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Winnie the Pooh 2011

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Written by Jonathan Jacobs

I must perforce I felt a sense of relief and profound joy seeing the old Winnie the Pooh returned to life in 2011. Cartoons nowadays are all clustered, obfuscating, fast-paced, and do not get me started on Anime. Even Batman cartoons have been ruined by cartoonists following that Japanese frenetic style. This new Pooh film exhibits the beauty of 1080 High Definition while telling a story similar to the original that appeared in 1966, also produced by Disney. It would seem that three of my favorite things have been coalesced in perfect harmony; Winnie the Pooh, Disney Cartoons, and High Definition! Now, back to introducing our story.

Eeyore’s tail is missing and with a reward announced his friends are hyper-zealous to find a substitute. Balloons do not work for obvious reasons, and every other attempt fails in a humorous way. With each generous attempt Eeyore finds a measure of relief but his exuberance is ephemeral as each regrettably fails. With a depressed Eeyore we are treated to an enhancement of each character’s personality. That Christopher Robbins has some imagination! Piglet is weakly but sweet, Pooh is dim-witted but hilarious, Owl is brilliant in his oratory but completely illiterate as a reader, Tigger is brave but somehow off his rocker, etc. The search for Eeyore’s tail and for Pooh’s coveted honey turns into a real adventure we can all enjoy.

While John Cleese narrates, Jim Cummings voices Winnie, Bad Luckey is the depressed Eeyore, late night talk host Craig Ferguson is the scholarly Owl, Jack Boulter announces as the imaginative Christopher Robbin, Travis Oates is Piglet, and Tom Kenny is Rabbit. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an experienced cadre of voice announcers that mimic the originals beautifully.

Winnie the Pooh 2011 is on my permanent list of favorites. Despite its relatively short length (just a fraction over an hour), the animated shorts make up for any concern this may cause. The shorts include: “The Ballad of Nessie” and “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon”. What can I say, be it in a cough drop, in my tea, or in cartoon form, I love my honey. Winnie the Pooh is back, and so is a part of my childhood.