<P> On 6 January 1930, Stephen Slesinger purchased US and Canadian merchandising, television, recording and other trade rights to the "Winnie - the - Pooh" works from Milne for a $1000 advance and 66% of Slesinger's income, creating the modern licensing industry . By November 1931, Pooh was a $50 million - a-year business . Slesinger marketed Pooh and his friends for more than 30 years, creating the first Pooh doll, record, board game, puzzle, US radio broadcast (NBC), animation, and motion picture film . </P> <P> The first time Pooh and his friends appeared in colour was 1932, when he was drawn by Slesinger in his now - familiar red shirt and featured on an RCA Victor picture record . Parker Brothers introduced A.A. Milne's Winnie - the - Pooh Game in 1933, again with Pooh in his red shirt . In the 1940s, Agnes Brush created the first plush dolls with Pooh in his red shirt . Shepard had drawn Pooh with a shirt as early as the first Winnie - The - Pooh book, which was subsequently coloured red in later coloured editions . </P> <P> After Slesinger's death in 1953, his wife, Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, continued developing the character herself . In 1961, she licensed rights to Walt Disney Productions in exchange for royalties in the first of two agreements between Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and Disney . The same year, A.A. Milne's widow, Daphne Milne, also licensed certain rights, including motion picture rights, to Disney . </P> <P> Since 1966, Disney has released numerous animated productions starring Winnie the Pooh and related characters . These have included theatrical featurettes, television series, and direct - to - video films, as well as the theatrical feature - length films The Tigger Movie, Piglet's Big Movie, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, and Winnie the Pooh . </P>

When did disney get the rights to winnie the pooh