Tag Archives: AA Milne

The Gruffalo returns to England’s forests with launch of second AR Gruffalo Spotter app

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The Gruffalo is returning to the deep, dark wood thanks to the latest partnership between Forestry England, Magic Light Pictures, and Nexus Studios and the launch of The Gruffalo Spotter 2 app.

Building on the BAFTA nominated original, the new app brings the characters of The Gruffalo to life in the forest, as families will be able to follow a trail and learn about each one in turn. The augmented reality app mixes the animated characters with the real world environment and is developed to encourage kids to explore their surroundings.

Responding to instructions such as waving, stomping, flying, dancing and roaring, visitors will trigger the AR characters to come to life and interact with them. Through cutting-edge face and body recognition technology, the characters now look at the children directly, encouraging them to play along. These moments can even be recorded and saved to mobile devices for families to revisit and share later via the #GruffaloSpotters hashtag.

Gruffalo Spotter 2 has been designed for exclusive use at up to 24 of the nation’s forests across England where visitors of all ages can join the adventure and spot favourite characters along the way. The self-led trail features facts about forest animals with fun activities to complete including rubbings and interactive activities on some of the panels.

Bridgette Hall, recreation manager for Forestry England, said: “This is such an exciting development and will deliver a completely different forest experience for our visitors. The Gruffalo is a much-loved story and to be able to once again bring the characters to life in their natural setting is fantastic. We’re thrilled to be bringing the two worlds of technology and nature together again with this new app.”

Barney Goodland, producer at Magic Light Pictures, added: “Following the runaway success of the first Spotter app we’re delighted to be bringing The Gruffalo back to the forest for 2021. We’re always looking to further children’s enjoyment of The Gruffalo and this is an innovative way to incorporate new technology with a real-world experience.

“Working with Forestry England and Nexus Studios has been a real joy and it’s exciting to now be sharing Gruffalo Spotters 2 with families. Most importantly for us the app is completely free, which means that it’s there for everyone to enjoy.”

The Gruffalo Spotter 2 app, which has been developed and animated by Nexus Studios, is available for free with no in-app purchases from the App Store and Google Play and requires downloading before your visit. A Gruffalo Spotters trail pack will be available to buy on site which includes an activity leaflet full of fun facts and activities, Gruffalo Mask and paws, a nature spotters game, stickers as well as a crayon and pencil.

Colin Davis, executive producer, interactive arts, at Nexus Studios, said: “The team at Nexus Studios are massive fans of The Gruffalo and were really excited to be able to bring the iconic characters to life in the forest through the magic of Augmented Reality.

“Working with Magic Light Pictures and the Forestry England has been a fantastic collaboration on many levels, from new technical innovation in AR and real time 3D characters, to creating an experience that works outside in all weathers and for all ages. The creative challenges have always been enjoyable and we can’t wait to see children (and their grown-ups!) playing it.”

The Gruffalo Spotters trail and Gruffalo Spotter 2 app will be live until winter 2021.

LEGO enters Hundred Acre Wood with latest Ideas launch, LEGO Winnie the Pooh

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The LEGO Group is taking a nostalgic walk through Hundred Acre Wood with the launch of its latest LEGO Ideas project, LEGO Winnie the Pooh, a set based on the original designs from LEGO builder Ben Adler.

Taking inspiration from the tales of A.A. Milne’s adventures of Christopher Robin that have transported readers for almost a century, the new LEGO Winnie the Pooh launch will take fans on a journey to beneath a large oak tree, where Pooh’s house takes centre stage.

The house can be opened up to unveil a host of furniture and unique items such as the Pooh-coo Clock, a box of Pooh sticks, Tigger’s locket, and plenty of honey pots.

LEGO superfan Ben Alder originally submitted the concept to LEGO Ideas; a LEGO initiative that takes new ideas that have been imagined and voted for by fans and turns them into reality.

Discussing the design, Alder said: “I love Winnie the Pooh and remember my parents reading it to me as a child. I now read the same Winnie the Pooh stories to my children, so it is certainly something dear to my heart. I decided to make the set so that my children could bring to life our bedtime stories but never quite expected the positive reaction it has received.”

The new set includes five new moulded characters, each with their own accessories. Pooh himself has his red balloon to collect honey from the bees in the branches above, Piglet is wrapped up in his scarf, and Tigger has just moved to the woods with his sack on a stick. Meanwhile, Rabbit has carrots ready for snacking, and Eeyore comes complete with his tail and a removable ribbon.

