Winnie the Pooh (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2011) Reviews

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We took our 4 year old to see this movie in the theater. It was so cute! We read the original stories at home and it was neat for him to see them come to life on the screen. (Albeit with a few tweaks and changes.) He enjoyed the play on words and seeing the words on the screen. He has since been trying to sound out words more and asking how to spell things. The movie theater had people of all ages in it and we heard more laughter during the movie than we did at the theater during Cars II. It was refreshing to see a kids movie without explosions or violence. I recommended this movie to a lot of friends and for once I didn't have to say "it was a great movie except...". There was nothing in the movie that scared our little one at all. We will be purchasing this DVD as soon as it is available.

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I have to say that Winnie the Pooh haven't been much appealing to me like other Disney films and characters have. Mostly relegated to direct-to video market, Pooh is somewhat kiddie fare without much transcendance. Still, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) remains an endearing classic with excellent stories and appealing characters. The Many Adventures approaches Pooh in a very low-key manner but this is an excellent way to envision Pooh, a low key affair that nontheless provides good quality entertainment for everyone and that's why this film succeds where all the other Pooh films have failed.

When I heard that Winnie the Pooh was returning to theaters this year, I approached the news cautiously, as I said before, Pooh is not my cup of tea and aside from The Many Adventures is just not appealing to grown ups. Here in Latin America the now simply titled "Winnie the Pooh" premiered on May 6 (it opened in the States on July 15). I have to report that Disney Animation Studios did an excellent job with this film. Instead of a compillation of short films like its predecessor, this one takes some A. A. Milne original stories and mesh them in one single long film (although long is not the appropiate word because the film runs barely 70 minutes). Although it's not a compillation of shorts, the film feels a little episodic with Pooh & Co. stumbilng into one problem after another. I won't give away any spoliers but let me tell you that this film not only feels true to its original source, it also feels true to the original film. The same low key approach is seen here so don't expect a grand spectacle like last year's Tangled. The animation is remiscent of the original film with of course a newer quality on it. The characters are endearing and not obnoxious (except for the Owl but only in some scenes) and the Hundred Acre Wood retains that magic quality of the first film. Also the characters address the audience and the voice cast is remarkable. Kids will surely enjoy it and grown ups will also smile looking at this level of innocence and simplicity that will remind them what was to be a kid. The new songs are not memorable but serves the film right.

Video & Audio

Winnie the Pooh looks absolutely spectacular in HD. Detail, colors and contrast are exquisite in every scene, in every character. This is another top-notch transfer from Disney.

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA is also excellent. This is not a bombastic film but sound is great with no signs of compression and good directionality.

Bonus Material

Winnie the Pooh does not come as packed as other Disney titles but has some good bonus material including:

"Winnie the Pooh and his Story too" is a kind of making of featurette of the film that is too short but still informative.

"Deleted Scenes": You have five deleted scenes each one with an introduction from the director.

Bonus Shorts: This BD comes with two shorts. The first one is "The Ballad of Nessie" that accompanied Winnie the Pooh in theaters, the other is Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Pooh's Balloon that features Pooh, Christopher Robin and a blue balloon.

You also have a sing along option, Disney's song selection and a featurette of how to create a Pooh nursery.

A DVD and a Digital Copy are also included.

Closing Thoughts

Winnie the Pooh is a great film that breathes new life to the old bear. It has a lot going for it and I really recommend you give Pooh a chance especially if you have kids, you won't regret it. The BD features an amazing presentation of the film with stellar picture and sound and a healthy collection of bonus material. Highly Recommended!!

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We took our two children for a super extra special treat a trip to the theater to watch Winnie Pooh, a character they had previously only seen in books. I had high hopes for this movie and they were exceeded.

I love the animation. I love the styling and the fact that it looks like they are in a book.

I love the story. I love the plot and I love the character development and I love how close to the original books they are.

I love the length. One hour is just long enough to be a sit down movie but not so long my children completely lose interest.

