Put together in an episodic, storybook format, animals hop from one page to the next and the text ‘comes alive’ in various ways. In one instance, a character escapes from a high tree by climbing down the text directly to his right. It’s a wonderful way to drive home the idea that words on the page are the same as the words we speak.
Anyone not familiar with A.A. Milne’s stories will have little trouble figuring out what’s going on. Winnie the Pooh (voiced by the great Sterling Holloway), a cheerful and warm, but somewhat dim-witted bear, spends his days searching for honey and devouring it. He’s joined in his searches by an assortment of friends: the shy piglet (John Fiedler), the gloomy donkey Eeyore (Ralph Wright), the perpetually worried Rabbit (Junius Matthews), the wise Owl (Hal Smith), and, in the latter two shorts, Tigger, the bouncy tiger (Paul Winchell). The animals and their human companion, Christopher Robin (Bruce Reitherman, Jon Walmsley, and Timothy Turner in the three shorts), must face blustery winds, bees and other small issues on their journey’s.
The first short, “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,” combines two Milne stories. First, Pooh tries to get honey from a beehive with a balloon, and then he eats too much and gets stuck in Rabbit’s doorway. While appealing and representative of the original books tone, the story doesn’t give much attention to the ensemble cast. The exception is Christopher Robin, (who gives the audience access to the Hundred Acre Wood) and the Rabbit.
“Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” again features two combined stories: Tigger’s arrival and a massive rainstorm that nearly tears apart the Hundred Acre Wood. Paul Winchell’s Tigger is brash and overconfident, serving as the perfect foil for all the other characters. He’s really as much a force of nature as the storm, which makes the two stories go together well. “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too” takes advantage of Tigger’s growing popularity. Rabbit has a plan to strand Tigger in the woods; frightening him enough to lose his bounce. Then, Tigger and Roo bounce too high and get stuck in a tree. A bit quieter in tone than the previous story, the crisis is resolved by Sebastian Cabot’s reassuring narration. This pushes us forward to a closing scene that implies Christopher Robin is growing up, and thus leaving the Hundred Acre Wood.
The hummable songs provided by the legendary Sherman Brothers mixes perfectly with the stories and add to the delightful tone. The voice cast is superb across the board. Sebastian Cabot makes the perfect narrator and Sterling Holloway is unforgettable as Pooh. The rest of the actors do such a convincing job with their characterizations, that subsequent Pooh projects have never sounded quite right to me. I was four when The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh hit theaters, so this is a real childhood favorite.
Presented in 1080p and the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, some may not be happy with the change from 1.33:1. Things look fine, with the exception of a few shots where characters briefly disappear out of frame during active moments. There appears to be slight motion blur in the first part of the film, which can be indicative of DNR use. Color is pleasantly consistent throughout.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix spreads the Sherman Brothers’ songs and the background score by Buddy Baker through the soundfield very nicely. Placed in the center channel, dialogue is easily discernible throughout.
English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are available.
The following special features are included:
- Disney Intermission (HD) pops up when the movie is paused. The content is the same as the next special feature. This may be turned off in the set-up menu.
- Pooh Play-Along (HD, 1:48) over clips from the feature, the narrator mentions activities various characters are engaged in during the intermission.
- Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (HD, 11:54) Five animated shorts, “If I Wasn’t So Small,” “Piglet’s Drawings,” “The Expedition,” “Geniuses” and “The Honey Song” that can be played together or separately.
- A Day for Eeyore (HD, 25:23) originally released in 1983, this short finds Eeyore more depressed than usual when it seems everyone has forgotten his birthday.
- The Story Behind the Masterpiece (SD, 25:05) a documentary that details the origins of the books, Disney’s subsequent acquisition and the decisions they made regarding the property.
- Theme Song (SD, 2:34) The Winnie the Pooh theme song, performed by Carly Simon.
- DVD/Digital Copy enclosed disc and code sheet.
- Mini-Kite enclosed inside the case.
