, New York-based Baboon Animation is trading speed for a more “handmade” approach, according to president Mike de Seve. In 2022, the company began prepping a whimsical Pooh prequel pic called Beyond Pooh Corner in partnership with LA-based content incubator IQI Media. This live-action/animated iteration will avoid AI and bank on authenticity, says de Seve. His team even secured approval to film at the real-life inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood, Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England. Attracting 1.5 million visitors annually, this recognizable setting should help generate fandom buzz for Beyond Pooh Corner, which is now fielding global sales offers for a theatrical release.

Distinguished new spin

“The Disney Pooh was a little melancholy, while ours is going to be very joyous,” Heyward teases about Kartoon’s more playful version of the Pooh Corner characters, including a yarn-based makeover that gives the toy animals a knitted appearance. Song and dance will also be central to this brand, with LiveOne Entertainment producing, publishing and distributing all of the original music. But Heyward admits to following Disney’s playbook when it comes to emphasizing diversity—much like the varied “emotions” in Pixar’s Inside Out 2. “One thing that’s so clear [from that film’s success] is that diversity of personality resonates with young audiences—so that’s a big part of how we’re telling our Pooh stories,” he says. With this in mind, Kartoon will introduce two new female characters. “We felt it was important to bring a little more gender diversity into the lineup.”

For its part, Baboon’s Beyond Pooh Corner will introduce a bear who’s much more like a real child than the Disney version, says de Seve. “They made [Pooh] unique in choosing his red shirt in that particular [style]. Also, they made him a little fatter. Our idea is to make him a little skinnier—more like the original teddy bears [from that era].”

Invoking another iconic book-based bear, de Seve is inspired to follow StudioCanal’s Paddington blueprint that saw the 2014 feature film set the tone before gradually expanding into a TV series, a musical and more. Beyond Pooh Corner and subsequent franchise extensions (including a Stories from Pooh Corner podcast produced with GoKidGo) will aim for broader all-ages appeal rather than targeting a specific kids demo. To achieve this, the team will refresh the lovably lethargic personality tied to Disney’s Pooh by introducing a wittier and comparatively fast-paced style for the character and the franchise as a whole.

Common challenges

Assessing the look of the characters’ public-domain version compared to the copyright-protected versions is key to avoiding infringement, says Bob Tarantino, a copyright lawyer who is part of the media and entertainment group at law firm Dentons Canada. Amber fur, for example, could be a potential gray area when it comes to Pooh because he was colorless in the books that have entered the public domain. (Notably, Pooh’s real-life inspiration was a female black bear.) So questions may arise over what colors or alternative shades of yellow/orange are safe to use without stepping into Disney’s territory. And although a new Pooh adaptation could use a line of dialogue from the book without much concern, Tarantino recommends caution when it’s a full-fledged storyline.

It’s critical to ensure that a project is “hewing to the public-domain version and not a later variation or gloss on the public-domain version, which itself might still be protected by copyright,” he says. Another important factor to keep in mind is that the duration of copyright for an IP can vary from country to country (though it is similar in major markets such as the US and the EU). One example is the original James Bond novels by author Ian Fleming (who also wrote the children’s story Chitty- Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car). “Fleming died in 1964, so his novels are public domain in Canada, [where] the copyright expired in 2014,” says Tarantino. “But they remain protected in many other countries.”

Ultimately, it’s crucial to consult a lawyer before getting involved with a public-domain IP, he adds. “It can be challenging, both creatively and from a legal perspective, to come up with solutions that present as little risk as possible, while also giving effect to the creative output envisioned for the project.”

This story was originally published in Kidscreen‘s Q4 2024 magazine issue.