Winnie the Pooh Thread

Cosmonaut Variety Hour put it best.

Joel from the Last of Us is not a beloved character. Winnie the Pooh is a beloved character.

In universe, Winnie the Pooh is one of the most harmless and loving characters ever.

Time for me to rank the rest of the Pooh movies.

5.) Poohs Heffalump Movie: For some people this is higher. And I can see why because of how it tackles themes like prejudice and how those perceptions are broken by exposure. And props for Roo, who is probably strongest in this movie. His friendship with Lumpy was pretty fun and heartwarming even if Lumpy himself was kind of a boring character. The rest of the gang are fun to watch but nothing too special for them to do except be wrong: though it is entertaining.

4.) Piglets Big Movie: The songs are what carry this movie. This is the Pooh film that probably has the best music tracks, and Carly Simon certainly helps. Also yeah, Piglet is very fun to watch in this movie and it adapts some very fun stories for the big screen. While it does make Piglet awesome it does at times feel a little forced with some of the stories. I think this would be stronger if Piglet did small things that mattered in important ways rather than big things that are very obvious. I think that would be a bit more clever. But still, a fun watch.

3.) Tigger Movie: Jim Cummings really sold himself as Tigger in this story and he gets a satisfying character arc. The found family theme is very heartwarming even though the climax is a bit, forced. It feels like they threw an avalanche onto it last minute, but it works for some people and I admit it’s cool to see Roo and Tigger team up in the finale. This just feels like a well executed story and the performances save it. Really it’s just parts of the middle that seem a bit boring on a rewatch but boy do the emotional moments pay off. Tigger is just a fun character and it’s cool to see him get a movie.

2.) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The OG. The one that created a lot of awesome animated stories and something that really started something special. Everything just works in this story and it’s just very heartwarming to see such beloved characters being treated so well. It’s very hard to find anything to dislike about this near perfect story. It’s a pleasant watch.

1.) Poohs Grand Adventure: Yeah, this direct to video special is the best of the best. I don’t even have much to say. It’s a masterpiece. A criminally underrated masterpiece that has such great, no, such fantastic writing that it puts high budget films like Disney’s Wish to shame. It does so much and accomplishes so much since the team just gave 100% for this story. This film just came at the perfect moment in my life and has left a dramatic impression that has only gotten better. The best Pooh film, hands down.

My problem with Heffalump and Piglet's Big Movie is that they feel a bit dumbed down compared to the other films, like they're more clearly playing to littler kids rather than a family. The moral is much more ham fisted.

In terms of minor nitpicks, retconning Tigger's debut just to sneak him into Roo's backstory felt kinda pointless, especially since he barely done anything (Book Of Pooh did the same thing, but it worked better there due to the "puppet" continuity seemingly being different from the animated one, and the whole point of that story was to show Tigger and Roo becoming friends, this isn't the case in the movie). I feel like they could have got away with him just not being in one segment.

Also, Heffalump was a bit too cliche with the Adults Are Useless approach. Yeah this is expected when the "adults" are Pooh and co, but I always felt like there was cute nuance to that before because they were basically little kids as well. Also felt a bit sorry for Rabbit, he was always snubbed in the bits about relating to Lumpy, and while they at least accidentally trash Pooh's house, they straight up vandalize Rabbit's garden for a laugh. Sure Rabbit's the ass of the group, but making him "Roo's least favourite friend" felt a bit like going against their development in Piglet's Big Movie and Springtime For Roo. Otherwise it feels like Roo's had a kinda consistent character arc Tigger Movie onwards, with Lumpy basically culminating it by becoming his "baby brother" like Roo was to Tigger.

The whole "new character" hype could have been done in a cleverer way too, like maybe Christopher Robin bought Lumpy and the others didn't know he was a new resident to the wood or something. Imagine a live action segment with a "heffalump" mother and son doll alongside the Kanga and Roo one per se.

