#22 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Title: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Release Date: March 11th, 1977

Voice Cast: Sterling Holloway, John Fiedler, Paul Winchell, Junius Matthews

Recap: Based on the books by A. A. Milne, this film tells the stories that revolve around a simple-minded bear and his friends that live in the forest. He, or his friends, often get into mishaps such as getting stuck, getting caught in a flood, having a house destroyed, getting stuck in a tree, or getting lost.

Review: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is all about adapting great characters. Forget the stories; well, not entirely. The stories are great in their own right. But it's the characters in the stories that make this film. They're all splendid and quirky, every last one of them.

My personal favorites are Tigger and Eeyore. Tigger is unstoppably hysterical, and he truly brings the happy-go-lucky tone to the film. Eeyore, on the other hand, is depressing with a delicious wit. His lines are all accompanied by a heavy brass scale, contributing to his character. In one of the best moments of the movie, protagonist Christopher Robbin says, "C'mon! We're going to get Pooh out of [the hole]!" Eeyore then returns, "Well... maybe." Along these are of course, Pooh, the silly old bear, as well as Rabbit, Owl, and others. If it weren't for the tremendously talented voice acting, the characters wouldn't be half as great.

I have to say, I enjoy the semi-package format of this film. It's a catalogue of stories, but they're all loosely woven together. However, sometimes the stories drag on, and other times they just feel unfinished.

Musically, there's really nothing. All of the songs are on a tiny scale, so this film doesn't leave any classics behind. Perhaps "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" is the classic; heck, its sung about four or five times throughout the movie. I think in this period in time, Disney was focusing less on providing awesome and focusing more on proving they could weave a story just as fine without Walt around.

All other complaints and prasies are minor; you'll just have to see for yourself!

Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)