Guest Relations
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And Tigger Too

For the longest time, Winnie the Pooh has had top billing.

Each Disney movie involving the characters of A.A. Milne has had Pooh on the top of the marquee. Be it Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day or even Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!

That changes next Friday with the release of The Tigger Movie, which for fairness probably should have been titled "The Tigger Movie and Winnie the Pooh Too."

It will be a must see in my household, as my fiancée is an avid Pooh fan.

Whether it's a must see for others may determine further Pooh investment by the Disney Company.

For the last few years, Disney has made a major Pooh push. For a time, it seemed like you saw Pooh more at the theme parks and Disney Stores than Mickey Mouse.

Despite Pooh's several supporters, many would say that most Disney fans haven't exactly abandoned the mouse for the bear.

Some have questioned the Pooh push, and "Tigger" may be the line in the sand. Anything less than a bonafied box office success could mean that Pooh will go the way of Mr. Toad, the ride he replaced in Florida.

Add Pooh: The movie will also mark the welcome return of songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman to the Disney big screen.

Before Alan Menken was Disney music to most people, the Sherman brothers were the musical forces behind the Disney films.

Surely you've hummed Winnie the Pooh, Spoonful of Sugar or Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?

Disney animated films always make you feel younger. With Pooh back on the big screen singing Sherman Brothers music, it really will feel like the 1960s and 70s again.

Something Disney Fans Would Like to See: "The Eeyore Movie." Even though Eeyore himself probably wouldn't be too happy about it.

Something Disney Fans Would Not Like to See: "The Owl Movie." Let's face it. Owl has to be the most boring and underdeveloped character in the Hundred-Acre Wood. You half expect Piglet to say, "Owl who?"

I'm Going to Disneyland: That has been the catch phrase of a popular ad campaign by the Disney folks. In fact, it's become as much a tradition after sports championships as the trophy presentation.

This week, it was victorious Rams quarterback Kurt Warner uttering the famous "I'm going to Disneyland" or "I'm going to Disney World," depending on what side of the country you were on.

It brings to mind some of the past versions of the commercial, which have been going strong since 1988.

My personal favorite still stands as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 1988 Disneyland turn. What made it most memorable is the fact that as Abdul-Jabbar was uttering the words, Magic Johnson was making another of his amazing plays to the hoops, drawing a large crowd ovation. The result in the commercial was the crowd seemingly getting excited about Disneyland along with the unusually ecstatic Kareem. "I'm going to Disneyland!" The crowd screams, them Kareem screams, "Yea!" Classic.

On the other end, there's Nancy Kerrigan's turn in 1994. After winning the silver medal behind Oksana Baiul, many felt Kerrigan was less than gracious in her defeat. That showed in her less-than-enthusiastic "I'm going to Disney World."

Sure enough, she went the Disney World upon her return to the states. The problem was that in the process, Kerrigan passed up going to the White House with the rest of the Olympic athletes and took a large sum of money to "go to Disney World." Kerrigan's public reputation went down the tubes, making her probably the only person in history to be adversely affected by an association with Mickey Mouse.

Add Super Bowl: Kudos to the folks at Disney and Epcot for their halftime show, which proved to be one of the best I could remember. The days of "Up With People" are truly over.

What if It Was a Disney Movie: Scream 3 would be I Scream for Ice Cream.

A Shameless Plug: I've put up my personal website in honor of my upcoming wedding. It's at www.chrisandfelisa.com.

I'm Going to ... You Know: It was the NHL's All-Star Break for this Los Angeles Kings beat writer Sunday. Guess where I went?

You don't need me or Kurt Warner to tell you where.

Until next time ... No, I'm not going to Knott's Berry Farm.

Guest Relations is normally posted every other Friday.

The opinions expressed by Chris Reed, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted February 7, 2000