The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy) (1977)

Despite new packaging and a hokey new subtitle, this release of Disney's original three Winnie the Pooh featurettes is actually identical to the 2002 "25th Anniversary Edition" -same video, same audio, same bonus features. And for once, that's good! That earlier DVD transfer was already digitally restored and had some good extras, including "A Day for Eeyore" and one of Disney's better making-of documentaries, but was pulled off the shelves early last year. Now, however, it's back, with the same vibrant colors, sharp focus and near-perfect 5.1 soundtrack.

In other words, this is Disney at its best. "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" is a charming, gentle, quality film that hasn't aged a bit and looks and sounds terrific. Unless you already own the "25th Anniversary Edition," this new release is a must.

Actually, there is one new bonus feature: an episode of the computer-animated Disney Channel series, "My Friends Tigger and Pooh." In case you haven't seen it, it adds two new characters to the story: Darby, a 6-year-old girl, and her dog Buster.

This is one of the Disney's materpieces. I'm in my 20's and I grew up with Winnie the pooh not only with the movie but with the tv series and the Book. It is hard to imagine a more delightful DVD introduction to A. A. Milne's cherished Winnie the Pooh books than this 1977 short stories, which gathered the Disney studio's original trio of animated featurettes: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966): Pooh of course goes out looking for hunny and gets into some trouble, the Oscar-winning Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968): the hundred acre woods is flooded and piglet is in trouble, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too (1974):this is one of my favorite of the short stories where you meet tigger and you hear him sing his memorable song. Pooh was a pet project of Walt Disney, whose children loved the books about the "willy nilly silly old bear" and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Faithful to the look and gentle spirit of the books, these mellow shorts do Milne proud. With the voices of Sterling Holloway as Pooh, Paul Winchell as Tigger, and John Fiedler as Piglet, the delightful characters come to life. The DVD edition includes a honey jar full of additional special features, including interactive sing-alongs and various activities. But the best part is how they restored the animation vivid and stunning as i would believe as when the movies first arrived in theathers. This movie is my family's favorite. At least once a month my nephew watches it and sings along and is enchanted by silly Pooh, little piglet, gloomy eeyore, rabbit and his gardening,know it all owl, kanga and little roo and bouncy tigger too. This is sure to be in your dvd collection already or soon, where you can be enchanted by one of disney's greatest materpieces about a boy named christopher robin and his nilly silly old bear pooh and his friends and a wonderful place called the hundred acre woods!

5 stars ***** two thumbs way way way up!

Buy The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy) (1977) Now

Before his death, Walt Disney had started his staff on a series of shorts starring A. A. Milne's creation Winnie the Pooh. Because he knew American audiences weren't that familiar with the character yet, he decides that a series of short features would be best, followed by a movie combining them together. This is that movie. Originally released in 1977, it combines the three shorts that had been previously released, "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day," and "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too" with a couple new transitions to make the stories flow together.

The story is set in the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh, a bear with very little brain, lives along with his friends. There's Christopher Robin, a young boy, wise Owl, gloomy Eeyore, Rabbit, small and easily frightened Piglet, Kanga and her son Roo, and bouncy Tigger. No matter what they face, they face it together, at least in the end.

The first set of stories revolves around Pooh's love of honey. When he runs out, he tries to get some from bees and then visits Rabbit where he gets stuck after eating too much.

A natural disaster visits the Hundred Acre woods when a blustery day is followed by a flood. While facing danger, Pooh also learns about Heffalumps and Woozles who may be after his honey.

Finally, Tigger's bouncing gets the best of Rabbit and he tries to debounce Tigger. Undeterred, Tigger gets himself and Roo stuck in a tree.

These cartoons are sweet and innocent. They easily bring back memories of childhood and simpler times. There is gentle humor and the simple lessons aren't done in a heavy-handed manner.

The style of the animation is fairly unique in the Disney canon. It's pencil line heavy. Even though the artists have made it their own, it still reminds the view of Ernest Shepherds charming "decorations" from the books.

These stories are very true to their source material. The new character Gopher is introduced, but as he's not in the book, he's not even in the second half. Probably the most curious choice was the use of a book. The pages turn as the story progresses and we move in on page illustrations to see what happens next. I'll admit it took me quite some time to get used to the idea, but I do see the charm in it now.

The main audience for this movie has always been kids, and the 25th anniversary release reflects that. Most of the features are kid friendly, with games, a sing along song, and a story time segment. Adults will enjoy the behind the scenes featurette. You can choose to watch the movie with pop up facts running. Most of them are ordinary, but there are a few fun trivia items included. Also included is the short "A Day for Eeyore." It was originally released in 1981 and features a few new voices because of cast deaths. It's a fun feature with a couple of my favorite stories from the books, but is a little disconcerting to watch right after seeing the film. As to the film itself, the picture is sharp and the sound is great. It's presented in full frame. I have no proof, but I suspect that was the original aspect ration.

This is a nice film for young kids. Adults may not enjoy it as much as some kid's films, but if they watch with an open mind, it will release their inner child.

Read Best Reviews of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy) (1977) Here

Like that other cuddly British import, James Bond, Winnie The Pooh grew (diminished?) from literary figure to film icon to corporate symbol. Each new feature starring either has dumbed down character and plot to cariacture; in Bond's case, gadgetry and double entendre, in Pooh's, platitudes about family and friendship (Not that A.A. Milne, Pooh's creator, opposed these bedrock concepts, he chose more creative, knotty ways to express them in his narratives.)

It helps to remember the basics. In Pooh's case, that means Milne's books and this film, which gently introduces Pooh and his friends Owl, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and Christopher Robin. It does so while adhering to the books' narrative tone (helped by narrarator Sebastian Cabot). The songs, voices (particularly Paul Winchell and the late Sterling Holloway as Pooh), backgrounds, and characterizations would never be closer to Milne's (or for that matter, Walt Disney's) original vision. The Pooh TV series tried weekly to capture the wistfulness of the book's and film's final moments where Christopher Robin goes to school and leaves the Hundred Acre Wood. Here, it's done with minimal sentimentality while capturing loss of preschool imagination and happy isolation children face. This video is essential for anyone owning anything with Pooh's picture on it. This movie, and book it stems from, are why so many love Winnie The Pooh.

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This DVD has all the classic Winnie the Pooh stories that we remember as kids. The stories are short but they are put together to flow right into the next story to seem as if you are reading the original Pooh books. I love to watch this DVD with my kids. And my 3 1/2 year old and almost 5 year old love to watch this one over & over. They love all the Pooh movies but this is their favorite one by far!

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