Winnie l'Ourson: Noël à l'unisson

I've seen dozens of Christmas specials and only two of them warm my heart and make me think of that excited feeling I got as a child. One is a Charlie Brown Christmas. The other is Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too. Now the reason that this special is my favorite is simply because I'm a bigger Pooh fan than a Peanuts fan. But there's also a reason this special is such a classic. Most specials are pretty clear in teaching that Christmas isn't about what we get but what we give or who we spend it with, I think Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too teaches that message the best way. In usual Pooh fashion, it doesn't have to stop the story to explain why Christmas is better with loved ones. It simply embeds the message in the very sweet story. Pooh and his friends are some of the best role models when it comes to friendship and caring for one another despite their differences. Children can get a lot out of this special and for nostalgic adults, it may just bring a tear to your eye.

As usual, there's not much in this Winnie the Pooh adventure for adults and the story is very, very simple. I like Disney's incarnation of this universe (far removed from AA Milne's world), but the TV series is the best way to enjoy it.

This 1991 Xmas Special is introduced by the notorious Michael Eisner before quickly setting up a threadbare plot involving Christopher Robin sending a letter to Santa Claus for himself and his animal friends. Hardly exciting stuff but pleasant and intermittently funny nonetheless, Hundred Acre Wood also looks lovely covered in snow.

A nice effort, but hardly one you're likely to remember.

Christmas special with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. It's a lovely, pleasant, cartoon. A very cute story that will put a smile on most faces. The main plot is about Pooh and friends writing to Santa giving him their wishlist for Christmas. What each of them wants is fun. Pooh tries to hand deliver the letter to the North Pole but doesn't make it. Everybody learns a valuable lesson about what's really important at Christmas. It's a nice Christmas story. Not one of the greats but enjoyable. Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Gopher, Eeyore are all here. Tigger gets the best lines, as usual. If you like Winnie the Pooh you'll like this cartoon. Give it a shot.

Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too! may not be *the* best Christmas special out there but it's certainly a Christmas classic. There are two segments to the program, one (my favorite) were Pooh mistakenly believes the letter he sent to Santa Claus doesn't get delivered. So, Pooh dresses up as Saint Nick, throws together some "presents" and try's to deliver them. The turn out is quite hilarious, with Tigger delivering some of the best lines. It's one of the best "New Pooh's" that have been made. The second segment has somewhat of a Dumbo storyline. Piglet believes he can't ice skate, but when he retrieves the "Magic Earmuffs" he can skate perfectly fine. Only when Piglet loses his earmuffs, disaster strikes. Everything turns out fine, and even though it's storyline is a little more predicable than the first, it's still a lot of fun to watch. Even though it isn't "A Charlie Brown Christmas" or "Rudolf the Red Nosed Raindeer" it's still wonderful, and I strongly recommend you seeing it!

Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too (1991)

*** (out of 4)

Cute animated film starts off with Pooh, Christopher Robin, Rabbit, Tigger and Eeyore filling out their lists for Santa. The group sends the letter but soon Pooh realizes that he forgot to put anything down so they track the letter down and make sure it's not sent but by doing this it means the letter won't hit Santa in time. With nothing left to do and wanting to please his friends, Pooh dresses as Santa and plans on getting them their gifts. WINNIE THE POOH & Christmas TOO isn't going to make you forget the classic holiday films out there but if you're a fan of the gang then you should have a good time. The story itself is a pretty good one that allows some nice laughs and a cute adventure. I think the strongest character here is without question TIgger who really gets to shine in his few scenes. Pooh dressed up as Santa also works fairly well and of course there's that certain message for children watching the film. The animation is pretty good and the voice work is also very nice. At just around 22-minutes the film flies by without any slow spots.