Q: I just saw Saving Mr. Banks, and loved it. But one thing plagued my mind during the whole movie. How could there have been a Pooh stuffed bear in Mrs. Travers' room when the rights to Pooh were only signed over in 1961? The Disney version of Pooh isn’t released until after Mary Poppins. My understanding of Disney marketing is that it didn’t truly explode pre-movie release until the 1990s. I have searched the Internet and cannot find a date when licensed Winnie the Pooh items were released for sale?
Lori, Rochester, Michigan
A: Disney’s first Winnie the Pooh film was Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in 1966. There would not have been Disney Pooh merchandise before that year. Our earliest Pooh merchandise was sold as an exclusive through Sears for several years.
Dave Smith