This year, the original story ofWinnie-the-Poohby A.A. Milne has entered the public domain.Ryan Reynoldshas wasted no time in making the most of the opportunity to use the character to promote his Mint Mobile cell phone company. As is Reynolds’ way, he posted hisnew promotional video via his Twitter accountwhere he introduced the story of “Winnie-the-Screwed,” who is stung with an extortionate Wi-Fi bill. All of this is in aid of Reynolds plugging his three free months offer from Mint Mobile, and if anyone was going to jump on a headline grabber, then it was always going to be theDeadpoolstar.
The video, in which Reynolds relays Winnie’s upset at being hit with a huge bill and no money to pay for it, came with the comment, “Took some creative liberties but it sticks pretty close to the source material. Just added Mint Mobile and changed ‘honey’ to ‘money’ really…” Reynolds starts the video by saying, “So, yesterday was public domain day. It’s the day where classic works enter the public domain, and this year the originalWinnie-the-Poohbecomes public domain. So I think you can see where this is going and I expect that we’ll be hearing from a certain Mouse about this Pooh very, very soon.” You can check out the video below.
The world of copyright is a tricky tightrope, as any author who has parodied or rewritten a public domain work will tell you. While some, such as gothic horrorDraculaor Robert Louis Stevenson’sTreasure Island, are now well out of copyright and in the public domain, more recent novels and stories are a much more problematic prospect to jump on. When it comes to U.S. copyright laws, most published works have a 95-year cover before they become public domain works, and as of January 1st, the firstWinnie-the-Poohbook as well asBambi, a Life in the Woodsby Felix Salten both saw their copyright expire, which allowed Reynolds to more or less steal the original text for his little promotion. Of course, both of these books were made famous by Disney, and those versions are still very much copyrighted and should not be replicated in any way unless you want some severe lawsuits piling up at your door.
For Reynolds, the arrival ofWinnie-the-Poohin the public domain has allowed him to once again bring a touch of nostalgia to his advertising, after being involved in a series of ads for ABC that originally aired duringLive in Front of a Studio Audienceon the network and featuredThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’sAlfonso Ribeiro in an 80s themed promotion for Reynolds’ Aviation Gin.
While he does like a good ad or two, there are plenty of larger projects also taking up Reynolds’ time and despite taking a short break from acting after wrapping filming on his Christmas movieSpirited, which he appears in alongside Will Ferrell, there are plenty of upcoming roles heading the Canadian’s way, including his much anticipated MCU debut inDeadpool 3sometime in the next few years.
