Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh.

            If there’s one property Disney has treated with respect over the course of its lifespan, it’s the Winnie the Pooh franchise. From the original short, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery day, Pooh and pals have made their niche in the cornerstone in many a childhood (mine included.) What I love the most about Pooh is the timelessness of his adventures.  The main setting is the 100 Acre Wood, with the most cutting edge bit of tech is the pen and paper The advantage of this is that Pooh’s adventures could take place at any time with nothing to date the film. Nothing spells a classic story other than a teddy bear getting stuck in his rabbit friend’s burrow while said rabbit graffities a smiley face and tree branches on the unsuspecting bear’s buttocks. And since, Pooh and pals have gone through many different iterations, be it theatrical shorts, television series (2-D and 3-D animated), puppetry and costumes. Despite the change, they all hold true to the original theme of the shorts and original novel: the warm feeling we get when we allow our imaginations run amok.

             And so we begin our tale. After waking up from a typical slumber, Pooh has one goal on his mind today: to get some honey for his rumbly tummy. He gets sidetracked though when he learns that Eyeore has once again lost his tail. Being the kindly humanitarians, the group holds a small contest to see who can find a suitable replacement for their friend. It goes without fail and soon enough Eeyore has a new tail. No sooner than you can say plot device, Christopher Robin disappears from the wood. Due to Owl’s illiteracy, a simple going away note is misconstrued as aa note from the nefarious Backson, who has kidnapped our dear Christopher. From here on out, the film follows the gang in their attempts to thwart the Back son and the zany mishaps that befall them.

            The plot itself is not the draw to the film though. While it is fun, it’s a fairly predictable and most people over the age of five will be able to pinpoint all the beats. You know from the start that Pooh isn’t going to get the honey without the plot getting in the way. Considering Owl’s self assured nature, you could tell early on that he would be the cause of the Backson confusion ( the wood definitely needs a boost in its education dept. )

            However, Winnie the Pooh doesn’t fall prey with the weakness of the plot. It knows exactly how to utilize the simplicity of the story to its advantage.  It utilizes the best aspects of each of its characters, giving the audience what they want before moving unto the next big segment. Most of which is driven by the star of the show, Pooh bear. He has a good heart but he’s a bit of a dullard. He displays a childhood sense of misunderstanding that often leads to the frustration of his friends. This happens quite a number of times, the funniest which is seen in the trailer where  he confuses the word “issue” for a sneeze.

            Likewise, the other characters suffer from their own humorous idiosyncrasies. Owl is the textbook example of a sophomore; he’s intelligent to a point but when it comes to giving hard facts, he resorts to lying ( making up the history of the Backson, etc.). Piglet, like Pooh is a simple creature, e.g. a key scene where Pooh and friends are stuck in a whole and Rabbit asks for something long to pull them out, Piglet in turn drops them a very thick book. The majority of the other characters have their own personal shticks that complement each other. Tiger is full of manic energy, always on the lookout for things to do and creatures to pounce. In Winnie the Pooh and the blustery day, there’s a scene where Tigger confuses his reflection for another tigger. Here its repeated again with a balloon and like before,  it On the flipside, there’s Rabbit, the always suffering straight man of the 100 Acre Wood. His scene with Piglet in the pit is a personal favorite of mine; you can feel the rising sense of frustration coming from Rabbit as he tries to reason with their fearless rescuer

            Along with the characters, the music in the film is personal highlight of the film. Scored by Henry jack man with songs Kristen and Robert Lopez., the music harkens back to the work of the Sherman brothers from the original shorts. The songs themselves are contain charming bits of word play and brilliant imagery. To boot, they’re accompanied by some amazingly animated set-pieces with the Backson number being a true standout with a  chalk motif.

            Winnie- the- Pooh is your go to ticket for a blast from your past. A throwback to the animated films of your, where strong characters and catchy songs were enough to entertain. Quite the contrast from some other animated films - looking at you Cars 2- that have come out as of recent.  If you grew up loving Winnie-the-pooh, see it. If you have a younger sibling, do them a favor and take them to this film. It should be essential viewing for any fan of animation, be it 2D or 3D.