The Tigger Movie is without a doubt one of the best films that Walt Disney Television Animation have ever produced and can even stand against Disney Animation Studios’ efforts with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. But could DisneyToon studios pull it off with the same finesse? Could they replicate the success of The Tigger Movie, or would they create something more in line with the bore that was Pooh’s Grand Adventure? All bets were on a little, timid, and extremely pink little Piglet to save the day.
After a successful attempt to steal some honey from a beehive, Piglet (John Fielder) leaves his friends feeling unappreciated as they celebrate their victory without acknowledging his input. After noticing that Piglet is missing, Pooh (Jim Cummings), Tigger (also Jim Cummings), Rabbit (Ken Sansom), Eeyore (Peter Cullen) and Roo (Nikita Hopkins) follow a scrapbook of Piglet’s memories to find where he might be hiding, and along the way reminisce on how big a help he has been in their previous escapades.
After a successful attempt to steal some honey from a beehive, Piglet (John Fielder) leaves his friends feeling unappreciated as they celebrate their victory without acknowledging his input. After noticing that Piglet is missing, Pooh (Jim Cummings), Tigger (also Jim Cummings), Rabbit (Ken Sansom), Eeyore (Peter Cullen) and Roo (Nikita Hopkins) follow a scrapbook of Piglet’s memories to find where he might be hiding, and along the way reminisce on how big a help he has been in their previous escapades.
Piglet’s Big Movie doesn’t quite have the same level of charm as The Tigger Movie did, but it’s close. Told primarily through a series of vignette’s that are derived from A.A. Milne’s books including The House on Pooh Corner, Piglet’s Big Movie has a timelessness to it in ways that other Disney Winnie the Pooh films haven’t since The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It doesn’t try to be anything bigger than it needs to be, and as a result the stakes are kept appropriately low. This was also one of the few Animated Sequels to get the big screen treatment, and it does feel surprisingly small scale for that kind of viewing. I remember going to watch Piglet’s Big Movie at the cinema and thinking back, the film is definitely more suited to home viewing. Something like The Tigger Movie with its bigger narrative about finding family felt more appropriate having that big screen treatment, but Piglet’s Big Movie is a home entertainment job through and through.
It has the production values of a theatrical release though with some gorgeous looking animation, and a great soundtrack too. Visually it’s on par with The Tigger Movie, with characters and environments being richly detailed, vividly coloured, and smoothly animated. The soundtrack is primarily performed by Carly Simon and has a number of great original songs on there, perhaps the most catchy and memorable of which is ‘With A Few Good Friends’ which is sung whilst building Eeyore’s house and on the film’s credits.
Disney+ is the perfect home for something like Piglet’s Big Movie. It’s narrative, much like Piglet himself, is small in scale but big in heart. It’s fun for all the family, and a great adaptation of some of A.A. Milne’s wonderful stories. It just goes to show that with a few good friends, and a stick or two, you can have some truly wholesome family entertainment that doesn’t feel like a rushed cash grab.
It has the production values of a theatrical release though with some gorgeous looking animation, and a great soundtrack too. Visually it’s on par with The Tigger Movie, with characters and environments being richly detailed, vividly coloured, and smoothly animated. The soundtrack is primarily performed by Carly Simon and has a number of great original songs on there, perhaps the most catchy and memorable of which is ‘With A Few Good Friends’ which is sung whilst building Eeyore’s house and on the film’s credits.
Disney+ is the perfect home for something like Piglet’s Big Movie. It’s narrative, much like Piglet himself, is small in scale but big in heart. It’s fun for all the family, and a great adaptation of some of A.A. Milne’s wonderful stories. It just goes to show that with a few good friends, and a stick or two, you can have some truly wholesome family entertainment that doesn’t feel like a rushed cash grab.