Kartoon Studios is bringing Winnie-The-Pooh to the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video. The popular animated character’s holiday movie, five holiday specials, and a four year/104 episode series will premiere on the streaing platform via Kartoon Channel!’s subscription service on the platform.
Pre-production has already begun on the animated holiday movie, set to premiere 24 December 2025, through Kartoon Channel!’s US$3.99/month subscription distribution agreement with them. Concurrently, Alliance Entertainment, a distributor of physical entertainment that supports major nationwide retailers, including Walmart, Target, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, will debut new merchandise through a nationwide retail program, in conjunction with Kartoon Studios rollout of a global consumer products campaign.
Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-The-Pooh is based on the designs and stories of one of the most successful brands of all time, A.A. Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh, a property that has generated over US$80 billion in sales over the last four decades and is estimated to currently generate US$3-$6 billion per year for The Walt Disney Company. The total lifetime revenues exceed those of Barbie, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, Peanuts, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Marvel, and almost every major brand in the world.
“Disney created an iconic and tremendously successful global brand with Winnie-The-Pooh that we have all admired so much over many decades. When the property went into the public domain, we knew we could only undertake creating Pooh for a new generation if we could bring a completely new, different and unique look that was contemporary, protectable, and gave voice to the characters and stories created by A.A. Milne, as has never been done,” said Kartoon Studios’ chairman & CEO Andy Heyward.
The studio’s Winnie-The-Pooh animated content is being developed with a unique “yarn- based” design and palette for the characters and backgrounds, along with original modern stories inspired by Milne’s beloved classic books. The beautifully imagined yarn gives the characters a depth and warmth. Additionally, the stories will be told in a “Seussian style” rhyme to provide an enriched dimension to the stories.
“In designing Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-The-Pooh, we combined the best of both AI and human creativity to arrive at the unique look of the characters and backgrounds that could not have been imaginable prior to the advent of AI in our industry. Our use of our AI platform will enable us to bring a level of efficiency, speed-to-market, and creativity, to the production heretofore not possible,” commented Heyward. “At a time when our world can be confusing for children, Pooh is an oasis of goodness, grounded in family, friendship, kindness, and love. Those are the exact values our version of Pooh will showcase as we focus on building Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-The-Pooh into a long-term global megabrand, through which the simple and comforting values A.A. Milne originally imagined will endure forever.”
Heyward further mentioned, “We think this is a generational opportunity to capitalise on one of the greatest properties ever created, with a proven track record. Audiences around the world are demanding healthy, positive, family-friendly stories that will inspire and entertain kids, alongside a new line of products, from toys to books, videos to apparel, and more, that are steeped in these enriching values.”
The Kartoon Studios series is being financed through joint venture production financing of US$30 million provided by WTP SPV 1, a subsidiary of Catalyst Venture Partners. It is non-dilutive, production financing.
“We have committed to provide US$30 million to the Special Purpose Joint Venture for this exciting new version of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh from Kartoon Studios, which is non-dilutive to any of TOON’s existing stakeholders. Being able to participate in a timeless and proven children’s classic such as Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh, through the production of original animated content and the licensing of consumer products from those proprietary character designs and stories, is a unique opportunity we are very excited about,” said WTP SPV and its parent company, Catalyst Venture Partners senior managing director Steven A. Horowitz. “Andy Heyward and the team at Kartoon Studios have a long history of producing hit properties for children. An all-star array of award-winning talent across development, production, marketing, consumer products, and distribution has been assembled to manage the brand launch, and we are excited to be a part of what we are confident will be a hugely profitable and enduring business.”
