> In the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, where do Pooh and his friends live?And the answer: Hundred Acre Wood. Photo credit: The IndependentIn the books by author A. A. Milne, the name"Hundred Acre Wood" was originally used only to refer to the parts of the forestsurrounding Owl's house, while the other characters lived outside of it. But iteventually became known as the general location of Pooh Bear's House, Kanga'sHouse, the Bee Tree, and other familiar settings. While Winnie-the-Pooh is now quite a household name, the lovable bear wasn'talways so well known. His fame today largely grows out of the animated series ofshort films created by Walt Disney in the 1970s, which came as the Poohfranchise's first on-screen adaptations. In fact, the Winnie-the-Pooh series wasthe final project overseen by Disney before his death in 1966. Today, Pooh isthe third best-selling franchise in the world. Before Disney made the move to adapt Pooh to the screen, he had a keenrealization: the bear was well loved by British children, but virtually unknownto his American audience. As such, he needed a way to introduce the colorfulcast of characters before investing in a new animated feature film. Thus, Disneymade the decision to create a short film series that introduced the fantasticalworld of Pooh and his friends, drawing from original illustrations and aptlycast voice actors to support it. Additionally, Disney added the distinctlyAmerican character of Gopher to help ground that portion of his audience. Photo credit: Metro.USThe animated series drew heavily on the the illustrationsfrom A.A. Milne's original version, but added depth and dimension to thecharacters. Shots from the first installment offer animations that, quiteliterally, jump off the page of the book on which they're drawn – remindingchildren that reading about Winnie-the-Pooh is just as joyful. Winnie-the-Pooh's commercial success also draws largely from its retail appeal.It's estimated that the franchise has brought in over $76 billion to Disneysince its inception, and between $3-6 billion every year, most of which comesfrom Winnie-the-Pooh branding on anything from backpacks to stuffed bears totheme park rides. Lovable bear indeed!Check out a scene from the animated adaptation below.