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WINNIE THE POOH (Stephen J Anderson & Don Hall, 2011).
Disney’s 5th cinematic feature-length venture into the Hundred Acre Wood acts as a direct sequel to the compilation feature The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Wolfgang Reitherman & John Lounsbery, 1977). Roughly separated into three sequences, the bulk of the movie concerns the search for the mythical Backson, a fearful creature to rival Heffalumps and Woozles, who Pooh and pals mistakenly believe has kidnapped Christopher Robin after misreading the phrase ‘back soon’ on a note from Christopher to Pooh.
Thematically Winnie the Pooh covers much of the same ground as the straight-to-video sequel Pooh’s Grand Adventure (Karl Geurs, 1997). However, where that movie was dark and at times somewhat depressing, this one is an inventive, humorous and warm-hearted delight.
Animated in handcrafted 2D, the movie is visually pleasing throwback to the original Pooh featurettes (the 3 shorts comprise ‘The Many Adventures... movie). It is more faithful to Milne and to Walt Disney’s original vision of Pooh than any of the intervening features or TV adaptations.
While Sterling Holloway will never quite be replaced as the voice of Pooh, nor Paul Winchell as Tigger, Jim Cummings does a decent job of imitating both. Likewise, John Cleese is a welcome choice of narrator, although perhaps not quite possessing the warm yet authoritative tone of Sebastian Cabot. However, to criticise a fine vocal cast for not replacing the childhood memory of now deceased actors in one’s mind would be churlish; younger audience members will neither notice nor care.
The subtle ‘hums’ of Richard and Robert Sherman are missed, although Frozen songsmiths Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez’s more elaborate musical numbers are a satisfactory substitute.
At little under an hour before the end credits roll, the movie could stand being a mite longer. As it is, Winnie the Pooh is still a winning tribute to the Pooh movies of the past. A short and sweet old-school treat that should appeal to original Pooh fans as well as newcomers.
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POOH’S HEFFALUMP HALLOWEEN MOVIE (Dir: Saul Andrew Blinkoff & Elliot M. Bour, 2005).
A sequel of sorts to Pooh's Heffalump Movie (Frank Nissen, 2005), the feature which introduced the character of Lumpy the Heffalump to the Pooh universe. As with the previous movie, this one was also animated by DisneyToon Studios, the television production arm of Walt Disney Pictures. Unlike Pooh's Heffalump Movie, which enjoyed a theatrical release, Heffalump Halloween was a made for video effort. The movie is comprised of roughly two thirds new material, the remainder being recycled from the television special Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh (Rob LaDuca, 1996).
Once again, Pooh is relegated to co-star status in a film which largely revolves around Roo teaching his best friend Lumpy about the Hundred Acre Wood's 'trick or treat' traditions on the young heffalump's first Halloween. During the course of which Roo attempts to 'unscare' Lumpy by telling him of the Halloween which was almost a Hallo-wasn't due to Piglet's fears of the spooky season. Taken from the earlier special, this noticeably different footage presents us with the awkward narrative conceit of Roo narrating a story in which neither he or Kanga appear, as both were inexplicably absent from the episode.
Narrative issues aside, the film is passable entertainment for the very young; the toothless, yet sweet, confection contains no real frights for even the smallest of viewers. Children will undoubtedly find Lumpy adorable and may even enjoy the handful of forgettable songs. The expected messages about braveness and friendship are hammered home without a hint of subtlety.
There are certainly worse kid's movies out there than Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, but there are much better Pooh movies. The youngest and most undemanding Pooh fans will probably be enchanted by this spooky special. Older children and grownups would be much better served by watching Walt Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (John Lounsbery & Wolfgang Reitherman, 1977), or by reading the original A. A. Milne stories upon which it based.
I couldn’t resist drawing my favorite sketch of Ernest H. Shepard’s illustrations from A. A. Milne’s second Winnie-the-Pooh book, The House at Pooh Corner. When I was looking at Shepard’s drawings online I found that he also did the illustrations for The Wind the Willows, which was (and still is) one of my favorite books since early middle school. I wish that children’s books today had this level of quality in their illustrations. You would think with the advent of technology that we could produce high quality illustrations like this in an even shorter amount of time, but I keep seeing these really cheap looking books that saddens me to no end.