Many Adventures of Winnie/Pooh

For my part, I think the Disney animators did as good a job here of maintaining the general atmosphere of the original Milne stories as was ever done--the modern efforts don't even come close, and actually reduce the Pooh characters to a status on a par with just about anything else. I also have a sentimental attachment to the original Disney shorts, since I basically grew up watching them occasionally on TV. These are gentle stories that will appeal to a wide range of ages, from extremely young (my daughter has been watching them since before she could speak) to late adolescence. The plot consists of a number of rather underwhelming and pointless events in the lives of a number of stuffed animals inhabiting the "Hundred Acre Wood," which is rather refreshing from Disney, actually: no pandering, no didacticism, just (as Homer Simpson might say) "a bunch of stuff that happens." The music is occasionally memorable as well; if, after countless viewings demanded by your child(ren), you don't have Pooh's "up-down" song, or "Little Black Raincloud," or the title song, or for that matter "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" running pleasantly through your head, you have no head for music at all.

I have never been particularly impressed with the "extras" included with most DVDs, but in this case the folks at Disney have included the fourth theatrical short, "A Day for Eeyore," which is a very nice bonus, especially since prior to this release one had to buy each short separately on videotape. The short itself is a bit shocking, though, since the voices, with the exception of Tigger, are radically different.

Overall, a nice single-disc package of "classic" Disney Pooh, and something you can show your child(ren) without fear or guilt.

The only thing I'd give thumbs-down to on this DVD is the film transfer quality. The film is rather old now, and the dyes and the paints they used back then are wearing unevenly. This gives a sort of mottled look to some of the larger patches of color, and makes me wonder why they didn't "digitally remaster" the print to get the highest clarity. Wouldn't have been that hard to do.

But the bonus material is exellent, and the film itself is the classic that I remember it to be.

Interesting fact: there were three different people who did the voice for Christopher Robin, but that's only because this version of the film is actually three short films put together with a special scene at the end with Christopher Robin saying good-bye to Pooh. It's all very well explained in the "making of" video included.

Great film, good DVD. Your kids will love it and so will you.