Winnie the Pooh
Year: 2011
Director: Stephen Anderson & Don Hall
Starring: John Cleese, Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, Tom Kenny, Bud Luckey & Travis Oates
Runtime: 63 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 15/11/21
Director: Stephen Anderson & Don Hall
Starring: John Cleese, Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, Tom Kenny, Bud Luckey & Travis Oates
Runtime: 63 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 15/11/21
1977’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an underrated and often overlooked film in Disney’s long line of Animated Classics. But as a big Winnie the Pooh fan it’s one of my favourite entries in the long running film series. Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood would make several returns to the big screen over the years with the likes of The Tigger Movie, Piglet’s Big Movie, and Pooh’s Heffalump Movie; but none of them would fall into the Animated Classics series until 2011 when Winnie the Pooh released.
Life as always in the Hundred Acre Wood is peaceful and calm, but Eeyore (Bud Luckey) has lost his tail. To help out their friend, a contest is held to find Eeyore a new tail, with the prize for the winner being a pot of honey. During this time Christopher Robin (Jack Boulter) has disappeared with a note signed ‘Back Soon’ left in his place. Fearing that he has been kidnapped by the monstrous Backson, Owl (Craig Ferguson), Piglet (Travis Oates), Rabbit (Tom Kenny), Kanga (Kristen Anderson-Lopez), Roo (Wyatt Hall), Tigger, and Pooh (both voiced by Jim Cummings) set out to lay a trap for the Backson, rescue their friend, and find Eeyore’s tail.
Life as always in the Hundred Acre Wood is peaceful and calm, but Eeyore (Bud Luckey) has lost his tail. To help out their friend, a contest is held to find Eeyore a new tail, with the prize for the winner being a pot of honey. During this time Christopher Robin (Jack Boulter) has disappeared with a note signed ‘Back Soon’ left in his place. Fearing that he has been kidnapped by the monstrous Backson, Owl (Craig Ferguson), Piglet (Travis Oates), Rabbit (Tom Kenny), Kanga (Kristen Anderson-Lopez), Roo (Wyatt Hall), Tigger, and Pooh (both voiced by Jim Cummings) set out to lay a trap for the Backson, rescue their friend, and find Eeyore’s tail.
Winnie the Pooh is, as always with A.A. Milne’s tales, wholesome fun for all ages. Whilst children will enjoy the whimsical fun of our woodland friends trying and failing to catch a fictional creature, adults will really get the most mileage out of Winnie the Pooh with its inventive fourth wall breaking visual comedy. Set within the pages of a storybook, Pooh and co. will venture outside of their illustrations to walk across paragraphs of text, find new places, and interact with both the Narrator (John Cleese) and the viewer.
However, after the likes of Tigger’s, Piglet’s, and the Heffalump movies, Winnie the Pooh does feel narratively simple and doesn’t ever do anything to demand the attention of the viewer. It can feel like an extension of the stories told in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, rather than a standalone product.
Visually the distinctive Disney-fied Winnie the Pooh illustrations have been updated to varying degrees of success. Whilst most of the animal characters look sharper and more detailed than ever before, some characters like Christopher Robin look nothing like their previous Disney incarnations, and even further away from what was presented in Milne’s original stories.
But environments retain that same dreamy quality present in Milne’s source material, with everything feeling soft, light, and like a watercolour painting.
Winnie the Pooh also features a handful of songs, but the only one that truly stood out to me was the updated theme song performed by Zooey Deschanel.
All in all, Winnie the Pooh is what you would want out of a Winnie the Pooh film. It’s childish fun that isn’t particularly taxing on your brain or your emotions. But it can feel like a step back at times from the progress Disney had made with the brand during the 90’s and early 00’s due to its smaller scale. It’s all good fun, but it’d probably rather watch one of the other Pooh films instead.
However, after the likes of Tigger’s, Piglet’s, and the Heffalump movies, Winnie the Pooh does feel narratively simple and doesn’t ever do anything to demand the attention of the viewer. It can feel like an extension of the stories told in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, rather than a standalone product.
Visually the distinctive Disney-fied Winnie the Pooh illustrations have been updated to varying degrees of success. Whilst most of the animal characters look sharper and more detailed than ever before, some characters like Christopher Robin look nothing like their previous Disney incarnations, and even further away from what was presented in Milne’s original stories.
But environments retain that same dreamy quality present in Milne’s source material, with everything feeling soft, light, and like a watercolour painting.
Winnie the Pooh also features a handful of songs, but the only one that truly stood out to me was the updated theme song performed by Zooey Deschanel.
All in all, Winnie the Pooh is what you would want out of a Winnie the Pooh film. It’s childish fun that isn’t particularly taxing on your brain or your emotions. But it can feel like a step back at times from the progress Disney had made with the brand during the 90’s and early 00’s due to its smaller scale. It’s all good fun, but it’d probably rather watch one of the other Pooh films instead.