While Disney didn't invent Winnie the Pooh, nor first animate him, it certainly has Americanized the British bear into a cartoon character hardly resembling A.A. Milne's original 1924 creation. Although Disney's four Storybook Classics titles (from 1966) were somewhat faithful to Milne's concept, subsequent titles (especially in the
Playtime and
Learning series) descended into second-rate TV fare. All this to say that Disney has redeemed itself with
The Book of Pooh, a fresh batch of Pooh stories evoking a nostalgic nod to the original. The Disney Channel's full-length film
Stories from the Heart is a puppet rendition of Pooh, set in a sparkling world of computer animation (not unlike
Bear in the Big Blue House, which shares the same executive producer and director, Mitchell Kriegman). The puppets (by Shadow Projects) may take some getting used to by viewers accustomed to animated cartoons, yet they'll appreciate the characters' lifelike personalities. The 77-minute program is a collection of six tales focusing on Pooh, Piglet, Owl, and the gang (though Kanga and Roo are noticeably absent). Mark Zaslove deserves writing kudos for subtle humor (reminiscent of Milne) and storytelling restraint uncharacteristic of Disney. Highlights include "Eeyore's Tailiversary," in which Eeyore receives a surprise party to celebrate the day he and his tail became attached, and "Tigger's Replacement," which chronicles Tigger's attempts to teach Piglet how to be a Tigger. (Lessons in bouncing and Tiggerisms are part of his Rigorous Tiggerous Training Program.) Many of the puppets' voices are familiar, such as Jim Cummings (
The Tigger Movie) as Pooh and Tigger. Six musical numbers round out this welcome entry in Disney's
Winnie the Pooh collection.
--Lynn Gibson
1 Not very climatic, not for younger children.
No singing and dancing, mostly talking and story telling with the narrator having a harsh British accent. I bought this for my 18 month old but she doesn't find any interest in it. Maybe she'll enjoy it later. For her age group I recommend Barney, because there is alot of singing and changing of pace. Pooh is too anticlimatic. Elmo is too slow as well.
Good luck. Hope this helps.
2 Wonderful DVD for an almost two year old!
I have never actually watched this DVD, but I have listened to it probably 300 times. I play it in the car for my little boy who loves it. The traditional Winnie-the-Pooh is a little too advanced for him (too much dialogue), but the Book of Pooh is perfect. And Tigger is hilarious to listen to. There are several cute stories and the songs are fun. My 23 month old sings the "Happy 'Tail'iversary" song all day long. The true test of a good video, though, is how well I like hearing it after weeks of playing. This is the only one I haven't gotten sick of, yet.
3 BOOK OF POOH FOR ME AND YOU
I am only 10 years old and woopdeedoo,i like this show!Nothing i've seen before(the only puppet shows i have seen show the lines so easily and you would say"mommy,why does that person have strings to his/her arms?")My favorite charecter?Well tigger of course!After all,he is the only one.Now,i bet all you kanga and roo fans are very mad to be replaced by Kessie.WHO CARES.I never liked them anyway...They never really played a big role ever,just the mom and son pack...How dumb can that be?Also,disney introduced the very first GIRL CHARECTER!...I bet your thinking"What about kanga?"Well they had to because roo is to young and every baby kangaroo needs it's mom so THATS WHY."It's winnie the pooh!Hes in the book.It's winnie the pooh!You didn't remind me.Everyone knows he's,winnie the pooh!"Yep,i remembered the song.All the songs always make me hum them after(espcially the one about dinosnores*yes,thats what they call them*)Now,other then kanga and roo,they still got everyone else!Pooh,Owl,Rabbit,Tigger,Eeyore and Piglet!Also,i have never seen a book in a story!It's very cool.A must buy for any pooh-lover:)
4 Great for Young Pooh Fans
I read the other reviews of this video before purchasing, and was a little worried by the negative ones. However, I think most young children will have no objections. My five-year-old son enjoys the original Pooh movies (like The Blustery Day), the lower-quality TV series videos, and the newer ones. He thinks this one is great. (I wonder if this is analogous to Star Trek: We older Original Series fans just can't get into the newer incarnations, whereas others enjoy them all.)
