(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin)
Doug (vo): Well, it seems like every Disneycember, I do something Winnie the Pooh related, so why not this one? Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin is actually one of the better of these movies that I've seen, which is surprising, because I guess a lot of critics didn't enjoy it when it came out back in 1997, and I think I can guess why. There is kind of one major problem with it, but we'll get to that in a bit, and the payoff, I think, really overshadows it.
Story[]
Doug (vo): The story, like most things Winnie the Pooh related, is very simple. Christopher Robin goes to hang with Winnie the Pooh, but has something very important to tell him. Winnie the Pooh is so caught up in having fun and relaxing and doing nothing that he doesn't really listen that closely. When he wakes up the next day, he finds that Christopher Robin is gone and left a note. It's covered in honey and difficult to read, though, so they send it to Owl. He misinterprets it as Christopher Robin has been kidnapped and is in a place called Skull, which very clearly is school. So Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, and everyone else set out on a journey to go find him and, not really a spoiler, find out something about themselves along the way.
Review[]
Doug (vo): If the story sounds familiar, they would do this again in another Winnie the Pooh movie, which I guess was closer to the book with the Backson. I'm not really sure if they did this one in the stories, I'm not really an expert on the books, but what I do remember about the books is the almost zen-like simplicity of it. And this movie, for the most part, captures that very well. One of my favorite lines is when Pooh thinks Christopher Robin is gone for good, Piglet says, "I'll always be your best friend." Pooh says he is his best friend to do something with, but Christopher Robin was his best friend to do nothing with. The movie is full of all sorts of deep little lines like that. Everyone kind of talks in rhymes and riddles and backwards speak that kinda makes sense, but kinda doesn't at the same time. I love that kind of writing, and it's arguably the most in this one than any of the other Winnie the Pooh properties I've seen.
(Footage focusing on the song sequences is shown)
Doug (vo): The songs are also really good. I tried doing research on the people who wrote them, and I couldn't get a ton except that the guy who did the music, I guess, did some Sesame Street stuff, and the woman who did the lyrics did a lot of kids books. So I guess it figures they would really know their stuff and write some really good tunes.
(Footage focusing on the animation is shown)
Doug (vo): The art style very much looks like the Winnie the Pooh show from the late 80s and early 90s, which means it isn't quite as bright and vibrant as, say, The Tigger Movie, but it still has that simple, sketchy look that you grow accustomed to with Winnie the Pooh. So, okay, this sounds really good. What's that one problem I was talking about? So, one of the things I love the most about Winnie the Pooh is that it kind of sneaks up on you. You think it's just a cute little thing for kids, it starts off with the fluffy little song, you know, "Winnie the Pooh", and all that stuff, and slowly but surely, this emotional subtext kinda slips its way in.
(A screenshot from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is shown, with Pooh and Christopher Robin hanging out on the bridge)
Doug (vo): I remember when I got to the end of the first Winnie the Pooh movie and Pooh and Christopher Robin sort of have this serious talk about what's going to happen years from now. It kind of comes out of nowhere, but it doesn't feel out of place. So many random things do happen, some of them deep, some of them not so deep, and they really mix pretty well.
(More clips from the movie are shown)
Doug (vo): This one, from the very beginning, is trying to be that moment. All the conversations, all the dialogue, all the pacing, it's trying to be a special episode, if you will. And, yes, the Winnie the Pooh show would do that a lot, but this does it so consistently, it almost feels manipulative. Everything is being told like it's the most important memory you ever had in your life. Simple, small moments aren't always allowed to be simple, small moments, they always try to act like they mean something or this should leave an imprint as one of the most whimsical moments of your childhood.
(Footage focusing on the characters being swept away by acorns is shown)
Doug (vo): Take for example this scene, where Piglet's in a tree and some acorns are falling. Eventually, a ton of acorns fall and they all get swept up in it. Well, okay, cute, whatever. Not hilarious, but it feels like a Winnie the Pooh joke. Listen to the music and look at the way they present this, though.
(Whimsical music is heard over the scene of the acorns falling and everyone getting swept away)
Doug (vo): Doesn't it just feel like they're trying to hammer in the whimsy? It's kind of like Patch Adams. There's no regular moments, everything is inspiring and magical and supposed to carry a ton of emotion with it. And I will admit, at first, that was kind of turning me off. But the more it keeps going, in a strange way, it kinda lightens up.
(Footage focusing on the cave is shown, as well as other various clips)
Doug (vo): Like, when they get to this cave, you see the characters kind of fumbling over each other and making mistakes, and it doesn't feel like it's trying to be magical or anything, it just seems like the characters fumbling over each other and making mistakes. And it works fine. It also doesn't have a forced, nail-biting climax like in The Tigger Movie, where they're gonna fall off a cliff or something. The danger is always in their imaginations. And when you get to the end, it does stick the landing to what Winnie the Pooh is all about. There's this lesson taught early on about how Christopher Robin will always be a part of Pooh and Pooh just needs to realize that, and, okay, come on, you've heard that in a million other kids' stories. It means nothing by this point. But because the setup for Winnie the Pooh is so unique in that the toy animals and other characters still kind of exist and interact off each other, even when Christopher Robin isn't around, the message does take on a new life. It keeps it vague whether or not Pooh and the others are actually alive interacting with Christopher Robin or if it's all in his imagination. Kind of like Where the Wild Things Are, I do think they're in his imagination. but it's so strong and so powerful that they do kind of take on a life of their own, even when he's not around, like, he just imagined this adventure happened while he was at school. So in the context of the story, they really are a part of each other, it's almost like one can't exist without the other.
(Clips from the live-action Christopher Robin movie are shown)
Doug (vo): The movie Christopher Robin was kind of hitting upon this, too, like, these characters never truly leave because they're developing who you are and you're developing who they are. That really is the brilliance of the story. And the best adventures are the ones that seem big, but are technically small.
(More clips from Pooh's Grand Adventure are shown)
Doug (vo): The movie makes it feel like days are going by, that they're searching for Christopher Robin, but when he finally finds them, it's only been an afternoon. And I love that, like, the perception of the kid's imagination, through Winnie the Pooh's imagination, the other characters' imagination can be so askewed. Even the lesson Christopher Robin tries to teach Pooh is distributed throughout all the characters, it isn't just about him. I think that, more than anything, reinforces that this is in the kid's mind. But like I said, that imagination can take on a life of its own.
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): So in the end, yeah, I am really recommending this. If you're a Winnie the Pooh fan and you really get into the psychological and philosophical elements of it, I think you'll really enjoy this. You just have to keep in mind, it's a little heavy-handed early on. And, yes, that might be enough to turn some people off to it. But I think if you're a fan of the original books or, heck, even just like the Winnie the Pooh cartoons on their own, I still think you'll enjoy it okay. I know it's not a glowing review, but it is a flawed movie that has glowing moments. So stumble into the Hundred Acre Wood and decide for yourself if this is your pot of honey.
(The film's final scene, showing Pooh and Christopher Robin sitting under a tree watching the sunset, is shown)