Winnie the Pooh

Eyeore has lost his tail, and Winnie the Pooh and his friends hold a contest to get him a new one.

There are some minor complaints to be made about this film. First, even with the credits, it barely hits the one hour mark. Now, I do not mind short films, but if you paid to see it in theaters, you might have felt ripped off. And also, the voices are not always spot on, but I suppose with the original voice actors quite dead, what can you do?

Those complaints aside, not a bad flick. Cute, fun, captures the Pooh spirit. I really enjoyed it. Well-played choosing the Backson story to turn into a full-length film.

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.

I have always been a fan of AA Milne's charming and whimsical stories since an early age. The 1977 movie The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh epitomised the childhood innocence that made the stories so wonderful, as did the TV series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I also liked a vast majority of the various film and TV incarnations that were made between then and now.

Ever since hearing of this movie I knew I wanted to see it. Part of me knew it would work, and for me when I saw it last night it did. My only complaint of Winnie the Pooh is the length, at barely an hour(exluding the credits and the short) the film is too short. Otherwise it is a wonderful movie that like the 1977 movie and TV series captures perfectly the childhood innocence that I know and love. Not only that, it is also a welcome return to the traditional animation style as seen with the original movie.

Speaking of the animation it is great. I always felt The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh along with The Rescuers was the best looking of the 1970s Disney movies, it had an elegant and warm feeling to it. Winnie the Pooh maintains that elegant and warm feeling with colourful backgrounds, cutely drawn characters and ravishing colours. The songs and music heard in the movie aren't quite classic status perhaps, but they are very memorable in the melodies and sweet in the lyrics.

The dialogue is delightfully droll, with a lot for children and adults to enjoy. The story is structurally thin somewhat, but it is never dull thanks to the bright and breezy pace and the familiar yet absolutely delightful story lines including Pooh hunting for honey, Eeyore hunting for his tail and the search for the creature that Owl thinks has carried off Christopher Robin. The characters are engaging and wonderfully whimsical, Pooh is still endearing, Tigger is very funny and Piglet is cute.

The voice acting is terrific really. These are not the original voice actors, and most of the voice actors(excepting Jim Cummings) in the likes of Tigger Movie, Pooh's Heffalump Movie and Piglet's Big Movie don't return, but the new voice actors do make an effort to not sound too different. Jim Cummings still does a wonderful job as Pooh and Tigger, and John Cleese for me is the most thoughtful narrator of any Winnie the Pooh film since Sebastian Cabot. I wasn't so sure though about Tom Kenny at first as Rabbit, but he being a very talented voice actor is also good.

Overall, delightful, charming and a lovely nostalgic trip down memory lane, if only it wasn't so short. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to see this movie. Winnie the Pooh has by far been the most important animated character in my whole life. As a kid, I had a Winnie the Pooh chair that I would sit in and I've had countless Winnie the Pooh pajamas and stuffed animals. I saw the preview and started tearing up because it looked so cute and it reminded me that I'm growing up.

The movie was incredible. The animation, the voices, the story, and the good old Winnie the Pooh feeling, all mixed with the great songs and hilarious dialogue made this movie truly special. I walked out of the theater feeling sticky sweet like the "huny" Pooh loves so dearly. Truly my favorite Pooh movie.

MUST SEE!!!!

It's super sweet and the animation is smooth and consistent. There's nothing much to say except that I'd recommend it!