Tigger Movie is still my favourite of the A Day in the Limelight movies. It had the same earnest character study approach as Grand Adventure only with a more Don Bluth-esque animation and pacing (Grand Adventure gives me more Ghibi-ish vibes, maybe because Disney's Japan unit worked on it). Really I think that's the movie that sold Roo as a character and why he suddenly became a big focus in a lot of Pooh works afterwards. It kinda bugs me New Adventures rarely used Kanga and Roo after watching this, Tigger and Roo's bond is so endearing.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 18th 2023 at 3:02:32 PM

Tigger Movie certainly has a great dynamic with Roo and Tigger becoming brothers. And I don’t know why but the scene where Roo runs to Pooh for help just always gets me because of how scared Roo is. It really cements the little brother who cares for his big brother. Tigger has to realize that his family is right in front of him and eventually he does.

It’s weird how Pooh’s Grand Adventure had so much thought and care put into it when you really think about it. It’s not too often a direct to DVD special isn’t just good but actually great. I guess people just didn’t care for it at the time. It’s just so air tight it is almost maddening. It’s proof Disney can do excellent writings and character studies when they try.

Roo's never really been broken down like that prior to this movie, again he was always just a supporting character, never getting the big emotional stories the others got in New and Grand Adventure. I think that's why he got more substantial roles afterwards, they shown his full potential as a sympathetic character.

I admit I love how Pooh tends to be a minor character in the spin off movies but he still gets these sweet moments, he's not just the comic relief. I feel like it even ties back to Grand Adventure here, since he proposes Rabbit be the leader after all that happened in that movie. Remember he secretly saw Rabbit get out of his funk and take charge in the climax.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 19th 2023 at 12:28:33 PM

Remember that one episode of New Adventures where Pooh shows just how big his heart is by defeating the villain by sharing his honey with the villain Wooster.

Certainly shows for all his honey gluttony, he certainly isn't so greedy that he refuses to share with others.

Edited by SpongeGuy11 on Dec 19th 2023 at 10:49:48 AM

I do love that from Grand Adventure and how it pays off more in Tigger Movie. Rabbit isn’t just the smart guy but also the leader. Which is honestly refreshing.

Rabbit is the clever one who comes up with the plans. And often, they actually work.

Anyone remember the episode of New Adventures where a toy monkey basically attempts suicide because Christopher Robin doesn't like him? I saw that one a while ago and I was shocked to see suicide in Pooh!

(Yes, it turned out that the toy monkey was a present for one of Christopher's friends, but still. Luckily Pooh and co. manage to save him.)

Edited by Smasher on Jan 6th 2024 at 7:05:35 AM

Yeah, I remember that one. “Monkey See, Monkey Do Better.”

So fun detail, Eyeore in this series is sassy and snarky in ways that still make me laugh. This donkey is just very much of a wise ass. Pun intended.

Eyeore's reaction to Pooh when he said "We still have lunch and dinner to go!" just after they stuffed themselves on apples will always be one of my favorite moments.

One of my favorite online jokes is that the real reason Eeyore is so depressed is because he has a nail in his butt.

And yet he keeps coming back for his tail. He puts up with it anyway just because it's one of his few cherished possessions.

Eyeore: It isn't much for a tail. But I'm still attached to it.

This legendary adventure just dropped.

This YTP collab entry has been in the making for years, originally set to be released almost two years prior. And this is part of a wider collab on Pooh's Grand Adventure.

The premise of the above video is Pooh's Grand Adventure + Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask being combined together.

Fixed.

Edited by Patar136 on Apr 15th 2024 at 10:15:03 AM

Reminder that posting just a link without proper description will result in post getting thumped.

Edited by jouXIII on Apr 15th 2024 at 12:37:16 PM

You know something, Winnie the Pooh really has this weird state of limbo where it is both very popular and just not being utilized at the moment.

Am I missing something? Is there a show airing right now I don't know about? Cause it seems like we are due for a Pooh project.

But not Blood and Honey 2. Not you!

I.. think (and don't quote me on this because I dunno if it's exactly true) but some other company besides Disney is working on an Origin Story on how Pooh stumbled across the Hundred Acre Woods?

Isn't the Playdate with Winnie the Pooh series going on right now?

Well, why not a slasher flick where Pooh squares off Steamboat Mickey? No? Too bad! We're getting it anyway!

Yeah, that one is true. Read about it last year.

Sure is!

Weird. What an era we are in. It's actually a shame Blood and Honey doesn't have any talent behind it. Could you imagine if we had somebody competent like Sam Raimi at the helm? We might actually get something kind of funny.

Absurdist comedy could be funny with a horror twist. But for some reason the writers just have zero creativity. So this premise is just, stale.