Winnie the Pooh(2011)- User Reviews

This movie was trip down memory lane for me. “Winnie the Pooh” is a fun experience for anyone who grew with the title character based off a series of books by A. A. Milne. It all started when Walt Disney purchased the rights to the book and created several shorts to accompany his feature films. Years later, we got a revival of the character in the 1990s in the form of the television series ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’. And that’s where I became interested in the character as a young child.

But I will admit, now that I’m an adult, it is kind of strange going to see a harmless kids movie. Yet I got a kick out of watching it, as it was nice to see one of my childhood characters return to theatres. “Winnie the Pooh” is a guilty pleasure for me, but for everyone else, they can appreciate the kindness of a child’s innocence that both kids and adults will love.

The plot of the film centers around Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh for short (voiced by Jim Cummings), as he travels around the Hundred Acre Wood in search of his favorite food: honey. Along the way, Pooh meets his friends Eeyore (Bud Luckey), Piglet (Travis Oates), Kanga and her son Roo (Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Wyatt Dean Hall), the energetic Tigger (Cummings again), Owl (Craig Ferguson), Rabbit (Tom Kenny), and his humanoid friend Christopher Robin (Jack Boulter). One day, Pooh learns that Christopher Robin is not at home and tells his friends that Christopher Robin has gone missing. Owl thinks a terrible monster known as the Backson has captured him. So Pooh and his friends set up elaborate traps to try and capture this terrible creature with hopes of finding Christopher Robin. All while Pooh is constantly hungry and searching for honey.

“Winnie the Pooh” is an admirable animated film that is sure to please anybody who grew up with the character of Pooh. The animation looks fantastic providing divine hand-drawn backdrops and perfect character movements. The story is simple enough for any child to understand and the dialogue fits each personality very well. I was even surprised to hear John Cleese as the narrator. This is mainly because Winnie the Pooh originated in Great Britain. The songs are fun to listen to as they are a remembrance of the original Sherman Bros. songs, and Zooey Deschanel does a pretty good job at providing the vocal track for the musical accompaniments. But it’s the memory of these characters that makes the movie shine.

At some point in a person’s lifetime, he or she must have heard about Winnie the Pooh. Whether from the books, the animated shorts, or even the television series, Winnie the Pooh will forever remain in our deepest memories of innocence.

Also, we have all these movies coming this year, like “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “X-Men First Class”, that take their subject matter very seriously. But here comes “Winnie the Pooh” and it’s a lot of fun. What I’m trying to say, films don’t need to be taken seriously sometimes. And that’s just fine with me.

Now if I had any complaints about the movie is that it did run a bit short. At only an hour and ten minutes, the film goes by very quickly. But the pacing kept its purpose: to keep everyone entertained.

In all fairness, “Winnie the Pooh” is a nice animated film in which kids will love but adults may approach with caution. But if you’re an adult that grew up with the character of Winnie the Pooh as a child, then you might want to check this one. It’s a blast from the past and a pleasant outing for anyone to see.

Also, it features Huell Howser after the credits as the Backson.