I have fond memories of watching classic Winnie the Pooh cartoons as a child but even fonder ones of my parents reading me A.A. Milne’s classic tale of a boy and his stuffed bear. To this day I have a copy of the Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie the Pooh on my shelf. Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, Kanga, Roo, and Christopher Robin are all unforgettable characters that many children grow up loving. I know that I am one of many.
In 1961 Walt Disney obtained rights to the British bedtime classics and he predicted that Pooh Bear and his friends would be huge. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh brings together three of Disney’s classic shorts, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974). All three were combined in 1977. These short cartoons are what propelled Winnie the Pooh out of the pages of a book and into the hearts of America.
In Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Pooh muddles his way through the acquiring of honey from a bee hive high up in a tree. He rolls in black mud and floats into the sky with the help of a balloon in what has to be an instantly recognizable image; Pooh hanging by a blue balloon as he sings about wonderful honey. I have not watched Pooh in years but I was instantly transported to the moment I first watched him when I was little and I enjoyed it just as much even though I am a little older.
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day won an Academy Award in 1968 for best cartoon short. Walt Disney never got the chance to see Pooh become a household name; he died in December of 1966 before the short was finished. But Pooh and the Blustery Day is one of the most well known of the shorts.
Then we have Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! "The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I’m the only one!" Even now I’m singing that song and making the growling noises in my head. I love Paul Winchell as Tigger, his voice is the perfect fit. While some voice actors might come close, for me there is only one Tigger. In the short Tigger’s bouncing is addressed as Rabbit gets fed up with being knocked down constantly. But soon the friends of 100 Acre Wood realize that Tigger is not Tigger unless he is bouncing.
The Friendship Edition also has some great special features. For the kid in us all, or for that matter your own kids, there is sing-a-long with Tigger, "100 Acre Wood" game, and a bonus short "A Day for Eeyore" (1983). For the adult, well, there is "The Story Behind the Masterpiece" featurette that includes interviews with Paul Winchell, (voice of Tigger) and Jon Walmsley (voice of Christopher Robin), as well as some of the animators.
Isn’t this the way childhood should be? Fun, light-hearted, and while life is not perfect, you have your friends there to help you solve the problems. A childhood would not be complete without this experience and as an adult you will enjoy reliving your own childhood.