Overall I loved this movie. It was nostalgic, classic, clever, and funny in all the right ways. I don't buy a lot of videos, but this one is definitely going on my shelf!

Honest reviews on Winnie the Pooh (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2011)

It wasn't loaded with special effects, blaring music, big splashy stars or explosions. Summer 2011's Disney theatrical release, "Winnie the Pooh," was exactly the kind of animated film Walt Disney was making in the late '50s/early '60s -not sweeping epics, nor pop music short packages, but simple, glowing stories packed with rich characterizations (both in writing and animation), superb voice work and hummable tunes.

Some found this film to be too much of a throwback, but how many modern films can truly rekindle the texture and charm of a classic without succumbing to the present day trappings and trends? Like the TV series "Seinfeld" was in its deceptively self effacing claim to be "about nothing," Pooh's power lies shines his basic plotlines, only without the cynicism. A.A. Milne's books had slim storylines, too, and attempts to clutter them have met with mixed results.

First and foremost, "Winnie the Pooh" is one of the funniest movies of the year. I don't say this with any hint of irony or sarcasm, it's just true. Without messing around with the characters or updating the humor, you find yourself laughing at the clever "who's on first" wordplay. Pooh and pals may be guileless, a bit deluded and sometimes clueless, but they're not stupid or held to ridicule. This is very, very hard humor to pull off successfully.

The most clueless character of all is Owl, a character never fully realized in past "Poohs" but brought to scene-stealing fervor by the sharp vocal timing of Craig Ferguson, who with narrator John Cleese and Zooey Deschanel, are as far as the voice casting ventured into celebrity (but with respect to suitability, not just fame). Cheers to the creative team for retaining the seemingly endless talents of Jim Cummings as Pooh and Piglet rather than hiring a marquee name and wrecking the character for an easy marketing hook. Tom Kenny also does a wonderfully neurotic Rabbit, and my kids got a kick out of hearing wisps of his Spongebob voice peeking out within the characterization.

The musical score by Robert Rodriguez and Kristen Anderson-Rodriguez (she also voices Kanga) is a tribute to the Sherman Brothers' art of the deceptively simple and infinitely singable song. I can't help but assume that the chorus singing "hunny, hunny..." was a nod to the Wonderful World of Color theme ("color, color...").

The Blu-ray looks marvelous, but I was a little let down by the lack of extras. No commentary, not much behind the scenes stuff, pretty lacking all around. Most interesting were the deleted scenes. Charming as they were, the scenes were cut because, it seems from the explanation, to keep the story focused and evenhanded. Although Owl is a scene stealer, he's never the complete focus. Each character gets a sufficient time to shine, even "B'loon." The filmmakers even resisted padding the feature to make it longer, instead adding on The Ballad of Nessie (another film that could have been released in the early Disney/Pooh days). Historically, "Dumbo" was a short feature too, but it's a gem at its ideal running time.

I can only hope they're saving some additional features for a reissue in the future, because this Pooh should not get lost in a sea of direct-to-video movies. Not to slight them all (many were very nice), but it's pretty crowded out there with Pooh videos. Maybe that's why the title is simply "Winnie the Pooh" with no subtitle, in order to set it apart from the pack.

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I bought this movie, not having seen it in the theater, because of all the raves I read about how faithful it was to the style of the original. Now that I've seen it, I'm not that impressed. It's good that the story is based on material from the original book, and visually it's mostly there, but the dialogue and the jokes are decidedly modern. It's all stuff that I wouldn't mind at all in another movie, but in this context it constitutes a failure to recapture the spirit of the original stories. In fact, it makes it seem like they weren't even trying that hard. The movie falls victim to the modern "edginess" which I think is the opposite of the charm and innocence that made the original Pooh stories so special.

I think the example that stuck with me the most is the scene where Pooh is stuck in a hole, and the others are arguing over who should investigate whether he was the monster they were trying to catch. At one point, Roo says "Send the pig", referring to Piglet. That just strikes me as far too callous a thing for little Roo to say.