Toon Talk: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 25th Anniversary Edition
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Bonus Features:
Winnie the Pooh and A Day for Eeyore Animated Short:
There comes a point in every TV show where something irrevocably incomprehensible happens
and its just not the same anymore. At that moment, the series has jumped the
shark, referring to the infamous episode of Happy Days where Fonzie, well,
jumped a shark. For the Pooh series, it is A Day for Eeyore. Although here
it is not quite a specific moment, more a cumulative effect. From the different voices
that dont quite gel (most notably, of Hal Smiths Pooh and Laurie Mains
narrator), to the re-recorded theme song, to the over-acting animation of the characters,
it all ends up as this uninspired and misguided effort.
The Story Behind the Masterpiece: The Making of The Many Adventures
of Winnie the Pooh Featurette:
This brand new featurette, a welcome addition to the mostly kid-orientated set, delves
deep into the production of the three original shorts and the feature compilation that
followed, wisely ending there in the Pooh timeline. Interviews with animators
Ollie Johnson, Frank Thomas and Burny Mattinson; songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman;
writer X. Atencio; historian Dave Smith; and voice actors Paul Winchell (Tigger) and John
Walmsley (one of the three Christopher Robins) are highlights of this informative and
entertaining retrospective. Narrated by Disney voice fave Corey Burton.
The Winnie the Pooh Art Gallery:
There are two options available for viewing the gallery: either the traditional remote
controlled self-guided tour, or a video presentation that allows you to sit back and relax
while a narrator takes you through the various screen shots, including brightly magic
marker-colored concept art; production photos (alas, without captions); the original
Ernest H. Shephard storybook illustrations; background paintings stunning in their
simplified beauty; poster art for all three shorts and the feature; and theme park
pictures ranging from Poohs 1972 presidential campaign to Tokyo Disneylands
state-of-the-art Honey Hunt attraction. The video gallery option is obviously geared to
children, what with its cloying circus music score, but it does allow for closer looks at
the pictures.
The Winnie the Pooh Theme Song Performed by Carly Simon:
Carly Simons honeyed vocals perfectly compliment the sweetly simply lyrics in this
video intercutting shots of Simon playing her guitar with clips from the feature.
The 100-Acre Wood Challenge Game:
A veddy-British accented narrator encourages you to pick one of three characters (Pooh,
Tigger, Rabbit) for this DVD game. Complete the simple matching games, and you are treated
to a video clip featuring your character.
Disney Storytime: Poohs Shadow:
DVD storybook introduced by Tigger. You can read along with the storyteller or to
yourself.
Poohs Pop-Up Fun Facts:
A kid-friendly version of the audio commentary, with Pooh trivia superimposed at
the bottom of the screen. A more fun version of this concept would have been to use
VH1s Pop-Up Video-style, honey pot-shaped icons popping in
instead of the plain text presented here as if almost an after-thought.
The Top Ten Things We Learn from These Pop-Ups:
- The A.A. in A.A. Milne stands for Alan Alexander.
- Winnie the Pooh was the first song written by the Shermans for this project.
- Rabbit and Owl were the only original characters from the books not based on toys.
- Walt Disney loved the scene where Rabbit tries to disguise Poohs posterior.
- Owls story about his Uncle Clyde is actually the poem The Owl and the Pussycat.
- Original Pooh illustrator Ernest H. Shephard was the father of Mary Shephard, the original illustrator for the Mary Poppins books.
- Milne based Tigger on a black spaniel pup named Chum, who always bounced on everyone he met.
- Pooh made his first appearance in Milnes poem Teddy Bear.
- In the original book illustrations, Pooh only wore his shirt in the snowy scenes.
- The Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too album won the Grammy for Best Childrens Recording in 1974.
Note: The original release year for Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too is erroneously listed here as 1968.