New Old School POOH - The Stuff(ing) of Legends

Perhaps you remember from previous posts that I've been "jazzed" for a long time about seeing the new Winnie-the-Pooh movie.

Fortunately, it's every bit as grand and reverent as I'd gleaned and hoped it would be.

It's the Pooh we remember.  There's nothing but charming scene after charming scene and it's not afraid to slow down.  At so-called "slow" parts the characters' personalities and interactions shine through and we eat it up like Pooh eats up honey.  Truth is it never truly becomes fast paced at all.  Sure, the characters are hurried and bothered, but the story remains at the leisurely comfort of curling up with a stuffed animal.

The animation is glorious.  Not just the production itself, but the re-production of Disney's classic Pooh shorts.  They've really found the niche.  The artwork is a sheer delight, as is the fluidity of the animation.  Bravo to the artists and animators.

There are also a number of musical sequences.  And I bet you can guess... they're delightful.  Each is funny, catchy and moves the story along without feeling out of place, forced or unwelcomed.  They even have the Tigger song.  You know, "The wonderful thing about Tiggers are Tiggers are wonderful things...." - that one.  But it's truncated.  Just a peppering to top off a scene with Tigger.  We didn't need the whole song again, and Disney knew that.  Just as they knew we needed a small smackerel.

I went with Bart and Josiecat, both of whom also adored the film.  Yes, they, too, deem it 'Old School' and just pleasing all around.  Josiecat hit the nail on the head in what they'd done to make this movie.  It's really only one chapter from the A.A. Milne Pooh stories, the one with the note that reads 'Bisy Backson.'  From there it expanded...by which we mean rerouted, heightened or inserted parts to create a new tale without ever losing sight of the origins.  Truly a remarkable feat.  But somehow it felt effortless, guided all the while by the shenanigans of Pooh and his friends.

I'd like to say it had been quite "Goldilocks."  In other words, just right.  It could have gone too far with the slapstick humor, but it does not.  It's stirred in gently and never reaches "too much/far."  It could have been an emotional fest, oozing a sappy feeling or message, especially when intending it to be such a nostalgic piece.  But it's not dripping with too much honey in the least.  (Metaphorically that is!) It would have been easy to push the envelope boundaries what with all the aforementioned 'expansion' but no, it all fits, nay flows nicely together. 

I also want to give a special mention to John Cleese and Craig Ferguson.  They lend their vocal talent as the Narrator and Owl respectively.  You couldn't ask for a better Narrator than Cleese when it comes to Winne-the-Pooh.  Yes, I agree, many people would be great like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie or the like.  But there's something about the timbre of Cleese that fits right into the Hundred Acre Wood.  Ferguson is a wonderful Owl.  He's got it down and yet adds his own twist...and keeping suit, in a Goldilocks fashion.

Lastly, the title.  It's simply Winnie-the-Pooh.  It's direct, it's simple.  It's not some attention grabbing headline like Pooh: The NEW Movie or a story-informant such as Pooh and the Backson.  No, just a plain ol' Pooh movie for you.

I'm convinced.  The people who made this movie are the ones who, like me, waited all year for the Pooh TV special to come on, and when it did you can be sure the Footie Pajamas embroided with Pooh were on and the world stopped.  Joy radiated for who knows how long after.

If you have a Pooh bear (that's ours in the picture) give him a hug.  But go see this movie.  On the big screen.  When will you have the chance again to see a Pooh of this calibre on the big screen?  Go!  Relive the days when if you missed something when it aired, you missed it entirely!

Folks, Winnie-the-Pooh won't be in theaters forever.  Take this opportunity to see Pooh at LARGE.

Oh Pooh! - Part 3

Disney has done quite a bit with A.A. Milne’s silly old bear named Pooh for short. As I said in Part 1, I really liked (and still do) their original shorts (compiled into a movie.)

I have to give a little shout to the clever way they introduced a new character into the mix: Gopher. He’s delightful in it... and makes sense to be there. Who better to consult about getting Pooh unstuck from a hole in the ground than a gopher, eh? The clever bit, however, comes in the fact that Gopher says about himself I’m not in the book. What he means is a listing for his services in something like a phone book (remember those?) Well, obviously, it’s working on two levels. Since, yes, he is NOT in the book. Well done.

However, Disney went on to other Pooh projects that make me wince. Such as the “live-action” puppets version, The Book of Pooh. No thanks.  We don't need a "live" type Pooh.  Not when the original drawings are so charming.  (Both Disney and Shepard.)  Besides, we already had our stuffed toys.

Tigger & Pooh, a CGI based series.  If I wanted Pooh in CGI I'd have... no, sorry.  Don't want a CGI Pooh bear, either. 

Before these, there’d been a regular animated series The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. I remember it being quite enjoyable.   But despite the valiant and often successful effort, it eventually felt forced.  Pooh should not be forced, no?

And there have been quite a few films since that wonderful compilation. Pooh’s Grand Adventure had been all right. Not great, but passable and fun.

But the films went downhill from there. Granted, I have not seen the rest of the films.  But they seem problematic in nature. There’d been a Tigger movie.  The plot had something to do with Tigger being lonely and looking for family, with everyone else winding up in Tigger suits to accommodate him. Excuse me? Whatever happened to Tigger’s self-sung theme song wherein he says The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I’m the only one! Perhaps he’d just been wrong? I’m not sure. Maybe the joke is that he isn’t? Either way, it doesn’t seem like something that belongs in the Pooh world. Maybe they came up with a good rationale for it?  In most cases, if the project requires thinking up a rationale for something so as to be able to contradict the original intent... then maybe it’s not worth doing.

Then there’d been Piglet’s BIG Movie. It just looked flat and flavorless to me. At this point I’d been a little soured to Disney Pooh.

And then The Heffalump Movie? Um... a tale of a little heffalump coming and making friends? Why are we taking away the power of the fear of heffalumps and woozles getting Pooh’s honey? Double no thanks. It’s just not necessary and stretches the fabric of Pooh... might even tear it.

Why were they watering it down like this with what seemed like sub-par animation and stories?

Well, thank goodness we have the original Disney Pooh and the ever so much cooler original A.A. Milne tales (now dubbed Classic Pooh.) Imagine that! Disney Pooh is so popular that we must qualify the REAL Winnie-the-Pooh as such.

But what’s got me all up on the power of Pooh lately?   Part 4 will explain.

Oh Pooh! - Part 1

Oh Pooh! - Part 2
Oh Pooh! - Part 4

The Most Successful Character of All Time?

Even though you'd think I would pick Peter Pan for this honor, I believe the most successful character of all time is the creation of a contemporary of Barrie: A.A. Milne. That's right, Winnie-the-Pooh. He's ubiquitous and people love him. Translated into every so many languages (including Latin), he's known worldwide. Not that other characters aren't, but I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like Pooh. (Whereas I know people who are turned off by say, Mickey Mouse.) And truthfully, "Classic Pooh" or "Disney Pooh" are equally endearing.

And who can forget the marvelous The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.
If you haven't read it, you're missing out.