‘Pooh’ hits the big screen
Like a lot of movie-goers this weekend, I went to see a story
that I grew up with that went from book to movie form, bringing to
life well-love characters. But it wasn’t the final installment
of
”
Harry Potter,
”
which I am waiting to see this weekend when the theaters clear
out a little. Instead I went to see the movie version of
”
Winnie the Pooh,
”
a cartoon I watched frequently on the Disney Channel as a child.
Even as an adult, it touched my life with book spin-offs such as
the
”
Tao of Pooh
”
and the
”
Te of Piglet,
”
and some heartfelt greetings I’ve received through the
years.
‘Pooh’ hits the big screen
Like a lot of movie-goers this weekend, I went to see a story that I grew up with that went from book to movie form, bringing to life well-love characters. But it wasn’t the final installment of “Harry Potter,” which I am waiting to see this weekend when the theaters clear out a little. Instead I went to see the movie version of “Winnie the Pooh,” a cartoon I watched frequently on the Disney Channel as a child. Even as an adult, it touched my life with book spin-offs such as the “Tao of Pooh” and the “Te of Piglet,” and some heartfelt greetings I’ve received through the years.
The movie is a short one, barely over an hour long, and some of the footage looks very similar to bits I’d seen before. But then again, there are some things that are imperative to the story of the Hundred Acre Wood so each episode of the old Disney series had some similarities. Pooh will always be on the search for honey. Owl will always be a know-it-all who knows less than he thinks. Eyeore will always be a little bit gloomy. And Tigger will also have more energy than anyone I’ve met in real life.
The latest film strings together some of the old story lines with a new story, but it feels a little bit like a long episode of the old Disney show. The show started out with scenes of a young boy’s room, a live-action scene with a narrator who opens the classic books by A.A. Milne to share a story. The movie opens up the same way, with scenes of the stuffed animals that inspired the stories, as well as a worn book cover. There is no narrator on screen here, but John Cleese does a great job voicing the narration, in which he guides the lost Pooh along through the story.
The story in the movie is simple, and probably best for young children, who will also like the music that breaks up the movie. Some of the songs are ones from the past animated series, such as a song about Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. But the movie also has some new songs, including one by actress/singer Zooey Deschanel.
Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings) wakes up reluctantly and his first thought of the day is that he needs some honey. With no honey at home, he sets out in the Hundred Acre Wood to find some. But his search is paused when he runs across Eyeore (voiced by Bud Luckey) who is again missing his tail. Pooh enlists the help of Christopher Robin (voiced by Jack Boulter) to get the other residents of the woods to find a suitable tail for Eyeore. The cast of characters also includes Pooh’s best friend Piglet (Travis Oates,) Tigger (Jim Cummings,) Kanga (Kristen Anderson-Lopez,) Roo (Wyatt Dean Hall) and Rabbit (Tom Kenny).
With characters that are well known, some of the voice actors do a better job than others sticking with the unique voices associated with the animals. Since the first cartoons were animated in the 1960s, all the voices in the new movie are done by different actors. Jim Cummings does a great job getting that little whistle in Pooh’s voice, but with Tigger something is off and it almost seems to verge into fake Scottish accent territory at times. Travis Oates does well with Piglet’s stammer and constant anxiety.
The new story keeps all the characters well in their comfort zone, especially when the animals think that Christopher Robin has been kidnapped by an awful creature. They get that idea when Owl misreads a letter left by Christopher Robinson. Owl says his words “Back Soon,” noting that he will be back soon, is actually the name of a horrible monster named a Backson. Through a song, the animals explain all the things a Backson does and then they come up with a plan to catch the monster to save Christopher Robin. The movie wraps up with humor, and though the credits go on forever, those who stay until the very end can see a funny additional animation.
The movie does start with a short animation, as well, for movie-goers who might feel cheated by the short running time of the film. Both the short and the feature film use classic animation, but the stories are still fun and show that a good story does not require the gimmick of 3-D. The short is about how Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, came to live in Loch Ness. I would suggest the film for fans who grew up with the Winnie the Pooh or for those with young children who want to share the characters with them. This is a good one for an early showing, since the film is shorter than average so it might not be worth paying full price in the evening.