The animation was a little funny-looking: Pooh has too much of a neck, for one thing. The music and the stories were pretty good. Young Pooh fans will love it.
I think, for overall quality, the original Pooh movies and "Pooh's Grand Adventure" are superior. (I'd actually recommend "Pooh's Grand Adventure," over "The Book of Pooh." Even though it's not A. A. Milne either, the music, artwork, and writing are truly first-rate.)
5 Pooh and friends come to life!
My 15-month-old loves this DVD more then any other show we own. She thinks the animals are so funny. She loves the 3d stuffed animals and bounces up and down in her high chair with joy for the entire hour! Even when she is sick or extra cranky, which says a lot for the power of this DVD. It is so clear and sounds fantastic! There are 6 stories in it, one on each of the Pooh characters. Most center around Tigger, because he is so fun I guess. The stories are well done and very entertaining. My girl loves this show and so do I. And after probably 100 viewing, she is not sick of it yet. I give it my highest recommendation.
6 A Great Movie For Pooh Fans
I was a little apprehensive when I purchased this DVD since my four-year daughter had only seen the animated version of Pooh. She loves the Blustery Day, The Tigger Movie, and the Honey Pot. Well when she saw this movie it almost immediately became here favorite Pooh movie. One of her first comments was look daddy my stuffed Pooh and Tigger are moving on TV. That pretty much sums up how the characters look, they are best described as animated stuffed animals. My daughter was instantly able to relate to them and eagerly watched the rest of the movie. The movie is made up of a few short stories dealing which each character. Afterwards I asked her why she liked the movie and she said that the characters in this movie look real compared to the animated ones. She did not use those exact words but that is pretty much what she meant to say about it. The video transfer is very well done and the Dolby 5.1 audio is a good mix. If you have kids that love Pooh and the gang I would strongly suggest this movie.
7 First Rate Children's Television
This is the first good television show/video that I have watched since "Bear in the Big Blue House" came out a few years ago. The stories are touching and well-written and, most importantly, my daughter loves it. She seems to like pretty much any show with puppets. "The Book of Pooh" uses a new type of puppetry in which you can see the whole body of the puppet, not just the torso on-up a la "Sesame Street." The colorful background is a little offsetting at first, but you get used to it fairly quickly. All in all, I was very happy with this purchase and I recommend it as a wonderful holiday gift.
8 My baby loves this DVD more and more!
I have a very active baby that is not fond of sitting still and watching anything, except for The Wiggles. I bought this in hopes she would like it. At first she did not sit through more then one story, but the more she sees it the more she loves it. She is 14 month's old and can easliy watch and enjoy the entire 60 minutes now. She giggles, mostly at Tigger. The DVD clarity is supurb! The characters are so 3D and cute. The songs are really good and the skits are funny. All in all and excellent DVD for young children, and I really like it too. You can't go wrong with this one.
9 What a wonderful surprise!
My husband and I watched this with our son, Greg. He loved it! Unlike the "New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh", this show gets back to the original, simple themes that make Pooh such a lovable character. I loved Mr. Rogers for the same reason my son loves "Book of Pooh": loving, gentle characters that make the chaos of growing up a little more pleasant and understandable.
10 Worst Disney Offering in Years
My wife and I rented a copy to preview "The Book of Pooh" prior to letting my 4-year-old see/own a copy. I could not have been more disappointed. It seems to me the people who brought us so much fine animation in the past are either missing, asleep, or were not consulted on this project.
I cannot speak to the stories in the video as we turned it off very soon after starting. What we did see was rather insipid, poorly animated, and not the kind of quality I want my children to see. It isn't that there is anything inherently wrong with the video - I just find it of very poor quality.
