I have yet to find a single person in the whole world who personally dislikes Winnie the Pooh. Before becoming Disney icons right beside Mickey Mouse and company, the Winnie the Pooh stories and characters were originally created by author A. A. Minle. Pooh bear and his pals would not make their big screen debut until 1970’s. As for my experience, I remember as a kid really enjoying Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends as they have many marvelous adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood whether it be in the movies or on tv. Though after many years, does the original film from 1977 titled The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh still hold up even without all the nostalgia?
There are three stories centered around Winnie the Pooh and his friends. The first story sees Pooh bear searching for honey in the trees but then decides to get honey from his friend Rabbit instead. Pooh then suddenly gets stuck in a rabbit's hole after eating too much honey and needs everyone in the hundred acre woods to help get him out. The second story tells the tale of how a horrible storm enters the hundred acre wood and how the wind knocks down Owl’s tree house. Afterwards a flood starts to appear in Pooh’s house when the rain starts to come down hard. The third and final story stars Tigger as he cant help but be bouncy and pouncy with his friends which annoys Rabbit very much. One wintery day Tigger starts bouncing with Roo but then finds he has bounced too high in a tree and finds he can’t get down.
All these stories originally started as their own separate shorts before being merged together for a feature film. The stories that are told are really flippin adorable and mostly timeless considering how old it is. The movie brings us back to a simpler time when everything was whimsical and wonderful. The film's simplicity and sickly sweet attitude really make it hard for even the most grumpy person in the world to deny. These characters are so memorable and easily identifiable not just to kids, but even adults. The animation matches the laid back feel of the movie and it sometimes gets creative when the film calls for it. The music and songs are catchy and lovely, they only add to the magical world of the Hundred Acre Wood. My only nitpicks I have is that even though it's an older movie I will admit that some of the live action shots of the bedroom haven’t aged the best and the songs do have an obvious 70’s feel but really that's all I think of as there really is nothing that wrong with this movie.
There is a reason why these characters have become household Disney icons. Their first big screen debut is not only adorable in it’s stories and its animation, but it mostly still holds up even decades later. Sure, it's not gonna be for everyone, but with how most kids movies are trying to be more edgy and adult, this movie is comfortable with just being a charming set of stories that are as timeless as they are sweet.
(Final Grade: B+)