Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore

"Winnie" is having an amble when he finds a fir cone. He drops it into the river - inadvertently discovering the game of "Pooh Sticks" - and is soon playing with his friends "Rabbit", "Piglet" and "Roo". Their game is disrupted by a large floating object - and that turns out to be the glass-half-empty character that is "Eeyore". What's he doing in the river? Seems he was "bounced" into it - and there can only be one culprit for that. "Tigger" denies all knowledge but a bit of intervention from the narrator proves who did what and reminds us that it's also the gloomy donkey's birthday! Quickly they decide that they have to get him some gifts - but what chance "Pooh" is actually ever going to remember his task. "Owl" might be able to help out? "Piglet" has got him a balloon - or has a balloon got him a "Piglet"? "Pooh" eventually gets him an useful pot and "Christopher Robin" gets everyone together for a nice birthday tea - well it's nice until "Tigger" arrives and we are soon all back where we started - on the bridge with the sticks! It's a little bit long, this animation, but the characters and the friendly nature of the story makes for an easy watch with just about everyone in on the act and trying to pull together to cheer up "Eeyore".

This forth installment in Disney's Winnie the Pooh series of short is in many ways the most endearing and rewarding of the four. The story revolves around Eyeore's forgotten birthday and Pooh and friends' attempts to make amends. It rings true in its themes of isolation, desiring and achieving companionship, and true friendship.

Thankfully, this short is available in the supplemental material on the DVD (2002 release, Region 1) edition of `The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'. If you have this DVD, don't pass over this delightful extra.

One of the best shorts from Disney and one of the best versions of Pooh. Very good story with otimas character. Perfect for all toddlers. Highly recommend.

I do think out of the four Winnie the Pooh vignettes this is my least favourite, but it is fun to watch. It isn't as funny as the other three, though Tigger is still very funny, and the narrator just lacks the thoughtfulness of Sebastian Cabot.

That said, it is well animated, the voice acting especially from Paul Winchell and John Fiedler are without fault, and it is still very charming, and has a good story that just about engages the young audience.

The music is not so bad either, and the Pooh Sticks scene was inspired.

All in all, not the best our favourite bear has to offer, but worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is the last of the four Winnie the Pooh featurettes. It's not as good as the first three, but it is still enjoyable. One reason I'll tell you why it it not as good as the others is because almost the whole cast is different. But John Fiedler and Paul Winchell still gave their original voices to Piglet and Tigger which is a good thing. This film really focuses on Eeyore by the way. The music is really good too, and it really sets to the tone of Eeyore. So if you haven't seen this or the others yet, you're in for a treat. So please watch it for me and tell us how you like it.

P.S. Try playing Pooh-sticks yourself.