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The
marketing campaign
for
Winnie the Pooh
featured Keane’s
“Somewhere Only We
Know” one of my
all-time favorite
songs. Not just
because of Tim
Rice-Oxley’s
brilliant piano on
the song but for the
poignant lyrics
about going
somewhere magical
with a friend and
reconnecting with
innocence. That’s
what
Winnie the Pooh
is all about. It’s
about returning to
the Hundred Acre
Wood and seeing the
sights and hearing
the sounds. It’s
briefly about a
story, but mostly
it’s about
introducing a new
generation of kids
to something
incredibly simple
and satisfying when
they’ve probably
been over-stimulated
since the day they
were born.
There’s no real
plotline to talk
about with
Winnie the Pooh.
If there is, it’s
something that we’ve
seen in Pooh movies
and TV shows or read
in the books before. Eeyore loses his
tail and the rest of
the group of friends
tries to find it.
Christopher Robin
gets misunderstood
and the animals in
the Hundred Acre
Wood believe there
to be a crisis but
deal with it
innocently and
humorously. All this
goes on and Pooh of
course worries about
getting some honey
and satisfying his
stomach.
The
plot is minimal here
but it matters not.
This is about pure
whimsy. It’s about
simple visual cues
and innocence
bringing smiles to
the innocent. I
couldn’t even be
remotely snide to a
film that’s nothing
but sheer joy.
Watching my young
son enjoy this movie
was something that
I’ll remember for
the rest of my life
because it was among
one of the purest
and most sincere
moments I’ve ever
seen. That’s what
Disney’s all about
and that’s what this
installment of
Winnie the Pooh
is all about.
The
most brilliant part
of this movie is the
musical direction.
Wow. I continue to
be impressed by the
music department at
Disney with their
current choices and
them really moving
on to a new era in
music after a decade
last decade where
most of it was
forgettable. The
marketing music
choices have been
great with Ingrid
Michaelson and Lenka
being featured in
commercials and
trailers. But the film
synchronizations
have been even
better than the
marketing. The music done
by Zoey Deschanel in
Winnie the Pooh
sets the tone for
the rest of the
movie.
The
music and the whimsy
are both great but
the way this music
explodes on the
screen in brilliant
vibrancy is due to
animation brilliance
is just fantastic.
You can’t say
anything more than
that. There’s always
been a style to
Winnie the Pooh,
the directors and
animators
took that style and
warmed it perfectly
for 2011.
The
bonus features on
Winnie the Pooh
are fairly slim for
such a historic
character for Disney
but we’ve been
spoiled by Diamond
and Special editions
from the company so
this is forgivable.
We get two great
shorts with
Winnie the Pooh
and a short
historical bit on
Winnie the Pooh
and a couple
different extras.
There’s nothing
remarkable but
there’s plenty
that’s memorable.
Wow.
Winnie the Pooh
is a fantastic hour
long escape to the
hundred acre wood.
Kids, especially
young kids, should
watch this with
their families. It’s
a heart-warming
experience. This
movie equates to an hour’s
worth of joy for the
family.
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