Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday
Celebrating 90 years of two much-loved British icons…
In a brand new short adventure:
Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday
Britain’s best-loved bear meets Her Majesty The Queen for the first time in an enchanting new illustrated adventure, narrated by Jim Broadbent
Video featuring Jim Broadbent recording the story available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89zsCLfsmCY&feature=youtu.be
"Bear," announced Christopher Robin solemnly. "That hum is fit for a Queen. That hum shall be The Queen's present. Owl shall write it out and you and I and Eeyore shall deliver it to Buckingham Palace. And Piglet must come too because London is a very big place indeed and even small animals, if they are very good friends, can make everything alright."
To celebrate 90 years of two much-loved British icons, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday is released today as a brand new illustrated and audio adventure, narrated by Oscar winning actor Jim Broadbent and available for free at www.Disney.co.uk/WinnieRoyalBirthday.
This brand new story has been specially written to celebrate the upcoming official 90th birthday celebrations of Her Majesty The Queen, and also Winnie-the-Pooh’s 90th anniversary, with October 2016 marking 90 years since his first publication and arrival in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Featuring Pooh’s first ever meeting of the Royal Family, the tale beautifully presents the loveable bear and his friends embarking on an unforgettable journey from the Hundred Acre Wood to London with the wish of delivering their own thoughtful 90th birthday presents to The Queen. Illustrations drawn in the classic E.H. Shepard style by Mark Burgess see the nation’s favourite bear and friends travelling through London on an open-top bus, taking in the sights including Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace guards, before a chance meeting with The Queen, which allows Pooh to present their birthday gifts.
Jim Broadbent, who narrated the audiobook of the new short adventure, says: “I have been a fan of Winnie-the-Pooh since I was a boy, in fact I named my very first and much loved teddy ‘Pooh’ and that can only have been after the A. A. Milne character. I’ve loved being part of this story to celebrate The Queen’s 90th birthday and Winnie-the-Pooh’s 90th anniversary; it’s been an honour to narrate such an iconic story and I want to wish both Her Majesty The Queen and Winnie-the-Pooh a very Happy 90th!”
Winnie-the-Pooh has had previous links with Her Majesty The Queen, with The Duke and The Duchess of York being presented with a Christopher Robin china nursery set with hand-coloured pictures of Christopher Robin, Pooh and friends, as a gift for a young Princess Elizabeth, who is believed to have loved the Winnie-the-Pooh stories as a child. The 1926 A. A. Milne book, Teddy Bear and the Other Songs from When We Were Very Young, was also dedicated to Princess Elizabeth upon her birth when it was published – though the new adventure is the first time the much-loved bear has ‘met’ Her Majesty in one of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
Nicole Pearson, Creative Director at Egmont Publishing, comments, “We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate The Queen’s birthday in the same year that marks Pooh’s 90th year in Hundred Acre Wood but with this lovely royal adventure. This is a celebration of two very British icons that have been part of our British heritage for 90 years.”
Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday:
Narrated by Jim Broadbent
Written by Jane Riordan, Egmont Publishing
Illustrated by Mark Burgess, after the style of E. H. Shepherd
Download the illustrated ebook and watch the animated story for free at www.Disney.co.uk/WinnieRoyalBirthday
Download the B-Roll Videos here
Multimedia Gallery
Notes to Editors:
About Winnie The-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh is the world's most famous bear, and has been beloved by children around the world for almost 90 years. He appears in two storybooks – Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner – and two poetry collections – When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six – written by A. A. Milne and definitively illustrated by E. H. Shepard. With a rich storytelling heritage, the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood represent friendship, simple joys and the curious and gentle nature of a child’s imagination. For more information go to: http://www.disney.co.uk/disney-baby/winnie-the-pooh/.
Readers can look forward to The Best Bear in All the World, an anthology of four stories, which will be published in October 2016 to mark the 90th anniversary of the first publication of Winnie-the-Pooh. Mark Burgess will illustrate the text in the style of original illustrator E H Shepard and four authors - Paul Bright, Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders and Brian Sibley – will write the stories. For more information about the Winnie-the-Pooh books visit: egmont.co.uk/pooh.
About Egmont Publishing
In the UK, Egmont is the leading specialist children’s publisher for babies to teens, inspiring children to read through more than 30 million award-winning books, magazines, ebooks and apps each year. We’re proud to be home to many of the world’s favourite stories and best-loved authors, illustrators and characters such as Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), Andy Stanton (Mr Gum), Enid Blyton, Julia Donaldson, Lemony Snicket, Michael Grant (Gone series and BZRK), Winnie-the-Pooh, Tintin, Mr. Men, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Angry Birds, Minecraft and Star Wars. Egmont Publishing is part of the Egmont Group which was founded in 1878 and owned by the Egmont Foundation, a charitable trust dedicated to supporting children and young people. It is Scandinavia’s leading media group and Europe’s largest children’s publisher telling stories through books, magazines, film, TV, music, games and mobile in 30 countries throughout the world.
www.egmont.co.uk
About Mark Burgess
Illustrator Mark Burgess has illustrated countless classic children’s characters including Paddington Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh. Mark provided illustrations in the style of E. H. Shepard for the first authorised sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, with stories by David Benedictus, published in October 2009. Additionally, Burgess has coloured and adapted the newer editions of various classic children's books that were drawn by the late E. H. Shepard and Peggy Fortnum. Mark also works as a computer programmer, designs greetings cards, web sites, animations and special warm places for his cat to sleep.
Contact
Claire McCormack
The Walt Disney Company, EMEA
[email protected]