Review of Winnie the Pooh (2011) by Davey M — 01 Sep 2011

It's not quite as strong as the shorts that made up "The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh," but it's still charming like crazy, incredibly sweet, very funny, beautifully crafted, marvelously digressive, and gentle in a way that you just don't see in movie theaters these days, kids' movies or otherwise.

Sequels always walk a fine line between staying true to the pre-existing characters and world and being stifled by them--sometimes some of the characters here err on one side or the other; Tigger, for instance, seems a bit too bound up by his Tiggerness to be as much fun as he has been in the past (though it's still a joy to see him), and Rabbit and Owl both seem a bit crazier than they have in the past.

While none of that is really a problem, it was a little distracting for someone who grew up loving the "Many Adventures" shorts. All in all though, this is one of the sweetest family movies to come along in awhile--not merely nostalgic (though the Pooh universe always has been that, and it's certainly refreshing to see old-fashioned 2D animation and hear the familiar harmonies of those Disney choirs of the 1950s and '60s), but good-hearted.

At 73 minutes (and some of that running time is taken up by an equally old-fashioned and equally lovely short film preceding the feature), "Winnie the Pooh" is a movie for kids that really seems tailor-made for kids--it's short, it's nice to look at, there's music (Zooey Deschanel was a great fit for the theme song), there's silliness, and there's honey.

I found myself far more charmed by this movie, so squarely and sincerely aimed at its young audience, than by most of the recent animated fare that seems to go out of its way to cater to adults with what is alleged to be "grown-up" humor.

Between this and "Tangled," Disney is on a bit of an upswing--I hope it lasts.