Les Aventures de Winnie l'ourson

A small collection of Pooh's early adventures.

I recently watched and introduced this to my toddler daughter and she absolutely loved it! I admit I enjoyed it more than I though I would too. I've seen it a couple times, and I surprisingly appreciate it more and more the older I get.

This film truly captures the wonderment of being a child. But not in a happy-go-lucky kind of way - the characters all experience what appear to be legit challenges - but in a way that really embraces the thoughts, struggles, and ability to overcome that was present at one time in all of us.

I think one would be hard pressed to find someone who truly did not like this film (they maybe just won't admit it).

This is easily one of Disney's best animated movies. A good range of characters each with different qualities so they can bring out different things in each viewer. There are a lot of songs in this movie but all of them are enjoyable and relate to the story. People of all ages can sit and watch this film together and not get bored as everyone can enjoy it and it gives adults the perfect excuse to switch off for a while and remember a time when things were easier. Also even the youngest children can sit through this and not wonder is it nearly finished?, because everything holds the attention. I have seen this movie so many times but it still cheers me up when I'm feeling blue. After all who can resist Winnie the Pooh? A truly excellent, classic movie.

The 22nd animated Disney classic is what I consider the epitome of innocence and childhood. This movie brings fond memories of a childhood that doesn't exist nowadays. It shows very well the beauty of life and magic of childhood, taking us to the relaxing and calm environment of the Hundred Acre Wood and back to the days when childhood was really childhood.

"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" is simple but quite happy. It is narrated through a storybook and illustrations, which is a different way to tell a story.

This movie was made in a different way than the other Disney classics. The 3 Winnie the Pooh's shorts were put together, forming this motion picture but with the addiction of a conclusion. These 3 shorts are named "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree", "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" and "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!". The movie includes 2 live-action segments (a small one at the beginning and a minor one at the end).

Following old Disney's tradition, it has great artwork, lovable characters, charming songs, classic humor and nice animation.

There are no villains (something rare on Disney classics) and the characters are all friends. They all have different personalities, but they're all cool.

Winnie the Pooh is a bear with little brain but he's funny, cute and adorable. He looks more like a doll. You know, like one of those Teddy Bears most children have or had once.

Eeyore is a sad, depressed and pessimist donkey. Rabbit is authoritarian, tense and sometimes unfair, but cool. Piglet is tiny, cute, shy and nervous. Tigger is carefree, wild, humorous, hilarious, amusing, very lively and loves to bounce on his friends. He bounces on Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit, but never on Cristopher Robin, Kanga, Roo, Eeyore, Gopher and Owl. It's good to have a character like Tigger to cheer us up.

Kanga is nice and her son Roo is cool, innocent and enthusiastic. The Owl is very talkative and wise. Cristopher Robin is a caring, sweet and friendly little boy - and he's always available for his friends and helps them whenever they need.

Gopher is hilarious - «he's not in the book» and it's simply awesome whenever he falls into his hole. He is inspired on the Beaver from "Lady and the Tramp". They both can talk and whistle at the same time.

As for the songs, they are simple but charming and childish in a good way. I like all these songs, it's hard to pick a favorite: "Winnie the Pooh", "Up, down and touch the ground", "Rumbly in my tumbly", "Little Black Rain Cloud", "Mind Over Matter", "A Rather Blustery Day", "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers", "Heffalumps and Woozles", "The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down" and "Hip Hip Pooh-Ray!".

As usual, great voice talents from the past shine here too. The great Sterling Holloway provides the voice for Winnie the Pooh. Ralph Wright was a great Eeyore - that gloomy and deep voice is perfect for him. Rabbit was never the same again without Junius Matthews. Sebastian Cabot was a good narrator. John Fiedler is wonderful as Piglet's voice. Barbara Luddy made a good Kanga. Paul Winchell... what a genius! He was a perfect Tigger! Seriously, no one can replace him and Tigger just isn't the same without him.

Yes, I know that this feature is made of 3 previously made shorts, or a package feature as Walt Disney would call it, but it's still wonderful in every way.

Walt Disney chose the perfect cast for the films. Sterling Holloway was the perfect voice for Pooh. Paul Winchell was the Best Tigger ever! John Fiedler voiced his heart out on Piglet. And the others? I'll say that they're wonderful.

The music score is truly one of the greatest musical scores ever. I mean I could just hum it to myself over and over and over again.

And the songs are really catchy, too. Like the theme song, and The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers, and the others, I like them, too.

The ending created just for this movie, is truly one of the most heart-touching endings ever. It really shows that boys and girls, like Christopher Robin, have to say good-bye to their childhood friends. But if I were you, I say to keep them in your memories as your fondest.

So there you have it. A great review for an even greater movie. What more could you ask for?

Could you find a nicer, more innocent film than this one? I don't know. I haven't seen one.

What it is, I think, is a compilation of three films woven into one full-length film, movies that were originally done in the mid to late-1960s and then put into this format later. Whatever, it's simply a bunch of nice stories about the famous Pooh and his friends.

This is refreshing in that there is very, very little violence and no evil characters, no bad guys, both of which are unusual in animated films. The stories are told through a "book" which is pictured as the stories unfold. Illustrations are shown in the book and they they come to life to show the particularly story.

The voice of Pooh was done by one of the great voices in Hollywood history: Sterling Holloway. All the characters are quite different and there is nice humor here and there for adults and kids. This is as sweet-natured a film as you could ever find. To some it may sound boring, but it's so different in its approach that it is subtly appealing to all ages. I liked and appreciated it much more on the second viewing then acquired the DVD for the third look.

This is timeless material and very highly recommended for your kids and for you. Almost everyone alive right now remembers these books from childhood and remembers them fondly. If it brings back good memories to you, you'll love this movie.