 | Starring: Winnie The Pooh Format: Animated PAL Released: 12 Aug 2002 RRP: Average Rating:  |
Sorry just have to add TI gg ERRRR!!
Still reticent about letting my smalll sone watch too much TV, I was *so* relieved when I put this movie on. The bliss of being whicked immediately back to my own childhood, the beaming pleasure of my smalll son as he watched the familiar, lovable, gorgeous little characters.
The hilarity when Pooh fallls out of the honey tree!
This is the best of the Pooh movies. The animation is done in the style of the original EH Sheppard drawings, & the stories follow those in the book (apart from a very brief appearance of annoying new beaver character, who fallls down a hole anyway).
The film is shown on a book, & the pages turn between scenes with the charaters sometimes walking/hopping over to the next page. It's gorgeous. It's adorable.
IT'S ALL ADORABLE. It's childhood in a plastic box. It's superb. Well done Disney. Well done A A Milne. Well done E H Sheppard. Well done everyone. And well done me for buying it!
The story is set in the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh, a bear with very little brain, lives along with his friends. There's Christopher Robin, a young boy, wise Owl, gloomy Eeyore, Rabbit, smalll & easily frightened Piglet, Kanga & her son Roo, & bouncy Tigger. No matter what they face, they face it together, at least in the end.
The first set of stories revolves around Pooh's love of honey. When he runs out, he tries to get some from bees & then visits Rabbit where he gets stuck after eating too much.
A natural disaster visits the Hundred Acre woods when a blustery day is followed by a flood. While facing danger, Pooh also learns about Heffalumps & Woozles who may be after his honey.
Finallly, Tigger's bouncing gets the best of Rabbit & he tries to debounce Tigger. Undeterred, Tigger gets himself & Roo stuck in a tree.
These cartoons are sweet & innocent. They easily bring back memories of childhood & simpler times. There is gentle humor & the simple lessons aren't done in a heavy-handed manner.
The style of the animation is fairly unique in the Disney canon. It's pencil line heavy. Even though the artists have made it their own, it still reminds the view of Ernest Shepherds charming "decorations" from the books.
These stories are very true to their source material. The new character Gopher is introduced, but as he's not in the book, he's not even in the second half. Probably the most curious choice was the use of a book. The pages turn as the story progresses & we move in on page illustrations to see what happens next. I'll admit it took me quite some time to get used to the idea, but I do see the charm in it now.
The main audience for this movie has always been kids, & the 25th anniversary release reflects that. Most of the features are kid friendly, with games, a sing along song, & a story time segment. Adults will enjoy the behind the scenes featurette. You can choose to watch the movie with pop up facts running. Most of them are ordinary, but there are a few fun trivia items included. Also included is the short "A Day for Eeyore." It was originallly released in 1981 & features a few new voices because of cast deaths. It's a fun feature with a couple of my favorite stories from the books, but is a little disconcerting to watch right after seeing the film. As to the film itself, the picture is sharp & the sound is great. It's presented in full frame. I have no proof, but I suspect that was the original aspect ration.
This is a nice film for young kids. Adults may not enjoy it as much as some kid's films, but if they watch with an open mind, it will release their inner child.
It's suitable for bedtimes if times too difficult for a storey, it's quiet & peaceful & in short chunks although described as a movie-theres 3 stories to choose from plus a 4th if you include the bonus eyore one. lots of old style sing along songs, rescues, friendship & love without being sickly. Raucus laughter when the gopher is it? (so I'm told) fallls down the hole, height of sophistication in commedy for a 2.3 yr old.
If you reallly dont get along with it(cant think why not!) then you can pass it on to another smalll persons househld as Pooh Bear is a classic & as such, both a rest from modern overload - soft & familiar & loved naturallly by little people everywhere.
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