Winnie-the-Pooh

I remember one day, at my local Library and while I was looking for some foreign cult titles in the Video/DVD section, I came across some anthology of animated titles from Russia and former Soviet Countries and one of them, were three "Winnie the Pooh" titles. I had to check them out, to see what they were like.

And to my surprise, most of the stories in these three animated shorts, are closely based off the original A.A. Milne books. The only thing missing was the Christopher Robin character (rumor has it by request that the real life Chris Milne, whom this character was based on, was uncomfortable with his fame and thus, wanted the studio to exclude Christopher Robin). But it is very good and nice details in the drawings and animation. I was rather pleased.

But I just wish that all three of the Russian "Winnie the Pooh" films would be more available to the public outside of Russia and the former Soviet countries. That would be sooooo nice!

Put aside the character we Americans are used to and you give permission to enjoy the story. It's the classic Winnie, given a Russian sense. As usual, he lives his life to ingest as much honey as he can lay his paws on. Obviously, it is the Milne character with all the subordinating cast.

Unless you've read any of A.A. Milne's original works, then your image of Winnie the Pooh is the treacly cartoons released by Disney. But there was another set of cartoons depicting the honey-obsessed bear. This set got produced by Soyuzmultfilm, a studio in the Soviet Union, and their Pooh looks more ursine than the Disney one. The first one was "Vinni-Pukh" (the Russian pronunciation of the bear's name). In this one, Pooh wants to get some honey out of a beehive, and so he enlists Piglet's help (Piglet is called Pyatachok in Russian). Naturally there are a few snags. I particularly liked Pooh's nonsense singing. This particular cartoon doesn't include the rest of the characters. It's all about Pooh, Piglet, and the bees. Anyone interested in the history of animation can't afford to miss this short.

I don't mean to generalize, but if you really want to get some sense of the difference between Russian and American animation (with many many exceptions, obviously), just compare this phenomenal Vinni Pukh with the wretched Disney Winnie the Pooh. The Disney one is sentimental, pandering, unsophisticated, and dumb. Winnie himself lethargically stumbles along like a middle-aged man with a developmental disability. Vinni, however, is vigorous, adventurous, and witty. He's sly and he has attitude. He is no longer a disposable "silly old bear," he is a worthy protagonist. Pyatachok is not a pathetic, feathery-voiced ball of pink. He is vibrant and fun, and their friendship, so beautifully rendered by Milne and made sappy and idiotic by Disney, is here authentic and moving once again. Soviet animation at its best.

Having just read Amid on Cartoon Brew about this Russian animated version of Winnie the Pooh, I just had to click on the YouTube link to see if Woolie Reitherman was right about this one being better than his for Disney. It certainly is! While I was often charmed by Sterling Holloway's voice in the Disney version, hearing the lines spoken from the former Soviet Republic and listening to the original songs from the old country brings such an otherworld feeling that I can't help thinking how livelier the Russian version was compared to the conventional American take of an English author's tale. Only Pooh and Piglet are in this story of the bear flying in a balloon with Piglet trying to get him down with his pop rifle while bees surround the stuck-in-the-air bear! No Christopher Robin which makes the story better! And great abstract-like drawings gives this short more individual personality than the more faithful-to-original-drawings one from Disney (though the Disney shorts have their own charm). Well worth seeing for international animation buffs.