Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Winnie the Pooh opens in theatres everywhere Friday, July 15th.



What a real shame it is that Disney is opening their re-boot of the Winnie the Pooh franchise opposite the cultural juggernaut that is the final Harry Potter film. In theory, it isn't a terrible idea to offer the film as a bit of counterprogramming for children too young to handle the later Potter films, but it seems to be a sadly foregone conclusion that everyone and their pets will be seeing if Voldemort finally gets his (despite most of them already knowing well in advance how the whole thing will end already). Actually, people in North America seem to be lucky that they are getting a theatrical release of Winnie the Pooh at all. In many overseas markets it is going straight to DVD at the end of August.

I haven't seen Harry Potter Part 7, Part 2: The Final Chapter yet, but I have seen Winnie the Pooh, an even more literary adaptation of a classic children's book that is a consistently fun an charming film for children of all ages. I wasn't even originally going to write about it in this blog, given the title and the way my blog's demographic tends to skew, but I am here to say that this film is most assuredly worth your time.

It is the rare adaptation that manages to get almost everything right about the books of A.A. Milne right from the opening frames. It is also shown in gloriously detailed, old school hand drawn animation devoid of any obvious computer tampering (there had to be some, though) or annoying 3-D. The worst special effect the film offers is having Zooey Deschanel sing most of the soundtrack in a stab at cultural relevancy, and while some may see this as being out of place, it really isn't all that distracting. That is, unless you really hate Zooey Deschanel singing.

The plot of the film is very simplistic for the little ones and full of wit and whimsy that will keep the elders entertained. There are essentially 3 separate plot strands that all need to come together by the end of the film. Pooh wakes up and is extremely hungry, but finds himself out of honey and tries in vain to find any. Meanwhile, his good friend Eeyore has lost his tail and the Hundred Acre Wood gang band together to try and find either the original or a suitable replacement. The gang gets sidetracked after their young charge Christopher Robin disappears and leaves a misinterpreted note that makes his stuffed animal friends think he has been kidnepped by a mysterious creature known as The Backson.

The film doesn't waste any time and is very knowlegable of the audience the film is made for. At just over an hour in length (and preceeded by a lovely short about the Loch Ness monster being driven out of her home by a Donald Trump style tycoon), Winnie the Pooh feels like a perfect way to kick back on a weekend afternoon with the family or just by yourself if you need a brief pick me up. There really aren't any demerits against it because it does exactly what it needs to do to appeal to all audiences. For adults, it also has one of the funniest scenes of any film this summer involving the gang falling into a pit and trying to get out. It is a lengthy scene of inspired comedic lunacy funnier than anything in Cars 2.

Look, I am just going to leave you with some clips from the film. If you giggle or audibly say "awwwwww" just go see the film. I dare say it is impossible to watch this film without a smile on your face for at least part of it.

Rating (out of five stars): ****1/2