Animation Celebration Saturday - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Disney, 1977
Voices of Sterling Holloway, Paul Winchell, John Fielder, and Junius Matthews
Directed by John Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman
Music by Richard M. Sherman; Lyrics by Robert B. Sherman

I'm back from my vacation hiatus with one of Disney's better efforts of the 70's. This anthology of the first three Winnie the Pooh featurettes was their first feature-length outing with the lovable residents of the 100 Acres Woods, a bucolic spot that exists in the imagination of a small British boy. How does his adventures with his beloved stuffed animal friends look today? Let's join Pooh at his home as he gets ready for his busy day and find out...

The Story: Actually, there's three stories in this film, starting with...

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree: Pooh badly wants honey, and at first recruits Christopher Robin to help him distract the bees and get it from a tree. When that just lands them in the mud, Pooh turns to Rabbit and his pantry filled with honey. He overeats and, to Rabbit's horror, gets stuck in his front door. The rest of the gang helps him pass the time while he's getting thin again.

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day: We're introduced to Piglet, who nearly blows away on a very windy fall day, Owl, whose tree house is blown over, and Tigger, who bounces in later in the day. While Eeyore searches for a new home for Owl, the others all deal with a huge storm...and Pooh deals with Tigger and his claims that "Heffalumps and Woozels" will steal his honey.

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too: Tigger is driving Rabbit crazy by bouncing inconsiderately. He first tries to get Tigger lost in a fog, but he ends up lost instead. Rabbit finally gets his wish when the springy tiger bounces too far up a tree and can't get down...but after tells Tigger he can't bounce, finally learns how much fun a little bouncing can be.

The Animation: Not the absolute best Disney ever did...and in this case, it might actually be a good thing. The sketchy artwork does look a lot like the illustrations in the books, especially Tigger and Eeyore. The "Heffalumps and Woozles" segment gets a bit more creative, with brighter colors and surreal imagery ala the infamous "Pink Elephants On Parade" from Dumbo.

The Song and Dance: Disney's sweetest and most charming film, with some of it's most delightful characters. It's also one of their best literary adaptations. Even when they don't one-hundred percent stick to the books (as in the case of Gopher, the only additional character), they at least have the right gentle spirit.

Favorite Number: The most famous song from this one is probably the opening credits number that introduces the characters and who they are. It's likely the song that comes to mind when most people think of Pooh, and it shows off every character in their own gentle way. "Up Down, Touch the Ground" and "Little Black Rain Cloud" from Honey Tree tells us just how crazy Pooh is about honey and why he loves it so. "The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down" is a catchy number for an unseen chorus as they explain the havoc the storm wrecked on the 100 Acres Woods in Blustery Day.

The other famous number from this one is Tigger's signature song, "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers." It's as bright, catchy, and bouncy as the effervescent Tigger himself. There's also Pooh's aforementioned nightmare, the spooky "Heffalumps and Woozels."

Trivia: This is the last Disney canon animated film Walt Disney had any personal involvement with. Honey Tree came out during his lifetime, and he worked on Blustery Day before he died.

A fourth short, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, would be released theatrically in 1983. It's included with most current DVD and Blu-Ray releases of the film as an extra.

What I Don't Like: Wish the Sherman Brothers had stuck around long enough to do music for Tigger Too and Day for Eeyore. The songs in the first two shorts are so memorable and adorable, it would be great if there were even more.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Pooh, want to try a lower-key Disney film, or are introducing your youngest children to the worlds of Pooh or Disney, this is a great place to start. Highly recommended.

Home Media: As one of the most popular Disney "canon" animated films, this is easily found in all major formats.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime