Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, Christopher Robin is still having adventures with his stuffed pals Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, and all of the beloved characters appear in the brand new animated feature “Winnie the Pooh” opening July 15 in theaters.
The Disney film held a sneak peek at the LA Film Festival, and its world premiere event hit Walt Disney Studios on July 10 with voice actors Jim Cummings, Travis Oates, Tom Kenny, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Wyatt Hall and late-night host Craig Ferguson, who star in the movie.
In the 1920s, A.A. Milne began writing his series of books based on his real son and stuffed friends. Walt Disney’s daughters adored the books, so in 1966, the first Disney Pooh story was born—a short called “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.” In 1977, Disney produced a full-length feature based on the bear with little brains called “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” and after that, the character became one of the most loved and well-known in Disney’s history.
The Hundred Acre Wood continued to reign in children’s eyes and with the start of the 1988 ABC series based on Winnie, Jim Cummings was cemented as the voice of both Pooh and his pal Tigger. The latest film, simply titled “Winnie the Pooh,” uses the same animation from the ‘80s and ‘90s versions and enlists the help of Cummings’ voice talents to keep it as close to those pieces as possible. It’s directed by Pooh newcomers Stephen Anderson and Don Hall, who might be venturing into new territories, but they don’t make it obvious that this is their first Hundred Acre Wood journey with skilled direction and seamless writing.
Other actors have changed, but the casting works well, as they keep similar phrasing and tones from the previous voices of their respective characters. The most surprising is Ferguson for Owl, the wise but often incorrect mentor to the group. An odd choice at first, its clear that Ferguson has a love for the stories as well, and he’s a welcome addition to the gang. Eeyore is just as depressed as ever with Bud Luckey’s stylings, and this is not Oates’ first turn as the scared and small Piglet.
Veteran actor John Cleese serves as the narrator of the storybook-formatted tale of one fateful day in the Hundred Acre Woods. Pooh wakes up with one thing—per usual—on his brain: honey. He begins looking for his tasty treat when he bumps into Eeyore who has misplaced his tail again.
Wanting to help his forlorn friend, Pooh pauses his honey hunt to enlist the help of everyone (including Kanga, Roo and Rabbit) to give Eeyore a new tail. This act is harder than it seems, and just when they are about to ask Christopher Robin (voiced by Jack Boulter) for help, they find a note he has written.
Zooey Deschanel with Winnie the Pooh
Owl—the reader of the group—interprets the piece in a skewed way, and soon, the gang has decided that Christopher has been kidnapped by a mysterious monster called the Backson. Pooh still hasn’t received his honey, Eeyore still doesn’t have his tail, but they have a more important task, and that’s to save Christopher Robin.
“Winnie the Pooh” is the perfect little film for the entire family, bridging all generations, as Pooh is a character from everyone’s childhood. Back to the 2D animation that really makes Pooh and his friends sparkle, the new movie will have older audiences reminiscing about their favorite Pooh stories of years past, and new fans of the series will want to revisit classics like “The Blustery Day” and “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too.”
With sharp humor, interesting dialogue and the most lovable characters around, “Winnie the Pooh” does what Disney does best: entertains audiences of all ages. Leaving a nostalgic aura with a feeling of scrumptious sweetness, it’s hard to not just simply adore the new movie after it closes.
Giving the franchise a mild revamp is actress/singer Zooey Deschanel’s reworking and arrangement of the opening theme song and the ending credits song “So Long.” The indie singer/songwriter is on vocals and the ukulele, backed by her She & Him partner M. Ward for the opening number, which allows for a subtle update on the classic tune without overpowering and changing the basics too much. The “So Long” piece—written by Deschanel and Ward—is a lovely ending and new addition to the Pooh legacy.
In addition to Deschanel’s stamp on the music, several new songs were created for the characters to sing written by Robert Lopez (a Tony winner for “Avenue Q”) and his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez (voice of Kanga).
Clocking in at a short 70 minutes, “Winnie the Pooh” shows storytelling at its finest with perfect visuals and a narrative that both evokes laughter and teaches a lesson of friendship to the young ones—and older ones—in the room. Pooh might be a willy, nilly, silly, ole bear, but he is loyal to his friends through whatever problems they may be facing. He’s even more loyal to them than his rumbly tumbly.
For more information, visit www.disney.com/Pooh and www.facebook.com/WinniethePooh. The film also features a short at the beginning called “The Ballad of Nessie” and a brief scene at the end of the credits.
