Channel Awesome vs. the Poohniverse

Channel Awesome vs. the Poohniverse is a 2025 British-American independent crossover comedy slasher film produced by Channel Awesome and Jagged Edge Productions, in association with ITN Studios with YouTube Premium and Premiere Entertainment handling sales, and distributed by YouTube and Cineworld. A crossover between the Channel Awesome Universe (CAU) and the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU), the film is the sequel to To Boldly Flee (2012) and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) and its 2024 sequel, which collectively are based on the web series Nostalgia Critic created by Doug Walker and served as horror reimaginings to A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh books, respectively, begins the culmination of every previous CAU and TCU film, including the aforementioned To Boldly Flee and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, and serves as the second-to-final film in Phase One of both cinematic universes. Directed by Walker and Rhys Frake-Waterfield from a script written by Amy Jump, the film follows Nostalgia Critic and his fellow reviewers from Channel Awesome, both old and new, heading to the UK and joining forces with the survivors from the TCU, including Christopher Robin and Wendy Darling among the others, to put an end to a countrywide massacre across the UK led by Winnie-the-Pooh, who, along with other monsters from the TCU like Bambi and the Mad Hatter, want to exact their revenge on their survivors once and for all. The ensemble cast including Walker, his brother Rob, Malcolm Ray, Tamara Chambers, Rachel Tietz, Jim Jarosz, Walter Banasiak, Heather Reuz, Aiyanna Wade, Brad Jones, James Rolfe, Scott Chambers, Megan Placito, Roxanne McKee, Amber Doig-Thorne, Ryan Oliva, Lewis Santer, Tom Hiddleston, Marcus Massey, Eddy MacKenzie, Frederick Dallaway, Daveigh Chase, Javier Botet, Philip Philmar, and Kit Green.
Development began in December 2023 before the film was announced officially in an exclusive article from Variety on March 18, 2024 as a collaborative effort between Channel Awesome and Jagged Edge Productions, serving as a crossover between the former's web series Nostalgia Critic and the latter's then recently announced Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU), which began with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) of whom the film is the standalone sequel to. Additionally, characters from other Channel Awesome-associated web series, including Angry Video Game Nerd and Cinema Snob, and characters from the other standalone films in the TCU, including Bambi: The Reckoning and Awakening Sleeping Beauty, were also announced to appear in major roles, said roles ranging from protagonistic to antagonistic depending on the character. Filming began in June 2024 in Ashdown Forest, around the Channel Awesome studio at Lombard, Chicago, and at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, with a large cast consisting mostly of actors reprising their roles from previous Channel Awesome web series and anniversary specials and previous TCU films, including Doug as Nostalgia Critic and Oliva as Winnie-the-Pooh. The production lasted until May 2, 2025, shooting back-to-back with a direct sequel, Reviewers and Monsters Revolt (2026). Additional filming took place in Ingoldmells, Detriot, and the mountainous areas of Wales and Canada. With a production budget of $327-452 million, Channel Awesome vs. the Poohniverse is one of the most expensive films ever made and was both the most expensive independent film and the most expensive horror film ever made at the time before being surpassed by its sequel, which was made with a budget of $358-454 million.
Channel Awesome vs. the Poohniverse premiered at Vue West End on December 12, 2025, before being simultaneously released both theatrically and for free viewing on Channel Awesome's YouTube channel on December 18 as part of Phase One of both the Channel Awesome Universe and the Twisted Childhood Universe, with the film arriving to streaming services including Peacock and YouTube TV 45 days later. Upon release, the film was lauded by many for the performances, with Massey's performance as Owl receiving particular praise, and Walker and Frake-Waterfield's direction, as well as the comedy, perfect balance between comedy and horror, kills, action sequences, musical score, and especially for its practical, visual and special effects, with everyone deeming it a massive improvement over its predecessors and was considered the best film in both the Channel Awesome Universe and the Twisted Childhood Universe at the time, only to be surpassed by its sequel, Reviewers and Monsters Revolt, a year later.
Category:Crossover films
Category:Crossover movies
Category:Crossovers
Category:Horror
Category:Horror films
Category:Nostalgia Critic
Category:Winnie the Pooh
Category:Horror films based on the Children's franchises
Category:2025 films
Category:2025
Category:YouTube
Category:American films
Category:British films