Winnie the Pooh (2011)

[David S.]

I finally was able to see it today, and I agree with your feelings. I loved it, it was the best "Pooh" film since the original, and the first to "feel" like a true sequel. But, I do understand why it has not done as well. It doesn't appeal to the general Summer movie crowd and I understand that most almost 30-year-olds wouldn't see this without a kid. But I hope it does well anyway, I think it may end up making profit yet!

Glad you enjoyed it! As far as the 30 year-olds (or other "adults") who wouldn't go see it without a kid, that is their loss for their narrow-mindedness!

[TsWade2]

Note: This post may contain some mild spoilers.

I saw Winnie the Pooh for the THIRD time today! I must say that on each viewing, I've enjoyed it even more than the previous ones, and I LOVED it the first time I saw it! For me, it holds up REALLY well for repeat viewings!

A few more observations after 2 more viewings:

* Just as I expected, I like the songs even more now than after one viewing, and I didn't have any problems with them, then. They are definitely very catchy and after 3 viewings all have gotten stuck in my head where I can hear them in my head from memory, which for my taste, is a Very Good Thing. I really like how in "The Tummy Song", Pooh's rumbly tummy is used as another instrument! This adds an extra layer of cuteness to the song. My other favorites musically are "Everything Is Honey" and "A Very Important Thing To Do", but they are all very good.

Just as with Finding Nemo: The Musical at Animal Kingdom, I think the Lopez's did a great job with the songs. They come up with something fresh and original that clearly pays homage to the arrangements and whimsy of the Sherman Brothers originals. Like Randy Newman's excellent songs for Princess and the Frog (which perfectly captured the "New Orleans sound", and I would know, as I'm from there), I feel that Pooh has an excellent (if underrated by some fans) songscore. (I don't have the soundtrack CD yet because I haven't seen it in the few stores I've been in since the movie has been out, but I WILL be getting it!)

The "So Long" end credits song written and performed by Zooey Deschanel is very good as well. I'm not exactly up-to-date with contemporary pop music, but if the rest of her stuff is this good, I'll have to check it out!

* All the other things I've said in my original review (found here ) still stand. The animation and humor are top-notch, and the runtime felt neither padded or too short.

* The end credits are fantastic. Do NOT leave before they are completely over! They have three phases to the credits. Before the main "roll" starts, there are some nice shots of Christopher Robin's stuffed animals in his room. One thing I didn't pick up on completely on the first viewing is that all the poses of the animals are recreating moments from the film, which creates a great link to Christopher Robin's imagination and the idea that the stories are things he imagines while playing with his stuffed animals.

During the main credit roll, there are some really cute and clever gags with the characters, and one of my favorite credit lines ever: "No stuffed animals were harmed in the making of this film"!

I won't say what the third phase of the credits is. If you haven't seen it or heard, it's best to find out for yourself!

Winnie the Pooh is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of 2011 and going back even further than that. This sweet, gentle, charming, and heartwarming film is a welcome breath of fresh air in the climate of contemporary cinema.

If you haven't seen it yet, run, do not walk, to your nearest cinema!

Well done, WDAS!

PS. The Ballad of Nessie moved me on the first viewing, and this too has increased even more by the third viewing with my affection for it growing even stronger! It's gentle tone and profound message are absolutely beautiful! Hopefully the "Academy" will remember both Pooh and Nessie when it's time for the awards.

I agree. I bet WInnie the Pooh and Nessie will win. Of course, I could be wrong. But we'll just wait and see.

[disneyprincess11]

Note: This post may contain some mild spoilers.

I saw Winnie the Pooh for the THIRD time today! I must say that on each viewing, I've enjoyed it even more than the previous ones, and I LOVED it the first time I saw it! For me, it holds up REALLY well for repeat viewings!

A few more observations after 2 more viewings:

* Just as I expected, I like the songs even more now than after one viewing, and I didn't have any problems with them, then. They are definitely very catchy and after 3 viewings all have gotten stuck in my head where I can hear them in my head from memory, which for my taste, is a Very Good Thing. I really like how in "The Tummy Song", Pooh's rumbly tummy is used as another instrument! This adds an extra layer of cuteness to the song. My other favorites musically are "Everything Is Honey" and "A Very Important Thing To Do", but they are all very good.

Just as with Finding Nemo: The Musical at Animal Kingdom, I think the Lopez's did a great job with the songs. They come up with something fresh and original that clearly pays homage to the arrangements and whimsy of the Sherman Brothers originals. Like Randy Newman's excellent songs for Princess and the Frog (which perfectly captured the "New Orleans sound", and I would know, as I'm from there), I feel that Pooh has an excellent (if underrated by some fans) songscore. (I don't have the soundtrack CD yet because I haven't seen it in the few stores I've been in since the movie has been out, but I WILL be getting it!)

The "So Long" end credits song written and performed by Zooey Deschanel is very good as well. I'm not exactly up-to-date with contemporary pop music, but if the rest of her stuff is this good, I'll have to check it out!

* All the other things I've said in my original review (found here ) still stand. The animation and humor are top-notch, and the runtime felt neither padded or too short.