I'll stick to Disney's classic offerings or those like "Toy Story" where at least the animation is top notch.
11 Its not come out of the player
This arrived yesterday and has so far been played continually with a short break for sleep. Our 8 year old got up this morning at 7:00 and immediately wanted it on again. A superb buy.
12 Truly Excellent! Almost as good as the original shorts...
Book of Pooh comes closer than any other version of Pooh to the original Disney short films. Unlike the recent animated "New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh," the Book of Pooh sticks to the spirit and character of the originals. Simple stories told in a meaningful and touching manner. Book of Pooh is refreshing: no gimmicks, just good storytelling. I first saw it at my neighbors' house last week. Their son was watching the DVD and he seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. I liked it so much that, even though my children are grown up, I went out and bought a copy for my wife and me.
13 MY GIRL LOVES THIS BOOK OF POOH SHOW
Book of Pooh is my daughter's favorite new show. She's already watched the DVD five times since I bought it. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone with children. The best part is, it's enjoyable for adults, too!
14 A Nice Kids DVD
I sat down with my daughter Hannah (2 1/2) and checked out the new Disney DVD The Book of Pooh created by Mitchell Kriegman. Mitchell also is the creator of Bear in The Big Blue House, a favorite around our house. Hannah enjoyed The Book of Pooh, which in the end is vastly more important than my enjoyment of it. The DVD runs 70 mins, and Hannah sat and watched it from beginning to end (a mark of a good kid's DVD). The effect that they use on The Book of Pooh, where they marry puppets and computer animated backgrounds, is really cool; I found it much more aesthetic and approachable than the computer-only animation shows out there (like Rollie Pollie Olie). Honestly, I enjoy watching Bear in The Big Blue House more with Hannah, but The Book of Pooh was lightyears beyond the annoying Dragon Tales or insufferable Rugrats and I really like how at its heart The Book of Pooh is about teaching kids to love reading and storytelling. [Geoffrey Kleinman DVDTalk.com
15 She loved it!
I rented this video before buying it to make sure my 2 year old daughter would watch it and she loves it! It is more interesting to watch than the flat looking cartoons. I recommend it to anyone!
16 Pooh and friends are back in this new 2001 direct to video.
This is a brand new film and may be a shock that this film has gotten (at the time of this writing) an average *** stars from customers. On this dvd you can learn the history of Winnie tHe Pooh. Play games, Connect the dots, or do wheatever you feel like doing. I learned from the history of Winnie the Pooh that thier really was a Christopher Robin.
And he was the one to name the bear Winnie the Pooh. There are 6 stories on this movie. And this is from (I guess) the stories from the show that debuted earlier this year. But this is a new movie, not like The Tigger Movie or Pooh's Grand Adenture: The Search for Chirstopher Robin, that has been out for a year or more.
The only chacter in this movie that hasn't appeared in any A.A Milne's stories is Kessie. (A Blue Bird). But who cares about that anyway? In fact I think Kessie might have been on the Winnie The Pooh show twice before the THe Book of Pooh made its debut this year. Come on, give this movie a try. If you like this check out, Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin and The Tigger Movie.
17 What happened to Disney' Quality
I am greatly disappointed, especially, when my 3 youngsters refused to watch it. It has an acceptional story line, however, I can not say the same about the quality of the making of this movie; it seems like very little effort was put into it. I expected something better from Disney but not this...not blue screen quality.
18 THIS MOVIE IS WONDERFUL!
I just purchased THE BOOK OF POOH for my 6-year old son and he loves it. The puppet renditions are a really refreshing look on the old characters. These stories play like a series of shows onto themselves, but the wonderful moral - if you want to call it that - of this movie is READING. Winnie The Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Kessie, Owl, and even Eeyore are gathered together in Christopher Robin's room for an afternoon of ... READING. My son watches this movie from start to finish and then brings me a stack of his books for me to read to him. How wonderful. This movie is not just good because of what is seen on the TV screen, but is also good for the reading it promotes afterwards. Obviously, a two year old may be a bit young to benefit from the theme, but school age children and kindergartener's will be delighted. My 1-year old daughter also likes the movie, most likely because of the puppet renditions themselves.
