Thoughts on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

This is part of my series “Thoughts on Disney movies,” where I’ve gone back to watch all of the animated Disney features, starting with Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, and then share my thoughts on the blog.

Highlights:  This is a classic.  I was a huge Winnie-the-Pooh lover as a kid, so this really brings back the memories.  I remember absolutely adoring this movie and all of the other movies, games, and whatever else existed in the franchise, so I might be a little biased about this movie.  It’s so cute and such a feel good film.  My favorite out of these mini stories is the one where Pooh eats too much honey and gets stuck in the door of Rabbit’s house.  I remember loving the part where Rabbit decides to make Pooh’s butt part of the decor and starts painting it.  When I was younger my favorite characters were Pooh and Piglet, but now that I’m older I can kind of sympathize with Rabbit somewhat.  Of course, they’re all great characters – Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Owl.  Owl was much funnier now than when I watched him as a kid, because there were a lot of things I didn’t get then.

Low Points:  While in some ways I do think that Winnie-the-Pooh is timeless and something that can be loved by everyone, I think it definitely has more of an appeal for kids.  Unlike some of the other animated Disney movies, which might deal with serious topics and hardships, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is just a rather go-lucky series of stories that has very little real strife.

Music:  Lots of songs in this one, and they fit the style of the movie well.  They aren’t show stopping numbers, but fun songs that really appeal to kids, such as “The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers,” “Winnie the Pooh” and “Heffalumps and Woozles.”

Villain:  The characters are all so sweet and lovable in this one that there really isn’t a villain.  Sometimes they get on each others’ nerves, but in the end they are all just friends.  If anything the unknown Heffalumps and Woozles are the villains, but we don’t really see them in this film other than a dream.  And they are hilarious!

Fun Fact: This movie was originally 3 different shorts that were then tied together to be a feature film. That means it is the last Disney film that Walt himself was involved with, since he had worked on one of the shorts previously.

Where in the World:  Pooh and his friends are quite popular in Disney World.  There is a ride in the Magic Kingdom named after this movie, called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  There is also a restaurant there called the Crystal Palace, which is a character meal.  When you eat there you can meet Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger.  The characters can also be found many places throughout the parks – I’ve run into Pooh in the UK pavilion in Epcot a few times.

My rating:  8.5 out of 10.  I have such good memories associated with this one.