* The end credits are fantastic. Do NOT leave before they are completely over! They have three phases to the credits. Before the main "roll" starts, there are some nice shots of Christopher Robin's stuffed animals in his room. One thing I didn't pick up on completely on the first viewing is that all the poses of the animals are recreating moments from the film, which creates a great link to Christopher Robin's imagination and the idea that the stories are things he imagines while playing with his stuffed animals.

During the main credit roll, there are some really cute and clever gags with the characters, and one of my favorite credit lines ever: "No stuffed animals were harmed in the making of this film"!

I won't say what the third phase of the credits is. If you haven't seen it or heard, it's best to find out for yourself!

Winnie the Pooh is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of 2011 and going back even further than that. This sweet, gentle, charming, and heartwarming film is a welcome breath of fresh air in the climate of contemporary cinema.

If you haven't seen it yet, run, do not walk, to your nearest cinema!

Well done, WDAS!

PS. The Ballad of Nessie moved me on the first viewing, and this too has increased even more by the third viewing with my affection for it growing even stronger! It's gentle tone and profound message are absolutely beautiful! Hopefully the "Academy" will remember both Pooh and Nessie when it's time for the awards.

I agree. I bet WInnie the Pooh and Nessie will win. Of course, I could be wrong. But we'll just wait and see.

Ehhhh, Pooh has a lot of competition.

NESSIE=Defientely a winner
POOH=Either that, Happy Feet 2, or Kung Fu Panda 2. For once (hopefully), a Pixar movie doesn't have a chance.

[zackisthewalrus]

I may be wrong, but did I read somewhere once that, in order to be considered as a feature length film by the Academy, a film has to be at least 70 minutes long?

[JiminyCrick91]

NESSIE=Defientely a winner
POOH=Either that, Happy Feet 2, or Kung Fu Panda 2. For once (hopefully), a Pixar movie doesn't have a chance.

Happy Feet has no chance anymore. It's MoCap and they just ruled that it does not count as animation.

I may be wrong, but did I read somewhere once that, in order to be considered as a feature length film by the Academy, a film has to be at least 70 minutes long?

Just live action now. Animated ones need to be 40-45 or something like that to be considered feature length.

-Skyler

[DisneyJedi]

All right, I checked yesterday's Pooh estimates and saw it grossed only half a million yesterday. Yes, three new films came out yesterday, but come on!

[RyGuy]

So DisneyJedi, have YOU seen it yet?

[Semaj]

NESSIE=Defientely a winner
POOH=Either that, Happy Feet 2, or Kung Fu Panda 2. For once (hopefully), a Pixar movie doesn't have a chance.

Happy Feet has no chance anymore. It's MoCap and they just ruled that it does not count as animation.

So that must make it Sad Feet.

[DisneyJedi]

So DisneyJedi, have YOU seen it yet?

No, but I WANT to!

[estefan]

Then you have no right to complain, that it's not doing well. You have done nothing to help its success. Like I said a number of pages ago, if you are teenage-age at the least, it should be no problem to hop on a bus, go to the local multiplex and see it.

[Heartless]

So DisneyJedi, have YOU seen it yet?

No, but I WANT to!

STOP COMPLAINING THEN!
If you want to see this film do better, the least you could do is support it. Stop complaining about something when you're contributing to it.

[disneyprincess11]

Happy Feet has no chance anymore. It's MoCap and they just ruled that it does not count as animation.

So that must make it Sad Feet.

Mom calls it Sad Feet too.

Wow, that sucks for Happy Feet. That's really surprising! When I saw the trailer, it looked animated.

Ok, then WtP gets a bigger chance then.

So DisneyJedi, have YOU seen it yet?

No, but I WANT to!

Same, my friend and I are planning on seeing it together though, so that's why it is taking longer.

[ajmrowland]

Well, so long as they arent human, they'll certainly look animated.

[estefan]

So, based on this weekend's estimates, I'm predicting that Winnie the Pooh will have a box-office gross similar to how Ramona and Beezus did. Why am I comparing the two? Because they're both innocent, well-received G-rated family films based on beloved children's books with a modest budget and a respective box-office gross that won't piss off their studios.

[Ioz]

Smurfs hit it hard at the box office this weekend.

11th place: Winnie the Pooh $1,751,000 -66.1% ($22,409,000)

[TsWade2]

Smurfs hit it hard at the box office this weekend.

11th place: Winnie the Pooh $1,751,000 -66.1% ($22,409,000)

Auugh! I hate those stupid Smurfs. They're suppose to flop! The critics hated it.

[ajmrowland]

nothing new there

[DisneyJedi]

Smurfs hit it hard at the box office this weekend.

11th place: Winnie the Pooh $1,751,000 -66.1% ($22,409,000)

Auugh! I hate those stupid Smurfs. They're suppose to flop! The critics hated it.

You wanna blame anyone? Blame the kids of this generation and their parents. They don't know a GOOD family movie unless they ran face-first into it!

And by the way, they also hated Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. But look how that turned out against The Princess and the Frog.

[ajmrowland]

dont blame the kids for not knowing blame the adults and disney pr

[TheValentineBros]

And that's what happens with traditional animation. They don't become successful when they are released at the same time as a live-action/CGI hybrid rapefest of our childhood.

It makes me mad, though.