Other notable inclusions to the set include a campfire and log for Pooh to think about the things that he discovers, his front door complete with “Mr. Sanders” sign above it, his adorable blue bell to ring the front door, and finally, a signpost to the Hundred Acre Wood to make sure Pooh finds his way home.

Federico Begher, VP of global marketing at The LEGO Group, said: “Winnie the Pooh is a 95-year-old story that is loved globally, so seeing Ben’s design sparked a lot of nostalgia for us all.  Plus, his personal story about how he created the set for his family to play out the lovely Winnie the Pooh stories using LEGO bricks felt like a beautiful combination of family, LEGO bricks, and Winnie the Pooh that we wanted to share with others.

“We also had the rare treat of being able to create all new characters for this LEGO Ideas set. We simply had to see how the line-up of Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit and Piglet would look like in mini figure shape. As well as creating a brand-new Eeyore figure.

“The stories of the Hundred Acre Wood come to life with this set and there are plenty of intricate details for fans of both Disney and LEGO to discover.”

The LEGO Ideas Winnie the Pooh set is available directly from LEGO Stores and LEGO.com from 18th March, 2021 for LEGO VIP members, and 1st April 2021 for all.

The Royal Mint unveils its Winnie-the-Pooh commemorative coin collection

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The Royal Mint has partnered with Disney to reveal its latest commemorative coin, bringing the original and much-loved illustrations of the beloved Winnie-the-Pooh to the 50 pence for the first time. The new coin forms forms part of a wider collection of special 50p coins featuring Winnie-the-Pooh and friends.

Developed in collaboration with Disney, the 50 pence coin uses the original watercolour illustrations of E.H. Shepard, with the first coin in the series featuring Winnie-the-Pooh alongside his jar of honey.

The limited edition coin is available in a range of finishes, including base metal, Silver and Gold. Shepard’s illustrations have been digitally printed on each, which the Royal Mint says ‘brings them alive in vivid detail and colour.’

Daniel Thorne, product designer at The Royal Mint and part of the collaboration to have worked on the Winnie-the-Pooh collection, said: “Working with original illustrations from E.H. Shepard, supplied to us by Disney, my biggest priority with the coin’s design was to ensure we do these wonderful images justice.

“As the original maker of coins, The Royal Mint has a long history of exquisite craftsmanship and this coin is no exception. Bringing the illustrations of E.H. Shepard to life took a lot of craft and care.

“From the honey bee motif that runs throughout the series, to the grassy mound Pooh is sitting on, we tried many different techniques to create the flawless effect of watercolour on the coin, eventually settling on the one you’ll see on the final version.

“I’m honoured to have been able to work on this exciting coin. Winnie-the-Pooh was a huge part of my childhood and forms some of my fondest memories. So I wanted to make sure this series of coins truly encapsulated the spirit of Pooh Bear and all his friends.

“Creating these coins was a labour of love and I hope that collectors can appreciate the beauty in each and every design in the range.”

James Campbell at The Shepard Trust, added: “It’s wonderful to see the beloved Winnie the Pooh immortalised on an official UK coin for the first time. The craftsmanship involved in replicating E.H. Shepard’s original watercolour illustrations is truly remarkable.

“The Royal Mint has done an exceptional job in creating a collection that will be treasured for years to come by Winnie the Pooh fans of all ages.”

Clare Maclennan, divisional director of Commemorative Coin and The Royal Mint Experience, at The Royal Mint, said: “Over our 1,100-year history we’ve minted coins to commemorate key moments and figures in Britain’s history, including literary icons, like Shakespeare and Wordsworth through to Beatrix Potter’s mischievous Peter Rabbit, and we’re delighted to now add A.A. Milne’s loveable Winnie-the-Pooh to the list.

“Our childhood character coins are encouraging a new generation of coin collectors and we’re delighted to add this iconic character and his friends, to our range. We’ve all grown up with Winnie-the-Pooh and he remains a cherished character, not only in Britain but across the world.

“We anticipate the coins being hugely popular, especially in the lead-up to Christmas and look forward to both children and adults alike, enjoying the collection.”

Along with the Winnie-the-Pooh coin, The Royal Mint also revealed the next two coins in the collectable series, which feature Christopher Robin and Piglet respectively. These will be available later in the year.

Winnie-the-Pooh was first published in 1926 by A.A. Milne and was inspired by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, who was born 100 years ago this year. Winnie-the-Pooh was based on Christopher’s teddy bear, Edward.

Father and son then named him ‘Winnie’ after a black bear called Winnie that lived in London Zoo and ‘Pooh’, after a swan they met on holiday.

These stories from a father to his son have now been published in countries across the world, making Winnie-the-Pooh a global icon and a key part of the childhood and lives of millions of people.