Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
Year: 1997
Directed by: Karl Geurs
Starring: Brady Bluhm, Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings, John Feidler, Ken Samson, Andre Stojka, David Warner & Paul Winchell
Runtime: 73 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 14/02/22
Directed by: Karl Geurs
Starring: Brady Bluhm, Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings, John Feidler, Ken Samson, Andre Stojka, David Warner & Paul Winchell
Runtime: 73 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 14/02/22
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is one of my personal favourite Disney Animated Classics because of its simple story, gorgeous animation, and excellent voice performances. The Winnie the Pooh brand would go on to be a big hit for Disney but the honey loving Bear and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood wouldn’t see any of their many new films reach the Classics line until 2011’s Winnie the Pooh.
With the direct to video films doing well, Disney opted to make Pooh’s first film since the 1977 original a home release in Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin.
Once upon a time in the Hundred Acre Wood, as is always the case with these stories, Pooh (Jim Cummngs) and Christopher Robin (Brady Bluhm) enjoy the final day of summer together. However, when Pooh awakens the next day unable to find his best friend, he rallies together the animals of the Hundred Acre Wood to search for him. Discovering a note left by the young boy, Pooh, Tigger (Paul Winchell), Piglet (John Fiedler), Eeyore (Peter Cullen), and Rabbit (Ken Samson) must journey into unknown territory populated by Heffalaumps, Woozels, and the dreaded Skullasaurus to bring their friend back home.
With the direct to video films doing well, Disney opted to make Pooh’s first film since the 1977 original a home release in Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin.
Once upon a time in the Hundred Acre Wood, as is always the case with these stories, Pooh (Jim Cummngs) and Christopher Robin (Brady Bluhm) enjoy the final day of summer together. However, when Pooh awakens the next day unable to find his best friend, he rallies together the animals of the Hundred Acre Wood to search for him. Discovering a note left by the young boy, Pooh, Tigger (Paul Winchell), Piglet (John Fiedler), Eeyore (Peter Cullen), and Rabbit (Ken Samson) must journey into unknown territory populated by Heffalaumps, Woozels, and the dreaded Skullasaurus to bring their friend back home.
Pooh’s Grand Adventure, unlike The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, is a single story and an entirely original one at that. Not based on any of A.A. Milne’s children’s stories, Pooh’s Grand Adventure definitely feels more Disney in tone than its predecessor did. In fact, it feels as though it’s aimed at a considerably younger audience than the 1977 film was, with little in the way of entertainment for adult viewers on offer.
The story is overly long, coming in at seventy-three minutes, which is roughly thirty to forty minutes longer than it needed to be. I couldn’t really tell you what happens in the film as I often found myself just checking out entirely, only to look back at the screen several minutes later and our characters were still in the same place.
The voice performances were also extremely disappointing with hardly anyone able to maintain their character voice throughout the entire film, as well as accents constantly changing and horrendously out of tune singing. Brady Bluhm was the worst offender of everyone who couldn’t do an English accent to save his life, and his singing sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
Much like Disney’s initial outing with direct to video films in Return of Jafar, Pooh’s Grand Adventure is something you should go out of your way to avoid. I know for a fact that not all of the Winnie the Pooh films that released in the coming years were bad, in fact a lot of them were just as good as 1977’s Many Adventures, but Pooh’s Grand Adventure is a major misfire that only the youngest of viewers will find enjoyment from.
The story is overly long, coming in at seventy-three minutes, which is roughly thirty to forty minutes longer than it needed to be. I couldn’t really tell you what happens in the film as I often found myself just checking out entirely, only to look back at the screen several minutes later and our characters were still in the same place.
The voice performances were also extremely disappointing with hardly anyone able to maintain their character voice throughout the entire film, as well as accents constantly changing and horrendously out of tune singing. Brady Bluhm was the worst offender of everyone who couldn’t do an English accent to save his life, and his singing sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
Much like Disney’s initial outing with direct to video films in Return of Jafar, Pooh’s Grand Adventure is something you should go out of your way to avoid. I know for a fact that not all of the Winnie the Pooh films that released in the coming years were bad, in fact a lot of them were just as good as 1977’s Many Adventures, but Pooh’s Grand Adventure is a major misfire that only the youngest of viewers will find enjoyment from.