Film Review with Robert Mann – Winnie the Pooh

19th April 2011

Winnie the Pooh ****

A couple of years ago Walt Disney Animation Studios made a move back towards a more traditional style of animated filmmaking following a series of computer animation efforts that were neither the most commercially successful or the best critically reviewed examples of their medium. The Princess and the Frog was their first film since 2003’s Brother Bear to feature traditional 2D animation and, while their next film Tangled – which stuck with tradition in that it was very much a classic Disney princess movie, albeit one with a slightly modern twist – saw the studio move back to CG animation, it was not to be the last. For their 51st feature length animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios haven’t merely returned to the world of 2D hand drawn animation once again, they have opted to bring one of their most beloved properties to the big screen again, that property being Winnie the Pooh – although it should be noted that this latest film is only the second Winnie the Pooh feature to actually be made by Walt Disney Animation Studios (many earlier films such as The Tigger Movie, Piglet’s Big Movie and Pooh’s Heffalump Movie were actually released under DisneyToon Studios), the first film being 1977’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and then it is the first one to not consist of a collection of animated shorts like its predecessor which was composed of material from three previously released Winnie the Pooh featurettes based upon the Winnie the Pooh stories.
Based upon the characters of children’s books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by original author and creator of the characters A.A. Milne and Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus whose book, published in 2009, is the first such book to be released in 81 years, this new movie features five previously unadapted stories from Milne’s original books and has been produced in the same style as previous Disney produced features such as Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. Some will no doubt look at this new movie of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and view it as a sign that Disney is running out of original ideas and is content to just redo old ideas all over again, others may view it as a delightful return to the innocence of the original Winnie the Pooh stories. Either way, though, it makes a welcome change to the modern computer animated features that we are used to seeing and that are so dominating this Easter holiday period. But, with several computer animation choices out there right now, will any kids actually want to see a traditionally animated feature that embodies traditional values in the way that Winnie the Pooh does?

Christopher Robin (voiced by Jack Boulter) is a young boy who has a large collection of toy animals but his favourite is Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings). Together they spend their days having adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood with their animal friends Piglet (voiced by Travis Oates), Eeyore (voiced by Bud Luckey), Tigger (voiced by Jim Cummings), Owl (voiced by Craig Ferguson), Rabbit (voiced by Tom Kenny), Kanga (voiced by Kristen Anderson-Lopez) and Roo (voiced by Wyatt Hall). Today, Pooh has awoken hungry as ever to discover that he has run out of hunny. As he goes in search for some he encounters Eeyore and discovers that his friend has lost his tail. So, Pooh, Christopher Robin and the gang decide to hold a contest to find a new tail for him. Meanwhile, Pooh continues to get hungrier as he fails to find any hunny. Later, with Christopher Robin away and nowhere to be found, the gang discovers and misinterprets a note that he has left behind and become convinced that he has been kidnapped by a creature known as the “Backson”. Setting a trap to try and snare this mythical creature, they embark on a mission to save Christopher Robin. Meanwhile, Pooh continues to get hungrier and starts seeing hunny everywhere he looks. Will Pooh be able to find some hunny, will Eeyore ever get a new tail and will the gang be able to save Christopher Robin from the clutches of the “Backson”?

Winnie the Pooh is a film that has really taken me aback. As a child I absolutely loved the original stories as well as the films and TV series that were based upon them and this latest effort is so respectful of all that has come before it that it made me feel like a child once again. The filmmakers have clearly realised what made the originals so special as they have not changed a thing. Unlike a certain recent television incarnation of the character named My Friends Tigger & Pooh, which went the CG animation route, Winnie the Pooh is here brought to life in the exact same medium as the original films, the animation here being purely traditional 2D cell animation and staying true to the original drawings of illustrator E.H. Shepherd as well as the design of the original films with the Hundred Acre Wood being loving recreated and the characters we know and love being here exactly as we know and love them. This is as true of the spirit of the film as it is of the look. Pooh is as hungry and obsessed with hunny (the misspelling is deliberate) as ever; Piglet is still loyal, adorable and nervous; Tigger is once again bouncy and full of life; Eeyore continues to be a bit blue and dreary; Rabbit is as bossy and cranky as we’ve ever known him to be; Owl is still wise and a little arrogant; Kanga is as kind and motherly as ever; Roo is as youthful and spirited as he’s ever been; and Christopher Robin is still the same honest and caring character he’s always been – and altogether they make a family, one that truly cares for and loves each other. It isn’t just the setting and the characters that stay true to the originals either but also the overall style of the film.

Very respectful of the literature upon which it is based and sticking with the format of the original films, this film opens in live action showing us Christopher Robin’s room filled with all his soft toys of the characters – soft toys that are also featured in loving close-ups during the closing credits – before zooming in on a copy of the Winnie the Pooh book which opens us to reveal the story as we shift from live action to animation. From this point onwards, the book is an integral part of the film. Pages turn to indicate the progression of the story; characters literally leap from the page, jumping between paragraphs and running (or falling off) the letters of the words that they are made up of; and letters fall off the page right into the scenes where they become tools for the characters to use as well as tools for telling the story. The faithfulness to the original doesn’t end there either with the original Winnie the Pooh theme being present, albeit in the form of a new version performed by Zooey Deschanel. While none of the original cast members return to do voices for the film – sadly, most of them have since passed on – although legendary voice actor Jim Cummings did provide the voices for Winnie the Pooh and Tigger in the TV series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which ran from 1988 to 1991, the voices here are top notch with every cast member perfectly imbuing the characters with the personality and quirks that we love about them and, as narrator, John Cleese does a very good job of telling the story.

The music is also delightful, the several musical numbers performed by the cast members featuring great vocals and instrumentals while Zooey Deschanel, who also performs the songs A Very Important Thing To Do and So Long, is positively angelic. The film is often pretty funny as well, the humour being clean and honest and embracing an old fashioned set of values. This exemplifies what makes this film so special: it is a simple film with simple values and one that belongs to a more innocent kind of family filmmaking and that is just wonderful for it. If there is any criticism to be levelled at the film, though, it is that, at a running time of only just over one hour (if your cinema listings say it is longer it is because the film is shown along with two additional Disney cartoons) including the closing credits – which are worth staying through for some delightful illustrations, a little scene after the credits and the point where it affectionately says “no stuffed animals were harmed in the making of this film” – the film is incredibly short, its slight and simple (but nonetheless delightful) story making for an insubstantial film that doesn’t feel especially cinematic. Nonetheless, though, with its simple but charming animation, heart-warming sense of humour and lovable characters, Winnie the Pooh is a delightful and wonderful little film that will effortlessly appease young children – although, unfortunately, I suspect that older children would rather sit through the latest 3D computer animated release – and take accompanying adults on an enjoyable nostalgia trip. The characters are “back where they belong” and the latest story is a very welcome one indeed.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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