Winnie the Pooh
Pure and simple as a giant pot of gooey huny, the new “Winnie the Pooh” movie delivers the lovable magic we expect from the beloved characters.
As per usual, those familiar with the original A.A. Milne stories published way back in the 1920s will be acquainted with the adventures of the silly old bear this time around. The plot pulls from several stories: Eeyore (drearily voiced by Bud Luckey) loses his tail and the entire population of the Hundred Acre Wood joins together to find it for the gloomy, doomy donkey. There is also the mystery of the mysterious creature called the Backson (not to be confused with a Heffalump) who, according to the all-knowing/know-nothing Owl (voiced by Craig Ferguson), is a terrible creature that does terrible things such as waking up babies and putting holes in socks. And all the while, Winnie the Pooh-Bear (voiced by Jim Cummings) battles his grumbling tummy as he searches for one more pot of honey.
At 68 minutes, the kid’s flick is the perfect length for the little ones who will get the most from the new adventures of the huggable bear. Following the gorgeous “The Princess and the Frog,” this is the second hand-drawn animation project from the re-launched Disney Animation Studios and, compared to that film, it feels slight. But there is a comfort in seeing “old style” cell animation on the big screen and this film will do wonders in introducing Pooh and his pals to the next generation of wee ones.
The film features a handful of memorable songs its short running time and is a full-blown musical. The lovely Zooey Deschanel delivers a whimsical original song called “So Long” along with numerous numbers from Broadway veteran Robert Lopez who, bizarrely enough, just won a Tony for his work along side Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the irreverent “Book of Mormon”.
Funny thing: Even though the entire plot is culled from Mr. Milne’s masterworks, there are a colossal NINE other people credited with “story” on the film.
Fictitious excerpt from a “Winnie the Pooh” writers meeting:
Writer 1: Pooh wakes up hungry.
Writer 2: And wants honey.
Writer 3: So he goes and tries….
Writer 4: to find some.
Writer 5: Along they way he meets…
Writer 6: Eeyore!
Writer 7: Piglet!
Writer 8: Tigger!
Writer 9: And he wants some honey.
Now that is easy money.