Winnie the Pooh, the self-described bear of “very little brain” who has charmed generations with his homespun and heartfelt wisdom, is turning 100.
The beloved children’s character ambled into the world in 1926 in a book written by English author A.A. Milne, and illustrated by E.H. Shepard.
Now Disney, which acquired the rights to Pooh and his pals from Hundred Acre Wood in the 1960s, is holding a year-long celebration of the slow-witted bear, whose image is found all over the planet, from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe.
“Winnie the Pooh is all of us,” said Kevin Kern, senior manager of research at the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California, where all kinds of Pooh paraphernalia are neatly catalogued.
“He shows all the emotions that we show. He sees the things that we see. He struggles like we do; whether he’s trying to get up a tree to get honey or understand his friends.
“He’s so steeped in wisdom that he himself does not always think he’s giving, and that’s so timeless.”
