Have You Seen "Winnie the Pooh"?

03 May 2011

Winnie the Pooh, one of the best loved children’s story book characters of all time has graced the big screen once again. Fans flocked to cinemas on 15th April for the opening of “Winnie the Pooh” the first starring role for this lovable bear with the rumbly tumbly in almost 30 years.

Children were delighted with the simple story lines and fun characters of Pooh Bear, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit and, of course, Christopher Robin; and Adults were overcome with nostalgia as they remembered the Winnie the Pooh of their childhoods.

“Winnie the Pooh” is a step back, for the Disney Animation Studios, into the classic hand drawn animation seen in the original Winnie the Pooh movies. With beautiful colours, imaginative settings, like a world made out of “hunny”, Disney has moved away from the 3D computer generated animation which has been prevalent in cinemas recently. The animation is also very different to the most recent Winnie the Pooh children’s TV cartoons “My Friends Tigger and Pooh” which used very advanced 3D-esque computer imagery and animation.

The original Pooh movie and cartoon series are some of the most loved children’s TV of the last 100 years. Winnie the Pooh first appeared in cinemas in 1977 in “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, which was a combination of three previously released short films. This was the last film which Walt Disney worked on directly therefore holds a special place in hearts of Disney fans. The movie was a runaway success with Pooh Bear being catapulted onto the international stage.

The animated TV series “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” came soon after, riding on the success of the movie. Everyone loved these stories of adventure, as well as the interaction and friendship between the animals in the 100 acre wood. Due to popularity over 80 episodes of this series were created. The Pooh cartoons were repeated constantly on television with the last repeat on children’s television was as late as 2007!

At the dawn of the new millennium, Disney Animation Studios brought the animals of 100 acre wood back to cinemas, creating a series of three spin off movies, “The Tigger Movie” (2000), “Piglet’s Big Movie” (2003) and “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” (2005). All three movies were great successes inspiring Disney to begin working on a brand new Winnie the Pooh movie.

Today Winnie the Pooh is an international star and this brand new feature length film is being released across the world in many many languages. Winnie the Pooh products are sold all over the world, whether Winnie the Pooh DVDs, clothing, toys, games, home ware and even food in our supermarkets.

A day out to see the new “Winnie the Pooh” movie is a great day out for all the family. Parents, children and grandparents alike will love this simple movie which touches your heart and makes you smile.

“Winnie the Pooh” is still showing in cinemas in and around Belfast City and will be released on DVD soon!