Today (January 18) marks Winnie-the-Pooh Day; chosen especially because it's also the date of A.A. Milne's birthday! To help celebrate here at Female First, we've decided to take a look back not only at Pooh's legacy, but that of some of the other fan-favourite fictional bears to have solidified their place in history.
Winnie-the-Pooh
Inspired by a toy purchased for Milne's son Christopher Robin (the influence for the character of the same name!), Pooh made their first appearance in the book Winnie-the-Pooh, released in 1926. Tigger was the last of the main characters of Hundred Acre Wood to be introduced in 1928, and immediately made a splash alongside the likes of Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga and Roo.
Pooh's stories made a huge impact on Walt Disney, who would read the stories to his daughters and eventually be encouraged to help share those tales with the world, bringing the bear under the Disney umbrella.
Baloo
Another bear that Disney fans will be familiar with is Baloo, thanks to the company's adaptations of Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection of stories, The Jungle Book. He's a friendly companion to Mowgli who hasn't a care in the world, until the young man-cub enters his life.
The jovial and clumsy character may not always be the best judge of where to go or what to do next, but his heart is in the right place. He'll stop at nothing to protect Mowgli from the dangers of the jungle, and that's why he's one of our favourite fictional bears of all time!
Rupert Bear
Originally starting as a comic strip character, Rupert Bear was created by English artist Mary Tourtel. He made his first appearance in 1920 and was placed in the Daily Express newspaper, with the company hoping it would influence those buying papers to choose them above rivals such as the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror.
Since there, Rupert has made his way into a string of different television shows, dozens of different books and even two separate video games.
Paddington Bear
First appearing in a children's book back in 1958, Paddington Bear is enjoying a whole new life in the spotlight thanks to two brilliant live-action movies; we'd be shocked if there weren't more on the way!
Instantly recognisable thanks to his old hat, duffle coat, battered suitcase and a love of marmalade sandwiches, Paddington is one of the most beloved classic characters the world has ever seen, who will surely be around long after we've all gone.
Bungle
Bungle is a character who has been portrayed by a slew of different actors, and rose to fame in the British children's television series Rainbow. His realistic appearance in the show's first season actually scared some of the younger viewers at home, and so the crew had to give him more of a cartoon-like look from the second season onwards.
Ted
Seth MacFarlane served as director and writer on both Ted movies, as well as voicing the titular bear, working alongside the likes of Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis in what have been hailed some of the funniest films of the modern day.
We still don't know whether Ted will be making a return for a third movie, but we can certainly hold onto hopes and hints that have been dropped by McFarlane throughout the past few months!
MORE: What does it mean to dream about a teddy bear?
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