Vinni-Pukh i den zabot

If you only know Disney's mushy version of Winnie the Pooh, then you don't know the character at all. Soviet animation studio Soyuzmultfilm made a series about A.A. Milne's bear, depicting him and his friends as mentally mature animals just trying to do the right thing for each other. In "Vinni-Pukh i den zabot" ("Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day" in English), Eeyore has lost his tail, so Pooh tries to find it while Piglet gets him a balloon. Sure enough, complications arise.

It's not as glossy as Disney's series, but more interesting: more subtle and not as cutesy. This series does justice to the books; the more famous version was basically an excuse to sell merchandise. I recommend this one, and also the Soviet version of "Mary Poppins" (yes, there was one).

Another Russian Pooh story. This time the donkey, known from the Pooh stories as Eyeore, is sad because he has no tail. Pooh goes in search of one and finds it attached to a bell that hangs from the treehouse of one Owl. She (yes, in this version it's a she) is offered a bowl of honey from Pooh but she refuses to give the tail in return. Meanwhile, Piglet searches for a flower. I'll stop there and tell you that this short is twice as long as the previous ones at 18 minutes. The music, as usual, is charming and there's humor and sadness that should charm anyone, regardless of age or nationality, interested in all animation. Check it out on YouTube.