Pooh's story takes him on an adventure to the top of a hill, chasing a butterfly around and around, down the hill the way he came and back into his friends, whom he believes to be strangers who look like his friends on the other side of the hill. Piglets story has Piglet learning how to be a Tigger. Kessie's story has her wanting Owl to teach her everything he knows, while Owl actually teaches her that a little knowledge goes a long way. Owl also teaches Kessie that a lot of knowledge can be obtained from reading books. Rabbit's story has Rabbit teaching Tigger how to garden and Tigger teaching Rabbit something about being friends. Tigger's story has Tigger staying up all night, not wanting to miss anything, while his friends show him that there is nothing to miss at night except sleep. Eeyore's story tells of the elements of friendship and surprizes when it comes to Eeyore's Tail-aversary.
A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL MOVIE FOR CHILDREN BEGINNING SCHOOL!
19 A pile of Pooh
What a step back in quality! Disney seemed to have moved on from insulting DVD releases when a picture printed on the DVD disc face was classed as an `extra'. The delights that the Snow White DVD will bring this October is what we expect - but this Pooh release is shoddy, unimaginative and a blur of pastel-coloured pixels and cheap blue screening a la 1980. Absolute rubbish. Has all the lustre of a pair of old saggy y-fronts!
20 Better spend money on The Tigger Movie.
I bought The Book of Pooh DVD for my 2 yr. old son anticipating refreshing animation and story line. Unfortunately I was very disappointed, the story moves slower than molasses. After 10 minutes, my son demanded that I replace it with The Tigger Movie DVD. The computer generated background is so blurry and must have been drawn by an 8 yr old. Watching it on my Sony WEGA 36" I get dizzy from the detailed puppets against blurry scrolling background, which is very pixelated and flat. My recommendation, spend your money on good old hand draw Pooh.
21 we want Kanga and Roo!!
we like Book of Pooh but we miss Kanga and Roo as part of the gang in the movie.....PLEASE put them in the next movie you make!
22 The Best Pooh Ever!
This version of Winnie the Pooh, with its amazing puppets, beautifully rendered Hundred Acre Wood, and stories that are funny, heartfelt and pay homage to A.A. Milne is a wonder!
23 A Great Show For All Ages!
My daughter is 14 months old, and if any of you have a child at that age you understand how hard it is to hold their attention for more than two minutes. Well, the Book of Pooh does it for my daughter. We faithfully watch The Book of Pooh every day on Playhouse Disney (their morning lineup on the Disney channel), and she absolutely loves it. She loves the songs, and the characters, even though they are puppets they look so life like,(Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Pigglet, Owl, & Kessie the blue bird) and it's wonderful how they put those characters in a computer generated background. The colors are bright and eye-catching, and best of all I even I like this show. (If I can't stand to watch it then why make my daughter watch it????) I often find myself humming the closing song all the time! The Book of Pooh has good stories that teach children the right things, in a subtle way! I definitely recommend the Book of Pooh for all ages, it will definitely get your attention!
24 NOT FOR KANGA AND ROO FANS!
When they made this show I'm sad to say Kanga and Roo were left out. How Disappointing! It's not Fair!
25 A tiggerific show
This is the best Pooh tv show ever made because I love the puppets. I love this video because I like how it was made. Shadows Projects did a good job on the puppets but especailly on the Owl puppet. My favorite charecter is Tigger. He's tiggerific because he's very funny & silly. Piglett is cool too because he is nice. If you're a Pooh fan, you should get this video because it's a classic Pooh tv show.
