Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Winnie the Pooh is out of honey. Eeyore has lost his tail. Owl is writing his memoirs and suggests a reward for a replacement tail. Christopher Robin takes Pooh's suggestion of a honey pot for the reward. After many attempts, Kanga knits Eeyore a tail which later unravels. Pooh finds Christopher missing and a note at his doorstep. Owl misreads the note leading the group to think that Christopher has been captured by a monster called Backson.This movie maintains the sense of play from the Pooh franchise. It is the stuff of childhood. It's fully connected to its book origins with the familiar style. It is traditional and what great traditions they are. Disney is not reinventing the wheel as much as giving it a good wash. It's adorable. The animation is old fashion but a little crisper than the older versions. It recreates what makes the old stories so beloved.

Let me preface this by saying that I didn't grow up with Pooh and friends. Before I had kids, I had watched the original "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" perhaps twice. Then I had kids and wanted a 'gentle' movie for toddlers. Remembering the "Many Adventures" movie, I bought it and was fairly impressed. More importantly, my two year old LOVED it. So I looked and lo and behold, there are more Pooh movies! This was the highest rated of the bunch, so this is what I bought.And it's not a bad sequel. Pooh (and friends) are generally light- hearted and likable. The conflicts are few and not terribly intense. The (toys? animals?) feel comfortably in-character and their reasoning seems hilariously realistic recreations of how a young child might think. The humor in this film is hit or miss for me as a parent, but there were several points where I genuinely did laugh aloud. The animation is clear and feels similar enough to the original to make it comfortable. Pretty much every familiar character gets some screen time, which is nice and made it feel balanced. Finally, Pooh Bear ends up making a heroic choice that actually feels like he made a sacrifice for a friend and that made for a very satisfactory ending.If I hadn't been watching the original "Many Adventures" film (over and over and over), I might have rated this sequel higher, but comparatively, I think this one is weaker. Except the re-done opening song ("Deep in the Hundred Acre wood..."), which is a fine rendition, the songs have a much more rapid beat - probably because they are from a more modern genre - and it doesn't lend itself well to the slower pace of the rest of the film (or at least, the slower pace I feel like it should have had). There is a song with Tigger and Eeyore that was honestly pretty bad (both the music and the concept didn't work for me, although the way Eeyore spoke to Tigger later was very sweet). Almost none of the characters sound like their original actors (Pooh himself is probably the best). Christopher Robin's character design is very different from the original and I didn't like it as much (although this may just be a case of 'different is different' rather than it being bad).Sadly, even after seeing it several times over the past few weeks, my two-year old isn't as enamored with it as I'd hoped. Overall, I'd say it is a pretty decent movie in Disney's catalog. Better than many, but not top tier where the original rests.

I was really excited when I heard this movie was going to be released, but on the day my mother took me to see it, all my hope for this movie was thrown out the window. "Winnie the Pooh" is absolute garbage from start to finish. The only positives I have about this film are the animation and the "Everything is Honey" sequence. That's it. The rest of it is trash.First of all, most of the characters, with the exceptions of Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and Christopher Robin, are completely unlikable and out of character; Especially Kanga and Roo. Rabbit and Owl switch roles and act very annoying. Piglet and Eeyore are abused throughout almost the entire movie because seeing characters getting tortured is funny.The voice acting, except Jim Cummings as Pooh and Tigger, is beyond lazy. Tom Kenny does a pathetic attempt as Rabbit. He's basically SpongeBob SquarePants in a rabbit costume. Most of the songs are terribly written and horribly sung as well. Like I said, the only song that had at least SOME effort put into it was "Everything is Honey." The story is all over the place and at some points, they shove it off to the side to either make Eeyore and Piglet miserable or tell jokes that aren't even remotely funny.Ever since my young childhood, I grew up with Disney's adaptation of "Winnie the Pooh." This version of it spits on the legacy of these beloved characters and puts them into a movie that absolutely butchers them. I cannot believe how many positive reviews this film has gotten. Disney didn't even try or care to make it good. They just recycled plot elements from previous movies and made it as sloppy as possible.If you have a young kid who loves "Winnie the Pooh," I recommend "Piglet's Big Movie" or any of the others starring the character. They are so much better than this.

Several years ago, there was a study that found that besides Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh was the most popular Disney character out there. I am not sure how true it holds today, because the marketing has definitely dropped in recent years in favor of some Pixar fare and more Princess fluff. So when the Winnie the Pooh movie was announced, I was excited as it would be the unofficial sequel to one of the greatest animated movies of all-time: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Made right before Disney's untimely death, the original film pretty much represents the world and imagination of Disney: fun, whimsical, innocent, creative, and very charming.However, the marketing for this movie was so subpar, was so subtle, so atrocious, you would have thought that was going directly to DVD as opposed to theaters. Enjoying an extremely small run, this film had no chance to make money and make noise to the likes of Cars 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2. And here's the thing: Winnie the Pooh outshines them both. This film has the magic, the beauty, and the imaginative content of the original short films—making it a delightful sequel. Although the running time is extremely short and the music isn't as catchy, this film is perfect for youngsters, and the young-at-heart.I may have griped about the running time, but I should probably commend the writers for being able to stretch a story about finding Eeyore's tail to an hour. That's essentially the story: Eeyore lost his tail and everyone is setting out to find it. Along the way the characters at the Hundred-Acre Wood also fear that a monster might be approaching the area. The script is void of any tension or drama, which is a massive rarity nowadays. With animation evolving into a serious art form, you get less and less movies that truly strive to entertain the kids without teaching them or scarring them. This film is very lightweight with its material, and trust me that is a good thing.The voice acting was incredible and with the exception of perhaps Rabbit (Tom Kenny did a fine job regardless) they sounded darn accurate and close to the original source. Jim Cummings had the tough job of voicing Pooh and TIgger, but did a phenomenal job delivering the lines and singing to some of the songs. John Cleese was delightful as the Narrator, I guess Morgan Freeman wasn't available (Bad joke, moving on). To me though, Bud Luckey as Eeyore stole the show as the depressed donkey had much more to say this time around, and says it with such droll and lack of enthusiasm you can't help but laugh.The animation was nearly flawless, as the colors were light, there was no computer-animation getting in the way, and best of all the animators were able to throw in plenty of visual humor. Some of the funniest moments in the original Pooh adventures involved the actual book and the words being part of the environment and in this case they play an even bigger role. How text plays a role in a film? Just watch and find out, but there are tons of moments when the narrator and the book toys around with Pooh and his friends.Bottom Line: If there is a gripe I have with this movie, is that the running time was extremely short. It could have been nice to throw in a second or third story to at least pass 75-80 minutes and really get your money's worth. Nonetheless, the hour-long drama of finding a tail was funny, very delightful, and delivers smiles all around without ever becoming boring. Winnie the Pooh is the type of warm animation that we just don't see anymore: perfect for the kids but also not mind-numbing to the adults. The music was fun, the voice acting was great, the humor is everywhere, and there isn't a dull moment to be found in the Hundred-Acre Wood. Honestly, this movie was 20 minutes away from becoming a near instant-classic. I recommend this flashback to your childhood, no matter how old you are.