The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh is an important part of my early life. As a child, I loved watching the first three Winnie the Pooh theatrical shorts when they would air on television. I also would watch “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” television show on Saturday mornings. As an adult, I see such an innocence and charm in “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”. It is one of the best things that Walt Disney did in his later years. The songs by the Sherman Brothers do much to make the movie enjoyable. Disney knew what he was doing when he had the Pooh stories produced as featurettes. In my opinion, it prevented unnecessary changes in the adaptation of the stories of A.A. Milne. The film has great characters also.

There is still a hint of British culture in this film but Walt obviously Americanized the characters and story. He has done this with stories ever since “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and it works for Winnie the Pooh also. Even though this film is actually three animated shorts complied together, the animators working on this film didn’t cut every corner they could just because they weren’t making a feature. One example of this includes the “Little Black Rain Cloud” sequence. The timing in which Pooh’s disguise drips off appears to have been given some attention; more so than other studios would have given it. The “Honey Tree” portion of this film has some very clever lines as spoken by the narrator such as “…so when he thought, he thought in the most thoughtful way he could think” and “When he put his mind to honey, he stuck to it.” “Winnie the Pooh” breaks the fourth wall both subtly and obviously. Gopher is “not in the book” and that has two meanings: his services are not in the phone book and the character of Gopher is not in the original A. A. Milne books. As a kid, I interpreted this line literally to mean the storybook that we see throughout the film. The narrator never mentions him. An obvious breaking of the fourth wall is when the narrator saves Tigger. When Pooh is stuck in Rabbit’s entrance, I love the smirk that is drawn on Pooh to make a hunting trophy. The fact that Pooh messed up Rabbit as he drew the face makes it quite funny to look at. Then Rabbit uses Pooh as an armchair when he can’t get to sleep ironically because of Pooh’s snoring. Rabbit’s face is quite humorous in that shot. Another laughable moment of Rabbit’s is his celebration when Pooh is thin enough to come out, especially when he says: “Today’s the day.” The “Honey Tree” & the “Blustery Day” sections of the movie are both better than the third section and the reason for this in my opinion is that Disney supervised the first two portions. “The Blustery Day” may have been released a few years after his death but he did oversee its story adaptation and he won his last Oscar because of his contribution to that short (it was posthumously awarded to him). However as a child during the concluding Tigger portion of the film, I would cry when Tigger must give up bouncing. It is such an emotional scene for a child because Tigger has always been so passionate and he is being forced to act in a way that is completely the opposite to his appealing nature.

There are so many names that contributed to the success of this franchise besides Walt Disney. Sterling Holloway can be heard in so many Disney animated films but many feel that he will best be remembered for voicing Winnie the Pooh. I wish to point out Pooh’s sticky voice as performed by Holloway. I myself wouldn’t know how to do a “sticky” voice. For me, Tigger is one of the most memorable Disney characters because of many factors. The first is Paul Winchell’s performance as the voice of this entertaining animated creation. Tigger’s level of energy is genuinely felt because of Winchell’s work. A second factor is the animation of Tigger. Again, we have fast movement and energy that is portrayed. Thirdly, his theme song is very good. When we hear the song for the first time, we are really not expecting it. It is also over before we know it. That makes it very memorable as well as its fast pace. An entertaining part about Tigger is that he is passionate about every new thing such as honey and skating but then after it trying out, he changes his mind about liking it much like a child would. This is very appealing to that part of the audience as children are also full of energy. Gopher has always been one of my favorite characters. I like his speech impediment and the running gags that are associated with him such as falling down his hole. Because John Fielder was the voice of Piglet for so long, I can’t imagine any other actor being able to duplicate his work. His voice therefore is an endearing part of the film. Sebastian Cabot is also an actor that has been in more than one Disney film. To me, Cabot remains one of my favorite cinema narrators. “Winnie the Pooh” entertains us because the narrator is being entertained as he reads it to us. As a sidenote, Clint Howard is the voice of Roo and he appears today in many films directed by his brother Ron Howard. As mentioned, the Oscar winning Sherman Brothers are a large part of this film’s charm and appeal. Winnie the Pooh’s opening theme song was perfectly crafted to open such a franchise. I have already mentioned “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers” and how good it is. “Heffalumps and Woozles” has such clever lyrics. That particular sequence can be likened unto the “Pink Elephants” sequence from “Dumbo”. I also like “When the Rain Rain Rain Came Down”. Many of Walt’s “Nine Old Men” worked on this film as well as Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, both of whom many years later would later go on to create animated films of their own (they even did two films together: “Anastasia” and “Titan A.E.”).

I almost spelt “honey” as “hunny” while writing this review by the way. All beginning in 1966, the Disney studio has created Winnie the Pooh theatrical shorts, television shows and theatrical features. It is a permanent part of pop culture and the Disney family. “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” has a way of affecting every child who watches it. Adults still have touching memories of watching these short films when they were children. The songs and characters are relatable and entertaining. This film is a lot like the package films of the late 1940’s by Disney but I prefer to compare it to the episodic nature of “Pinocchio” because to me, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” is much better than those package films of the 40’s. I hope that these original cartoons never lose their luster.

4 Stars