Voices of John Fielder, Jim Cummings, Andre Stojka, and Kathie Soucie
Directed by Francis Glebas
Music and Lyrics by Carly Simon
After the success of The Tigger Movie, Disney opted to spotlight another one of Pooh's friends from the Hundred Acre Woods. Sweet little Piglet is Pooh's best friend and is relatively popular in his own right, but is it enough to carry a feature film? Let's begin with Piglet (Fielder) working on his scrapbook as his oddly dressed friends make their way past his window and find out...
The Story: Piglet is upset when his friends don't invite him to help them get honey from a beehive. He tries to join them, but they say he's too small. Even when he's the one who traps the bees, they don't notice it. Disappointed and dejected, Piglet takes off. The others use his scrapbook of memories to find him, and in the process, remember three great adventures where Piglet helped them out...and realize how much their porcine pal means to them.
The Animation: Not bad for a Pooh cartoon. There's a few CGI effects that look pretty decent even now, notably those bubbles that Piglet appears in during the segment with Kanga and in the finale. The colors are soft, with more detail in the backgrounds than usual for Pooh movies.
The Song and Dance: I suspect this is less "Piglet's Big Movie" than Disney adapting any original Pooh stories they hadn't gotten to yet. As such, it's adorable. Of the three segments, the first with how the gang met Kanga and Roo is probably my favorite, but their trip to the "North Pole" and building a house for Eeyore are really cute, too. Fielder gets to have fun showing both the small, scared and the braver sides of Piglet, and Soucie makes a lovely, warm Kanga. Simon's music is warm and lovely; I'm especially fond of the catchy "With a Few Good Friends."
Favorite Number: We open with Cary Simon performing the original "Winnie the Pooh" over the credits as Piglet draws in his scrapbook and the others head off to get that honey. She reprises it in the end in what appears to be a live-action music video just before the credits with her playing guitar in a country setting. Simon also sings about what Piglet wishes he could do "If I Wasn't So Small." Kanga sings about how a "Mother's Intuition" tells her that Piglets are not Roos. She's joined by the Hundred Acre Woods crew as they go on their search for the North Pole in "Sing Ho for the Life of a Bear."
Piglet and Pooh happily sing about what they do "The More It Snows" and why they love their homes. Simon reveals how "With a Few Good Friends," Piglet and the others are able to build Eeyore his own home. The others realize that "The More I Look Inside," the more they miss their porcine buddy. It's "Comforting to Know" that, even though they lost his old scrapbook, they can still make new memories with him.
What I Don't Like: Adorable and fun as this is, it lacks the heart - and dark edges - that Disney got into Tigger Movie. It feels more like three episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh strung together by the thin framework of Piglet's scrapbook than a full-length movie. It's barely feature-length. There's also some continuity glitches with the earlier films. Kanga and Roo were already there when Tigger arrived in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, but here, he's a member of the crew when they move in.
The Big Finale: Highly recommended for families with young children who are fans of Pooh and/or Piglet, or want to see a lower-key animated movie.
Home Media: The DVD is in print, but can be pricey. You may be better off streaming this one. It can be found on Disney Plus with a subscription.
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