Day 51: Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Starring: Jim Cummings, Travis Oates, Tom Kenny, Craig Ferguson, Bad Luckey, Jack Boulter, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Wyatt Hall, Huell Howser, John Cleese

Songs: "Winnie the Pooh," "The Tummy Song," "A Very Important Thing to Do," "The Backson Song," "It's Gonna Be Great," "Everything is Honey," "Pooh's Finale," "So Long"

Winnie the Pooh is the fifty-first Disney animated movie, one of few sequels in the official canon.  Like its predecessor, 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, it is based on the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne.  It tells the story of Pooh and his friends thinking that Christopher Robin has been kidnapped and trying to rescue him, needing to find Eeyore's tail, and Pooh being out of honey.

This movie began production in 2009 and used many veteran animators and story artists.  The movie was done in the style of earlier Pooh movies, and was originally to adapt five of Milne's stories, though the final version is merely inspired by three of them.  Several scenes and ideas were deleted or abandoned before the film was finished, making this one of the shorter films in the canon at just under seventy minutes.  That was one of the biggest complaints from critics.  The movie did receive pretty good reviews though its box office performance was only decent.

Overall, this was a cute movie.  While not quite as enjoyable as its predecessor, in my opinion, it was still a fun watch.  And the animation is beautiful, and quite likely the end of an era, as this is the last traditionally animated film to date.

What I Liked: John Cleese's narration and the opening with Christopher Robin's bedroom.  Also the whole sequence with "The Backson Song" is pretty darn cute.  And I love the design for the Backson as well.

What I Disliked: Since Jim Cummings is the only one to reprise his roles as Pooh and Tigger from previous Pooh projects, some of the voices sounded off to what I'm used to -- Owl and Kanga most notably.  It was a bit distracting at first, but it wasn't a make or break type thing.

Should You Watch This Movie: You know, it's not a bad movie.  Pretty cute and enjoyable, actually.  But I wouldn't call it a must-see unless you're either trying to see every Disney movie or you've already watched The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and need more Pooh stories.