Voices of Jim Cummings, Peter Cullen, John Fielder, and Ken Sansom
Directed by Jamie Mitchell, Gary Katona, and others
Music and Lyrics by various
We end 2022 with our final visit to the Hundred Acre Woods. This is the last Pooh holiday direct-to-home-video "movie" I hadn't gotten to yet. We've seen how Pooh and his friends celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving, and Halloween. This gives us a two-for-one holiday, as we not only get to see the gang enjoy Christmas, but New Year's as well. It also continues the theme of Rabbit or someone else canceling a holiday when it doesn't go the way they planned. How does that work with the winter holidays? Let's begin at Pooh's house as he hides his present for Piglet and find out...
The Story: Pooh heads over to Rabbit's to decorate their shared tree. Roo's worried about Santa not being able to come. The others tell him the story of the Christmas before, when Pooh forgot to add what he wanted on their list to Santa. He retrieved it, only to be unable to send it back. Pooh and Piglet first try to play Santa themselves, but when the gifts they make their friends are less-than-perfect, Pooh vows to deliver the letter himself. The others are thrilled at first, but Piglet, and later, Christopher Robin, finally reminds them that their dear friend is more important than any gifts.
Though this Christmas largely goes well, Pooh can't find Piglet's gift, and Tigger gets on Rabbit's nerves with his jingling bells. Pooh keeps looking for his buddy's present right up until New Year's Eve. Christopher Robin explains about New Year's and resolutions, inspiring Pooh to ask Rabbit if they can have a party at his place. Unfortunately, Pooh's distracted by honey, Piglet hides, and Tigger bouncing too much to actually ask. Fed up with them being inconsiderate and nearly breaking the carrot he's trying to grow to restart his garden, Rabbit claims he's leaving the Hundred Acre Woods. The others try to change their personalities to please him...but after they rescue him, Rabbit finally admits he likes his friends the way they are.
The Animation: As with most entries in this series, it's nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. Everything moves pretty well, and they even recolored Rabbit and redubbed Christopher Robin in the Christmas Too segment to make the special blend in better. I love how the animators made each character switch personalities, with Piglet getting giggly and bouncy, Tigger stiff and freaked out, Eeyore attempting to walk on two legs, and Pooh slumped over and gloomy.
The Song and Dance: If the flashback sequence is familiar, it's the 1991 Pooh Christmas special Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too. Yep, this is another Pooh "movie" that's really a special with new material written around it. At the very least, it manages to use of more characters than the Halloween and Easter films, with Gopher and Christopher Robin appearing in Christmas Too and the New Year's party, and Christopher being the one who tells Pooh about the New Year.
The New Year's segment is pretty funny, too. It's hilarious, seeing Pooh become gloomy and Piglet bouncing and Tigger being scared and Eeyore trying to walk on too legs and eat honey.
Favorite Number: We open with a version of "Jingle Bells," as Tigger bounces with his new bells and the others decorate the tree. Pooh happily sings about "Snow Snows" as the others make snowmen and snowboard and Tigger continues to annoy Rabbit with his jingling. Pooh sings about a "Happy Pooh Year" after Christopher tells him about the holiday, and that there's "No, No Honey for Me" when he's trying to be Eeyore. The movie ends with Tigger and Rabbit making up and everyone singing "Auld Lang Syne" at Rabbit's house.
What I Don't Like: I wish Disney could just release these specials on their own, without the added filler. Not only was the Christmas special edited, but it and the New Year's segment have nothing in common with each other, other than revolving around winter holidays. The story for the New Year's segment even first appeared on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. At least they gave Rabbit more of a reason for acting like a jerk this time. They shouldn't have invaded his house without his permission. And how does Owl keep getting left out? He's the only one who isn't seen, even in the Christmas segment, or even mentioned.
The Big Finale: Cute enough way to pass an hour before midnight on New Year's if you're a big fan of Pooh and his friends.
Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming. Disney Plus has it for free with a subscription.
And...happy New Year! Here's hoping all of you have a safe, happy, and musical 2023!
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