The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

10/10

Starring the voice of

Sterling Holloway

John Fiedler

Junius Matthews

Paul Winchell

Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and John Lounsbery

Pooh is my favorite Disney character, and I just don’t know why. His ability to reduce every problem to his lack of honey makes me laugh every time. No matter what’s going on, he somehow manages to bring everything back to his love for honey, and that kind of single-minded dedication is hilarious.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a 1977 Disney cartoon composed of material from three previously released animated shorts, all based on A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books. These shorts are Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974). Watching them all come together in one seamless movie makes it even more enjoyable.

The character Winnie the Pooh is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. Milne named the bear after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne—who, of course, became the inspiration for the character Christopher Robin, Pooh’s best friend.

Milne also based other characters on Christopher’s toys, though Disney later added Owl and Gopher. The mix of original and added characters makes for a unique and fun blend that works perfectly on screen.

Winnie the Pooh (Christopher’s teddy bear) got his name from a Canadian black bear Christopher often saw at the London Zoo. The bear’s name was “Winnie,” while “Pooh” came from a swan the Milnes had encountered while on holiday. It’s funny how the name came from two completely different animals, yet it fits him so well.

The movie includes some additions, such as Rabbit trying to make Pooh part of his home décor—an idea Walt Disney himself had while reading the book. The film also features classic songs by the Sherman Brothers, including Winnie the Pooh and The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers. These songs are catchy, fun, and impossible to forget.

This was the last film in which Walt Disney had personal involvement. While he wasn’t directly involved in the full production of this 1977 movie, he did oversee Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), which was released during his lifetime. He was also involved in the production of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, which won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film—an award given to Walt Disney posthumously, as he had passed away two years before its release.

This 1977 classic holds a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes—the same score as its 2011 successor, Winnie the Pooh. That’s pretty impressive, considering how rare it is for a sequel to match the love of the original.

Many have already seen this classic, and if you haven’t, there’s no reason not to. It’s a timeless film that’s just as fun to watch as an adult as it was as a child. It’s definitely a DVD worth owning and keeping.